2 Days in New York (2012)
Directed by Julie Delpy

Film Review

Julie Delpy's eagerly awaited sequel to her popular 2007 comedy 2 Days in Paris is a similarly astute dissection of a relationship which manages to be both true to life and hysterically funny, at least for the most part.  The jokes and the characterisation are far less subtle this time round, so that 2 Days in New York feels far more like your average American sitcom than a film by Woody Allen (the director to whom Delpy is most readily likened).  Not only is Julie Delpy shaping up to be one of France's most talented filmmakers, she is also a highly accomplished actor, and here she turns in a sublime performance as her angst-ridden alter ego, perfectly partnered with Chris Rock.

Albert Delpy, the director's father both in real life and on screen, very nearly steals the film as the non-English speaking fish out of water, and it is also worth noting that there are some fine supporting contributions from Alexia Landeau and Alex Nahon, who play the heroine's nymphomaniac sister and pretentious ex-boyfriend.  In contrast to Delpy's Paris-based romp, which still feels fresh and original, the comic situations in this sequel are perhaps a tad too familiar and have a tendency to dive into cliché a little too readily.  Whilst, occasionally, you do feel that the film is trying too hard to get the laughs, 2 Days in New York does hit the spot once it has got into its stride and thereafter manages to be highly entertaining.  You wonder where Julie Delpy's next two days of madness will be located...

Film Synopsis

Marion, a young French woman, lives in New York with Mingus, a radio journalist, and their two children from previous relationships.  As Marion, a photographer, prepares her latest exhibition, her father and sister decide to visit her.  As her father does not speak a word of English and her sister is going through a severe emotional crisis, it proves to be an eventful visit.  The question is: will Marion and Mingus's relationship survive it...?