However, despite my liking of Fran Lebowitz, this documentary series does seem a bit awkward and out of date from the perspective of young audiences. Best I’ve seen of 2021 so far. Search the world's information, including webpages, images, videos and more. This is contrasted to the changing social world where New York City becomes a strong, but sometimes loose, way of communicating how she interacts with the world. “Pretend It’s a City” passes quickly, but that’s more condemnation than praise. Interestingly, this … A few weeks ago SNL had a parody skit that made no sense to me. -- to her rejection of "guilty pleasures" as a concept. Told in a way only someone who has lived their entire life there can. Whether pointing out the irony of art auctions (“people applauded the price”  but not the painting) or mocking her horrific luck with real estate, Fran Lebowitz’s delivery is masterful. About Tomatometer. And now he’s back with a new Netflix series, Pretend It’s a City, which is more of the same. Google has many special features to help you find exactly what you're looking for. After hearing that the train line had been shut down for hours due to “a bad smell,” Lebowitz asks how much worse could it smell than usual. Ten years ago, Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz collaborated on “Public Speaking,” a documentary film where the author espoused her philosophies. With Fran Lebowitz, Martin Scorsese, Michael Alexis Palmer, Alec Baldwin. The other night I got all caught up in the inauguration. Netflix. A series gets an Average Tomatometer when at least 50 percent of its seasons have a score. Pretend It’s a City is a tribute to two things Scorsese loves, Fran Lebowitz and New York City, and that affection is contagious for much, if not quite all, of its running time. Scorsese obviously has enough clout that Netflix will give the green light to just about whatever he wants to do, and this exercise -- which functions as both a showcase for Lebowitz and a valentine to the New York that was after its hellish run-in with Covid-19 -- screams "vanity project" more loudly than most. When asked about their friendship during an on-stage interview seen in an archive clip in their new Netflix docu-series Pretend It's A City, Marty suggests it might have been at John Waters' 50th birthday… Seems she loves Muhammad Ali and was at Ali-Frazier I, a fight Lee reveres. Pretend It’s a City debuts on Netflix January 8. In the latter category, her discussion of the #MeToo movement exhibits less sympathy for actors, given what everyone knows about Hollywood. Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. Pretend it's a City -- My review Fran Liebowitz is an acquired taste. “You are the only person who argues with me more than my family,” Lebowitz tells Lee. I thought I was going to pass out from giggling myself. Occasionally, the film cuts to a still picture or a bit of historical footage of people like former NYC Mayor Abraham Beame, whose time in office coincided with the infamous NY Daily News headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead.” It’s during this time that Lebowitz plied her trade, writing pieces for Interview Magazine including a review of her co-star’s second feature film, 1972’s “Boxcar Bertha.” “I loved to write,” she tells Scorsese, “until the first time I had to write an assignment for money.”. So, if the first episode hooks you, this is worth binge-watching. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. The Netflix series “Pretend It’s A City” reunites the New York duo for more of the same. Essentially, he follows Fran around with a camera and asks her a series of leading questions. Pretend It's a City : A Brilliant Showcase for New York and Fran Lebowitz Benjamin-Piche 21 January 2021 Two weeks ago, I had no idea who Fran Lebowitz was. Scorsese is a very amusing co-conspirator, oftentimes letting his visuals serve as humorous accompaniment. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/entertainment/pretend-its-a-city-review Scorsese has directed a couple of concert films, The Last Waltz (The Band) and Shine a Light (The Rolling Stones) and I think it’s instructive to view his work with Lebowitz in that context. ", Fran Lebowitz in the Netflix docuseries 'Pretend It's a City' ( COURTESY OF NETFLIX), Mostly, this latest iteration of "The world according to Fran" serves as an ode to New York City, drawing from a private chat with Lebowitz and a series of public ones, included one moderated by Scorsese himself. Offscreen, Scorsese asks questions while warning her to watch out for the bridges spanning the East River. It’s able to dwelve into her personal life alongside understanding the generational difference of her experiences. It’s the most social documentary, so to speak, in recent memory. A separate dissertation involves the elusive nature of true talent, and her belief -- articulated during a stage appearance with Spike Lee -- that musicians inspire more passion from their fans than any other arena. PRETEND IT’S A CITY. Far from essential but occasionally fascinating, this seven-episode series is an extended conversation that only sometimes demands your full attention. The punchline there is almost as amusing as her brutal takedown of the most evil of all MTA subway lines, the L train. Martin Scorsese’s collaboration with Fran Lebowitz on their new Netflix special Pretend It’s a City offers a unique look at the world through the eyes of a now-ancient relic; it’s a special filled with opinions to pass on before NYC goes extinct. Updated 1459 GMT (2259 HKT) January 8, 2021, (CNN)It's possible to think that writer/humorist Fran Lebowitz is an insightful, fascinating character and still conclude that devoting a seven-part docuseries to her wit and wisdom is a bit much. There’s the tale of music legend, Charles Mingus stopping mid-performance to chase Lebowitz down 7th Avenue over a perceived infraction. Pretend it’s a City, a seven-part documentary about Fran Lebowitz and her beloved New York, dropped on January 8th of this year. "Pretend It's a City" certainly yields its share of amusing thoughts and wry observations, many of which are worth recording for posterity. Pretend It’s A City is a very niche project, shaped by Lebowitz’s nostalgia toward New York City “back then” and her acidic analysis of contemporary life, and it’s difficult to tell to whom this would appeal outside of Lebowitz and Scorsese fans. She’s not going to ditch Joe Camel because her main goals in life are “smoking and plotting revenge.”