chwalker-christopher
I rated this 9, for sporadically brilliant dialogue, some fine-tuned performances, and a bevy of attractive actors of both sexes, in their prime. Viewers who didn't like it because the plot line isn't linear? Y'all missed part of the point. Jan, walking into her apartment where a party is in progress: "What's that noise?" Eleanor: "My life."
bluestreak7
When I saw this movie, I thought it was surreal. Then I moved to New York and realized that it was just being honest. The movie takes place against the colorful (sometimes to a ridiculous extent) new york artist scene. I never read the book, so I don't really know (or care) if the movie was true to it or not, but I thought that all the characters were well developed and gave some hilarious performances. The plot flowed seamlessly and by the end you know that, despite the fact that little of what you saw made much sense, there is some strange order to the world and that it's all good. I find myself recommending this movie to all my friends as I would recommend it to anyone interested in New York, art, or the simultaneous crappiness and lovableness of humanity.
budikavlan
Often disjointed adaptation of the volume of intertwined short stories by Tama Janowitz is most interesting for its examination of the avant garde art scene in Manhattan. The story is less compelling; the personal evolution of hat designer Eleanor (Peters) is fine, but other story threads hold less interest. Peters gives an unusual performance (owing much to her scattered, unassuming personality) which doesn't really fit with the other characters, though that is a large part of the point of that plot: Eleanor is much more honest and unironic than the pretentious, pseudo-intellectual types who populate the milieu. The parties, openings, shows, and gatherings keep the screen interesting, though the occasional split-screen scenes are an unsuccessful experiment. Performances are generally good, including a funny two-scene cameo by author Janowitz as Eleanor's friend Abby. My reaction to this makes me think it might have made a good sitcom.
Boyo-2
Why did Eleanor put up with Stash? Why is Daria so annoying? Why didn't this movie get any play at all?It has a great cast, with (literally) hundreds of "New York" types, and every single SoHo type is represented, eventually. I like Bernadette Peters so I appreciate this movie cause its one of her only starring roles.For a touch of trivia, at the party Eleanor throws at the end, the woman who spends the party hiding in the bathroom is Tama Janowitz, who wrote the novel "Slaves of New York".
AD
