Julie Delpy– star, director, and co-writer of 2 Days in New York– has managed to put together what is one of the funniest, yet underwhelming pieces of film I have seen in a while. The movie, a sequel to 2 Days in Paris, is not what I would consider Academy Award material, but its unparalleled realness and freshness make it a must-see.
Chris Rock and Julie Delpy play an interracial couple (Mingus and Marion, respectivelyt) both with children from their previous marriages. This relationship in itself is what makes the movie incredibly fresh. Their interactions stick true to those of many relationships– relationships which, of course, we rarely see on the big screen. Throughout the movie, the pair is shown engaging in realistic arguments, embraces, and quests for mid-afternoon quickies.
With Marion’s family in town, tempers soar as her father spends countless days without showering, as her sister walks around the apartment with not a single article of clothing on her body, and as her sister’s less-than-intelligent boyfriend sparks up joints of marijuana in their apartment building’s elevator. This all begins to expose faults in the relationship of the two main characters. This, paired with the satirical representations Marion’s father getting detained in Customs for trying to smuggle large amounts of sausage into the stared, and with the represenation of Marion’s sister and sister’s boyfriend having loud sex in their bathroom (with what may have been Mingus’s electric toothbrush?) puts audiences in a state of confused awe.
Delpy uses her film to delve into issues of race, culture, stereotypes, and misconceptions in order to bring satire and to heighten comedic value. The French old man– Marion’s dad– barely bathes. Her entire family, for that matter, is loud, and “rude”. Her sister has no sense of shame; she walks around naked or half naked and is not embarassed at all. Marion’s child calls Mingus “fake daddy,” and references to their different skin tone is made. Overall, Delpy “goes there”. She does this in such an exaggerated way that is obviously– or I would hope is obvious– just satirizing stereotypes and misconceptions.
“I like the theme more than the execution,” a critic tells Marion during her photography show’s opening. All in all, that is eactly how I feel about this movie. It has a good idea. It has hilarious moments– the scene described in the title of this post being my favorite. Marion argues with an automated phone machine while trying to spell her name. Priceless. Alas, I think everyone should see this movie BUT I don’t think anyone should see it more than once.
