New York, I Love You

by Nicole Phillipson | 3:01 pm 11/07/2010

Directors: Multiple (2/5)

Emmanuel Benbihy, who produced Paris, Je T’aime, has again arranged an anthology of love stories with ten different directors. Each short was made in just over a week.

This film has a stellar cast, including Natalie Portman and Shia LaBoeuf, which provides some entertainment. It presents itself as an ode to the wonders of love, but the theme isn’t explored in much depth. Many of the shorts are less about love than bawdy humour. There’s an American Pie-esque sex plot with the object of a teenage boy’s lust a wheelchair-bound young woman; a man who can’t stop picturing his date naked; and a guy who gets really into dirty talking to a complete stranger.

There are some sweet ones: a father-daughter story, a caper/romance, and an insightful exploration of different religions. The best is a simple, sweet look at the love and adversity in an elderly couple’s relationship. The tastefulness of these few is not quite worth suffering through the sickening whole. You could call New York, I Love You a mixed bag, but with a worse selection than Paris, Je T’aime. If you want a good romantic anthology, check that out instead.

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