Ed Burns and Heather Graham in "Sidewalks of New York."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, we give this film an: Stars: Edward Burns, Stanley Tucci and Heather Graham Director: Edward Burns Rated: R, with profanity, sexuality and adult themes Length: 107 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Marshall Fine
Gannett News Service

(November 30, 2001) -- Having struggled since his 1994 breakthrough with The Brothers McMullen, filmmaker Edward Burns finds a refreshingly off-handed approach and a new feel for Sidewalks of New York, his fourth film as writer-director-actor.

At one point in the film, which was originally scheduled to open the week of the World Trade Center attack, a character says, "We live in a cushy society, with no real threats and no real problems." How quickly times change; still, this film is a confection about love whose truths have not been altered.

Burns has assembled a top-notch cast that makes his flip, funny writing sound improvised and spontaneous. In this story of interlocked love triangles, Burns plays Tommy, a TV producer whose girlfriend has just kicked him out because he wants kids and she doesn't. He meets Maria (Rosario Dawson), a divorced schoolteacher, and begins to date her.

Maria's ex, Ben (David Krumholtz), is a hotel doorman and would-be rock star who has spotted Ashley (Brittany Murphy) working in his favorite coffee shop. Ashley has been dating a married dentist, Griffin (Stanley Tucci) and is fed up with his insistence on covert lunchtime meetings in hotels. She responds to Ben's sweetly romantic approach.

Griffin's wife, Annie (Heather Graham), a real estate agent, suspects that Griffin is cheating on her, but can't quite bring herself to accuse him. Still, she responds to flirting from Tommy, to whom she is showing apartments. Tommy, for his part, feels he's hitting it off with Maria, only to have her give him the brush-off.

Burns is a filmmaker who loves the playful snap of good dialogue, often at the expense of plot. Yet Sidewalks is so amiable -- and the acting is so good -- that you don't mind if the philosophy expressed is along the lines of "men are like a disease and, unfortunately, most of us have been infected. And there is no cure."

Tucci in particular is funny as the insecure dentist desperately trying to be suave and worldly.

"I have a very European outlook on marriage," he tells the camera, as though this excuses his sneaky behavior. He makes an intriguing match with the statuesque Graham, who brings an increasingly furious intelligence to the role. Krumholtz imbues Ben with a comic hangdog quality, while Dennis Farina nearly steals the show in a small role as Tommy's boss, a swinging bachelor circa 1975.

Sidewalks of New York has a light touch and a strong emotional core, crucial elements to a romantic comedy. They make it enjoyable, escapist entertainment.