The latest installment of the Cities of Love series (Paris, je t’aime/New York, I Love You/Rio, Eu Te Amo), this collective feature-film is made of ten stories of romance set in the German capital.
Film anthologies that are centered around their multiple narratives don’t always work for me. The obvious successful film is “Pulp Fiction” and recently I had “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” on my top ten of 2018. Sometimes I find short stories and vignettes to be half baked concepts.
Well coming in hot like a Hallmark Christmas marathon another “Love Series” is a perfect example of a franchise NO ONE asked for.
I have seen “New York, I Love You” and I found it to be an excruciating viewing experience. I don’t know if these films are funded by a tourism board, an airline company, or some tyrant either determined to make us all incels or feel bad for not having love.
There are so many terrible stories that I could go on for pages and pages. One story caused me to severely roll my eyes. A British man living in the lovely city has an almost “Her”-like relationship with his smart BMW until he meets his quirky cute neighbor. The neighbor is being evicted for moving furniture at night and working on her cartoon voices too loud (who wouldn’t want her out?). After a couple of tears, they immediately fall in love and he says the gag-inducing line, “let me show you my Berlin.” There are some good cast members, Helen Mirren stands out but her brief presence does nothing to save this disaster. Not to mention the multiple directors behind the scenes seemed to all have a pact to make the city look and seem so dull.
Oh, I did I mention the gargantuan running time of almost TWO HOURS? Hey “Love Series,” I hate you!
Available on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD, and Digital April 9th
