A Rainy Day In New York

Proof that 2020 has been a non-typical year is the fact that the chance to review "A Rainy Day in New York" by Woody Allen showed up and I jumped at the chance. I've never been a big fan of Allen but thought what the hell, I'll roll the dice. "A Rainy Day in New York" plays much like Allen's other movies, but its throwback feels played so well you can overlook the fact you've basically seen the movie before.

"A Rainy Day in New York" tells the tale of Gatsby Welles (Timothée Chalamet), a wealthy young college student living in the wrong era as his tastes trend more toward the vintage of everything in life. He accompanies his girlfriend, Ashleigh Enright (Elle Fanning), who's bound for New York to interview director Roland Pollard (Liev Schreiber) for the school paper. Welles plans a romantic weekend for the two while they're in the Big Apple, but it's clear from the beginning things might not turn out so as planned.

The trip turns out the be more of an adventure than the two thought as Ashleigh is invited to a private screening of Pollard's latest movie. Then a series of events leads to her catching the eye of a creative slumped Pollard, his longtime screenwriter Ted Davidoff (Jude Law) and film star Francisco Vega (Diego Luna).

Meanwhile, while Gatsby is roaming the New York City streets, he runs into an ex-girlfriend's younger sister. With Ashleigh's whereabouts unknown, Gatsby and Chan (Selena Gomez) decide to spend time together by visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While the actress changes into another outfit, Gatsby sits at her piano and sings, "Everything Happens to Me," which is one of the movie's stronger moments.

The chemistry between the two is lost on Gatsby, who can focus only on two things – avoiding his parent's gala event and where is Ashleigh. Things go from bad to worse when he runs into relatives in the museum and is now forced to attend his parent's gala and introduce them to a girlfriend he can't find. His solution to the problem brings about one of the highlights of the movie.

Ashleigh's journey brings her full circle back to Gatsby. The next day during a carriage ride before heading back to school, Gatsby finally accepts what the rest of us already know when Ashleigh mistakes a Cole Porter lyric for Shakespeare – two are not meant for each other. He decides to stay in the city where he thrives and lets his romantic nostalgia fulfill itself.

"A Rainy Day in New York" is a lot of more the same from Allen, but the charismatic lead performance from Chalamet saves this movie. The movie is a bizarre film as dated references are used throughout, Chalamet and Law crafted dueling Allen impressions and Fanning plays her role like a young Diane Keaton. It's a weird collection of things happening, but it has enough charm to pull it through.

While I loved Chalamet, especially, the supporting cast is excellent, but one actress turns in a scene-stealing, if not film stealing, a couple of minutes late in the film. Cherry Jones, who plays Gatsby's mother, is nothing short of phenomenal in her short time on screen. It's easily the best scene in the film.

"A Rainy Day in New York" is typical Woody Allen. You know what you're going to get, but Chalamet and Fanning's wonderful performances and an acting masterclass from Jones saves the film from being just another run-of-the-mill Woody Allen film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJxZXImE-3Q