anupsoren-49249
A sweet charming story about a 10 year old finding his first love in New York city. The movie is funny, adorable, tart romantic comedy showing what falling in love for the first time is. Characters are fine and actors have done a good job. The movie however rides on the crisp story, funny plot and simple but nice direction. Its an adorable and sweet (but yet not too sweet movie. Music does a good job to keep up with the changes in the mood of the characters; and good that it does not overdoes it. The movie is recommended for anyone who likes romantic comedies. It is definitely going to leave the sweetness of first love with you.
The_Golden_Horatio
Don't be fooled by the apparent cuteness of two 11 year olds falling in love! The bad acting makes this one hard to watch. Confusing reactions to poorly delivered lines made me cringe like I was listening to nails on a chalk board. Most of the time it seemed like the kids had no idea why they were saying what they were saying so there was no variation in the tone of their interaction or the movie in general. The little boy was the worst and the little girl seems to have been told one too many times in her life that she's a good actress. Gosh, this movie was so hard and frustrating to watch! I suppose I could be nicer since these are just children but then this wouldn't be an honest review now would it?
CitizenCaine
Little Manhattan is the story of first love of a pair of charming fifth graders. The actors playing the two leads, Josh Hutcherson and Charlie Ray, are utterly fascinating and brilliant to watch. Charlie Ray, the girl, in fact made her film debut with this wonderful ode to first love. Mark Levin directed the film written by Jennifer Flackett, and it hearkens back to the days of Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years. Levin wrote several episodes of the series and uses the same voice over technique of the young male actor narrating events as they happen. The end result is an honest and real look at subject matter that has rarely been this poignant and ingratiating. Melody, a British film from 1971, comes to mind. The film contains wonderful location footage in and around Manhattan and a hilarious homage to The Graduate. Additional subtle odes to Play It Again Sam, A Little Romance, and The Karate Kid are apparent as well. Flackett's screenplay is never clichéd, cloying or maudlin and is the biggest reason why the film succeeds. The performances are honest, real, and true to life. It's an excellent, entertaining film to watch with youngsters similar in age to the young leads. *** of 4 stars.
Khemaluck Deeprawat
I love this film. It's not like an award-winning film or anything like that but it's a believable love story. It's not yucky soapy film that I suspected in the beginning, while picking it up from the rental shop. It's a story that makes you think back of how you begin to learn about love. This one is not a Hollywood formulated romantic comedy although it may look like one if you just look at the front cover of the DVD or read the synopsis. But trust me, this film is such a joy to watch and will make you remember something way, way back in your childhood.There is a lot of narration in this film but the voice of the child narrator sounds natural. I was not irritated by it at all. Actually, I enjoyed the narration a lot. It made me laugh.The lead actor and actress are well-cast. I think the girl is very lovely and the boy is just perfect for his role. The story is funny and charming. The director and screenplay writer sure know about little things that matter to us when we were young. That's what makes this little film so special. The ending is surprisingly good. At first, you may think that this is going to end like all the romantic films I've watched. But no, it's better.I like the atmosphere in this film. I think it's good that they make Manhattan looks clean, bright, and colorful, as if viewing from the eyes of a child in love. That's what puppy love feels like. If you don't remember anymore, maybe this one will remind you.
AD
