Review of 2 Days in New York (2012) by Gaspar O — 19 Feb 2013

Cross culture comedy about French people experiencing New York. Chris Rock plays the love interest to Julie Delpy whose family come to visit. Middle brow comedy and philosophical musing ensues.

Julie Delpy does well to direct a quirky comedy with Chris Rock in the lead. The racial stereo typing, which could have so easily been the focus, are kept to a minimum. What remains in focus is the belief that the movie stands for something boldly satirical with regards to art and modern perceptions of family, this in itself is commendable and makes the movie a curio for the art house crowd.

The main weakness is that the premise is nothing new and the middle class bubble in which the couple are so neatly wrapped up in (she's an artist and he's a radio DJ) precludes the characters from ever gaining any sympathy from the audience. Thus the soul searching and Gaelic bite that the Delpy character regularly exhibits really don't hit home.

Chris Rock does very well in a smart leading man role, and in many ways keeps the movie chugging along (there is a potential hilarious comedy about Chris Rock's character that went unexplored). The French cast are genuinely believable and do not over play the fish out of water card.

The script has it's moments and keeps a well rounded level of interest. Hopefully the upshot of this movie is that Chris Rock will get more straight roles in the future and have a better chance to flex his comedic muscles in more relevant comedies beyond the likes of Grown Ups 2.