Dating & New York

Thoroughly entertaining but obnoxiously derivative, this fairy tale romance is more of a statement that modern dating looks nothing like the romcoms of the past. And it's not wrong: For many people, dating has changed quite a lot since the time of When Harry Met Sally. Fewer people expect women to wait for guys to make the first move -- or even to wait for a moment of Serendipity to meet. Jonah Feingold makes a strong writing and directing debut with snappy dialogue, a creative trajectory, and a fresh concept; he didn't really need to pull material from other films to make his point, and the fact that he does detracts from Dating & New York's success. It feels less like he's paying homage to Nora Ephron, Lady and the Tramp, and L.A. Story and more like he's ripping them off.

The movie is laugh-out-loud funny in spots, although it's so proud of its own cleverness that it's also smug, as if it's waiting, hands on hips, for viewers to appreciate its brilliance. Milo's doorman (Jerry Ferrara) is the narrator; he gives advice to Wendy and Milo, saying things like "trust me, I know," but then never showing us why he knows or why he's the one voicing Wendy and Milo's love story. While the film succeeds in overturning traditional gender roles, it doesn't give the characters anything to talk about outside of pursuing love and lust, and it's pretty disappointing to see these old-school limitations in play when so much effort has been put into making a production designed to show how times have changed.