Little Manhattan

I started not to mention this movie, knowing that the rest of you had spent the weekend goin' all gangsta, probably seeing Alpha Dog or watching a DVD of Crank. But then I saw this. And this. I figured that if a streetwise punk like James Reasoner wasn't afraid to admit what he'd been watching (even if he claimed to have slept through parts of one and most of the other), then I might as well 'fess up.

The best one-word description of Little Manhattan is sweet. It's the story of first love, this time between a ten-year-old boy and an eleven-year-old girl. It was done by the folks behind The Wonder Years, so you know what to expect: Nice kids, voice-over narration, great soundtrack.

What you might not expect is that the movie is a love letter to Manhattan. It almost makes you wish you lived there. I suspect that the title is a bow to both Woody Allen and to the city.

The plot is slight, but the sights are fine. So are the two leads. Even the adults aren't bad, and it's hard to imagine anyone who won't identify with at least some of the situations in this movie. All I objected to was the projectile vomiting in one of the opening scenes. It's at odds with the tone of the rest of the film.

I have no idea why this movie wasn't a bigger hit at the box office. Maybe people want gangstas. And explosions. None of that here, for sure. You have your martial arts, though. Check it out when you're in the mood for something sweet.