Crossing Delancey

• TOP NOTCH (my top choices)
• HONORABLE MENTION (well worth watching)
• YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER (I like them but you might not)
• CLASSICS (Great movies up through the 1960s - many don't have any rating)

 CROSSING DELANCEY (1988) - PG - HONORABLE MENTION 
 Amy Irving, Peter Riegert, Reizl Bozyk    

Summary -  A Manhattan single woman thinks she has everything she wants until she meets a man through her Jewish grandmother's matchmaker. Perhaps it's time she tries on a new hat.

Cautions - Some adult thematic elements and a little swearing. There is a sequence in a locker room where two women get changed to workout where they are shown in their underwear but the real objectionable bit is some lewd commentary in the steamroom not long after. I recommend skipping that. You won't miss anything.

Commentary - Izzy is wooed by the modern Manhattan lifestyle and the promise of association with the stars of the literary world. One poet in particular catches her eye. But when she is unwillingly set up with a humble pickle man, a good man, she may discover that she hasn't been true to herself.

There is a great sequence when Sam (the pickle man) gives Izzy a hat which she really likes even though she seems surprised that she does. She loves how she looks in it but it is not well received by her uptown world. Do her friends even really know her at all. How much does Izzy really know herself.

This is a charming and simple romantic story with a gentle pace and sweet quirky music.. The film feels a lot like a stage play and I guess it should since it was based on one. The downside is how much more I want from our lead characters. It seems like they have so much more to say but aren't allowed to do it. I'd love for the film to go on for another 10 minutes just to hear Izzy and Sam talk to each other a little more.

The characters are brought to life by an exceptional cast. Reizl Borzyk steals the show as the grandmother and I'm convinced that Peter Riegert is the only one who could play the Pickle man. He gives a lot more than the lines of dialogue allow. I think you'll enjoy this one.

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