2 Days in New York Synopsis: Manhattan couple Marion and Mingus, who each have children from prior relationships, find their comfortable family dynamic jostled by a visit from Marion’s relatives.
2 Days in New York is Julie Delpy’s follow-up to 2 Days in Paris (which, admittedly, I have not yet seen) and finds her character Marion having split from Jake (Adam Goldberg) and living with her new boyfriend Mingus (Chris Rock) in New York.
They’re raising her son Lulu, as well as Mingus’s daughter Willow from his first marriage. Things seem pretty cozy in their tiny New York apartment, but all of that changes over the course of two days when Marion’s family from France arrives to attend the opening of her art show.
Her father Jeannot (Albert Delpy, Julie’s real-life father), her sister Rose (Alexia Landeau), and Rose’s boyfriend Manu (Alexandre Nahon) instantly make a less than favorable impression when Jeannot and Manu are held up at customs for four hours due to their attempts to smuggle sausages into the country. Things become chaotic almost instantly. Rose and Marion constantly clash, Manu makes some pretty creepy, suggestive remarks toward Mingus’s sister, and Mingus and Jeannot have difficulty overcoming language barriers to have meaningful conversations.
Albert Delpy is really a delight in 2 Days in New York. He seems to be having such fun in this movie, and I found the broken conversations between him and Mingus to be one of the only highlights. Delpy is a fantastic actress, and she and Rock had an effortless, understated chemistry that made me want to see things work out for them amid all the frustration and familial annoyances. Chris Rock gives a very good, natural performance as Mingus, and it was quite lovely to see him in such a restrained role.
I have to say that I related to Mingus the most out of the entire ensemble because the longer 2 Days in New York went on and the more obnoxious Marion’s family became, the more annoyed I felt to the point where I considered turning it off. I’ll never know how Mingus managed to hold his shit together because I was ready to scream about ten minutes into the French family’s arrival. Yes, there are a few funny moments, but ultimately, it’s four people arguing in French and being horrible to each other and others while Mingus looks on, either confused or horrified. Maybe Mingus is supposed to be the audience?
What really stinks is that 2 Days in New York starts strong with a charming synopsis of how Marion and Mingus got together. But as soon as Marion’s family shows up, it simply loses its way and becomes nearly unbearable. The movie has a very manic, claustrophobic feel. It’s full of painfully unfunny scenes that left me cringing. Had any of the characters been worth caring for, that might have been okay, but very few are likable.
There is a bizarre scene where Vincent Galloâwho plays himself in an uncredited roleâbuys Marion’s soul at her art show, sending Marion into a tailspin. However, considering the movie’s initial tone, it feels entirely out of place. All I can say is that the entire thing just felt unfocused and uneven. Admittedly, the last ten minutes are pretty cute, a nice bookend to the beginning, but I was more than a little relieved when it finally ended.
Watched: 04/10/2019
Notable Song: Lost Again by Julie Delpy
