A Rainy Day In New York Review

Woody Allen’s romantic comedy/farce follows the upper middle class native New Yorker Gatsby (Timothée Chalamet) and his girlfriend Ashleigh (Elle Fanning) on a trip to New York, where Ashleigh, a journalist on the student newspaper at the upstate college they both attend, has the opportunity to interview Roland Pollard (Liev Schreiber), a renowned film director.

For Gatsby, this is the chance for a romantic interlude where he can show Ashleigh, originally from Tucson, Arizona, the city he loves. But with his careful plans sidelined, he’s left up to his own devices, running into some old acquaintances including Chan (Selena Gomez), the younger sister of an old girlfriend. Meanwhile, Ashleigh is invited on a series of whirlwind encounters where she meets screenwriter Ted Davidoff (Jude Law) and movie star Francisco Vega (Diego Luna). The couple might have arrived in New York together but their adventures take place apart.

A Rainy Day in New York is occasionally charming, with dry, witty dialogue. Having said that, there’s a rather shallow, overly-nostalgic sentimentality about it too. Compared to Allen’s previous love letters to NYC like Manhattan or Stardust Memories, A Rainy Day in New York really doesn’t measure up; although, with perhaps the exception of Crimes and Misdemeanours, Allen hasn’t made anything as good as those two films since. But, to quote Joseph Heller when someone told him that he hadn’t written anything as good as Catch 22 since, who has?

★★★

Signature Entertainment presents A Rainy Day in New York on Home Premiere 5 June 2020