Review of Metropolitan (1990) by Reece L — 16 Aug 2015

Admittedly, Metropolitan is filled with relatively loathsome characters, but their overly-beleagered affectations eventually become endearing after the audience is made painfully aware of the fact that they exist as aimless slaves to tradition, sitting around having pretentious conversations about nonsense out of a vague sense of societal duty.

What makes it more substantive than its spiritual-sibling Kicking and Screaming is this underlying sense of fragility; this way of life isn't sustainable and the characters know it. While it mostly operates as a slightly satirical look at an insulated bit of a culture so elitist as to be almost-foreign, Metropolitan also offers commentary on the empty nature of class distinction and unearned societal clout with a consistent stream of witty jokes that both ridicule and celebrate this bizarre part of wealthy American life and make it a successful piece of filmmaking.