Movie- Crossing Delancy

Rated #1 Jewish Comedy

Profile
Came out in 1988
Running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes
Available on VHS
Directed by Joan Micklin Silver
Written by Susan Sandler (based on her play of the same name)
Main Stars: Amy Irving, Peter Riegert

What's it all about:

Isabelle is a single, Jewish woman with roots on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She lives uptown and has found success running an upscale bookstore on the Upper East Side. Despite her professional success, she is unlucky in love. Her bubbie (Yiddish for grandmother) decides to take measures to fix her granddaughter's love life and hires a matchmaker. The film depicts Isabelle's romantic tryst between a writer named Anton, who is a regular at her bookstore talks, and a pickle-store owner named Sam, who has been picked by the matchmaker for Isabelle.

Why I Recommend It:

1 - It's a story set against the backdrop of the modern Lower East Side. The film exposes viewers to a modern look at this historic neighborhood.

2 - The relationship between the bubbie (with her old world views) and the granddaughter (with her new world ideals). Not only is it realistic, but well acted.

3 - Matchmaking! Okay, so matchmaking may seem to some as "too old fashioned" but as the film shows, it still can work.

4 - The film also exposes various modern day concerns and views of a modern, Jewish, single woman through Isabelle and her female friends.

Distinguishing Jewish Appeal:
1 - The film gives the viewer a look at what the famous Lower East Side looked like in the 1980s. Viewers who do venture to "cross Delancey street" will still find many of the famous locales featured in the film. However, Guss' pickles, which was Sam's pickle store in the movie has just moved off of Essex Street to Ludlow Street. The Lower East Side continues to evolve and thanks to the regeneration of Alphabet City, new, trendy establishments are moving into the neighborhood and making it a "hot spot" in Manhattan.

2 - The traditional shatchan or matchmaker. In the old days, matchmakers were a staple of how people met. Nowadays, the matchmaker tradition has somewhat lost it's appeal. Isabelle's reservations in the movie reflect the modern attitude towards this old traditional way of meeting the opposite sex. But, as the movie shows, you never know just how you'll find that special someone.

3 - Depiction of a modern, Jewish individual who works and lives in the secular world and how tradition still plays a part in her modern lifestyle.

Of Note:
David Hyde Pierce from Frasier has a small role as a bookstore worker.

Added: January 1st 2003
Reviewer: Sandy Chertok
Score:
Related Link: Buy it at Amazon
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Language: english