It’s the city that takes a bare-all, suck it up, brutally honest approach to living. The streets are packed with people, and the skies are diminished by towering scrapers that, in their own way, act as a warm, inviting welcome to the rich, poor, happy, lonely people who seek its treasure cove of pulsating human vivacity.

Knock-off Prada bags, starving musicians on the subway, reading in Central Park. Oh how well Manhattan treats those who stop to smell the hot dog vendors. And New York, how much we love you back.

Following last year’s Paris, je t’aime, the critically acclaimed film by producer Emmanuel Benbihy that enthralled audiences with stories about people living in and about the City of Lights, New York, I Love You reminds us why the Big Apple is America’s town.

The film follows a pickpocket (Hayden Christensen) who allows the bustling streets to lead him to a captivating, mysterious girl (Rachel Bilson) dating a married man (Andy Garcia); a sexy, loudmouth businessman (Bradley Cooper) and a city girl (Drea de Matteo) who take a taxi and subway to meet in the Village after what they thought was a one-night stand; a sophisticated guest (Julie Christie) of an Upper East Side hotel who has an otherworldly interaction with the handicapped bellhop (Shia LaBeouf); and in Brooklyn, an octogenarian couple (Cloris Leachman, Eli Wallach) who enjoy an afternoon at Coney Island.

Those are only a few of the stories and characters that are compiled to immortalize the diverse city that originated love/love lost/love found. Particularly Brett Ratner’s segment about a young virgin (Anton Yelchin) who has a surprising encounter with his prom date (Olivia Thirlby) is a cinematic triumph.

Employing the directorial expertise of international heavy hitters like Ratner, Natalie Portman, Jian Wen and Randy Balsmeyer, New York, I Love You is eclecticism at its finest. The stories are separate but like the diverse city, also interrelated.

The film is 110 minutes of pure splendor, so much so that it will leave you completely intoxicated by its dynamic stories and masterful filmmaking. If interest doesn’t bring you to the theater, maybe the all-star cast (Mr. Bradley Cooper much?) will convince you to appease your curiosity and fall in love with New York all over again.

Grade: A



New York, I Love You releases in select theaters Oct. 16.