Kissing Jessica Stein and New York

I don't know if those who watched Kissing Jessica Stein agree with me, but when I watched Kissing Jessica Stein, I found that the movie is Woody Allen-ish. Though Kissing Jessica Stein focuses on love and romance, questions that the movie asks are important questions about life in general. The movie is also a romantic comedy. Many elements of the movie are quite serious, but it is a funny movie and most scenes are funny while they are able to deliver important and serious messages. And the movie is, of course, filmed in New York, and the movie shows many great things about New York. Cool restaurants, streets, buildings, architecture, intellectual conversations, art, great food, great diversity of people, music, and other gazillion wonderful things about the city. I find it Woody Allen-ish though I don't mean to say that Kissing Jessica Stein is unoriginal or it lacks its own unique style. Among many Woody Allen-ish elements of the movie is one thing in particular that I find the movie really captures New York. I already listed many great things about the city, but there aren't a whole lot of movies that really capture New York. There are things that those who actually live there notice and can capture (Ok, some tourists may notice, but most people in Hollywood apparently cannot; maybe there is really something bad in water in Hollywood). Skyscrapers certainly have attractive looks, there are number of fancy schmancy restaurants and big museums (like Metropolitan Museums of Art), but what's great about the city are small things; they are about things on streets. They are about ordinary people in New York. Conversations that you hear have life, energy, entertainment and philosophy (Am I exaggerating?). To make a long story, most major Hollywood movies fail to capture what's so great about New York (and other real cities (so of course, Los Angeles does not count because Los Angeles is not a city)). Kissing Jessica Stein is one movie that really captures New York.

(And the movie reminds me that I need to go back there ...)