Although Martin Scorsese set out to make a homage to the great musical traditions of American cinema, the end result is an overlong uneven, and ultimately unrewarding viewing experience. Robert DeNiro plays a short fused, jealous, ill mannered saxophone player who hooks up with singer Liza Minnelli and enters into a destructive relationship that threatens their happiness and creativity. New York, New York' remains the least successful of the DeNiro-Scorsese collaborations, and its main problem is that it is lacking in direction. This is somewhat ironic considering one of America's finest filmmakers was at the helm. The acerbic coupling of DeNiro and Minnelli is often unpleasant to watch, and one often wonders what such a mismatched couple ever saw in each other to begin with. He is constantly jealous of her talents and her impending success, yet she tolerates his capricious controlling behaviour and forgives all his whims because she perceives him to be a struggling and tortured genius. While DeNiro is never unconvincing or uncommitted in his performance, he is simply too petty to be compelling. Minnelli scores big when she gets a chance to display her singing talents and she remains the more sympathetic character of the two, but even at that she doesn't give us much to relate too. Despite all its problems it is still a watchable film, but with the talent involved one would have hoped for a whole lot more.
Review of New York, New York
New York, New York
(1977)
The Movie That Sometimes Sleeps about The City That Never Sleeps
8 March 2003