. Health and the wellness racket take a beating in episode five where Lebowitz, a lifelong smoker, points out that everything that is good for you feels or tastes terrible. Pretend It’s a City: Review and Key Details About Witty Docu-Series? Those opinions are always quotable, and Lebowitz's commentary ranges from the broadly amusing to the provocative. January 10, 2021 by Alex Murphy. The title comes from the advice Lebowitz says she’d give people coming to New York City, a place she moved to from Morristown, New Jersey in 1969. She volunteers to take the night shift, noting that her anger regarding the way the world operates stems from the fact that "I have no power, but I'm filled with opinions.". Scorsese mixes these one-on-ones with clips from audience Q&A’s, prior Lebowitz interviews with people like David Letterman and scenes of the humorist walking down the street. Pretending it’s not COVID-19 with Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese. Filmmaker Martin Scorsese and fellow New York icon, writer, wit, and public speaker Fran Lebowitz can't recall when they first met. In the meantime, “Pretend It’s a City” offers a tantalizing snapshot of New York in full bloom, along with Lebowitz’s lively and unapologetic commentary on what it means to live there. It’s a very devalued job now.” Throughout the series, Lebowitz’s witty observations and complaints of her life in NYC provide the audience a new perspective to view the city. Wearing protective shoe coverings, Lebowitz towers over this massive representation of NYC like Gulliver in Lilliput. ), "New York is never boring," Lebowitz observes, and neither is she. It bothers me and makes me feel old when I don't get contemporary cultural references. One of the gentle touches of “Pretend It’s a City” is that there are usually other people in the room where Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese are chatting. MEGAN CHORITZ reviews. Nevertheless, there's a kind of arbitrary repetition to her freely associated thoughts, complaints and grievances, parrying with audience members, recalling her early days in Manhattan and discussing things like the fact that she hates money but needs it because "I love things. Wander the New York City streets and fascinating mind of wry writer, humorist and raconteur Fran Lebowitz as she sits down with Martin Scorsese. While he does, the film shows Lee at that memorable Knicks game where he heckled an unstoppable Reggie Miller from courtside. “Pretend it’s a city—where there are other people,” she pleads. Pretend It’s a City is a tribute to two things Scorsese loves, Fran Lebowitz and New York City, and that affection is contagious for much, if not quite all, of its running time. And there’s a great shot of the two stars of this film simultaneously looking through the round windows of two old-fashioned doors, cautious expressions on their faces. The topics are plentiful. Scorsese is the recipient of many of his leading lady’s stories and monologues. That last event facilitated the move to Manhattan, where Lebowitz lived in a crappy apartment in a more expensive neighborhood than the people she hung out with back then. Pretend It’s A City works because Scorsese and Lebowitz aren’t trying to do anything more than capture Lebowitz’s sharp wit as she makes her seemingly off … But this is hardly a high-concept show. It is the genre of Documentary and biography TV series. In a subsequent episode, she rejects the notion of ceasing to read writers who are (or were) horrible people, adopting the position that it's possible to separate the artist from their work. Spending about 3.5 hours with "Pretend It's a City," which was filmed before the pandemic, amounts to a therapeutic exercise for audience members who love New York and all that it represents. ", Sauntering through town, and occasionally shot standing next to an enormous model of New York just to vary the scenery, Lebowitz fantasizes about splitting the job of mayor with somebody. Pretend It's a City is a tribute to two things Scorsese loves, Fran Lebowitz and New York City, and that affection is contagious for much, if not quite all, of its running time. “I knew what talent was because I saw the lack of it in myself,” she says about her childhood days of playing cello poorly. Shadow and Bone First Reviews: ... View All Pretend It's a City News . Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese. On one hand, Pretend It’s a City is an engaging portrait of Fran Lebowitz, but on the other, it’s an essential time capsule of pre-COVID city life. Pretend It’s A City, directed by Martin Scorsese, is a series of conversations between Fran Lebowitz, a famous American author, public speaker, occasional actor, and her friend Scorsese about New York, cultural affairs, metropolitan transit, board of … “Pretend It’s A City” is full of memorable stories and snapshots of a New York City long past. One of the gentle touches of “Pretend It’s a City” is that there are usually other people in the room where Fran Lebowitz and Martin Scorsese are chatting. Nothing that Lebowitz says in it does more than provoke, and that’s a reflex that fades with overuse. She is a focused, intense, lightning sharp wit. If it were anyone else, the word one might use would be “ramble” but Lebowitz does not ramble. Scorsese sets the jumping off points and Lebowitz leaps with often hilarious, reckless abandon. No matter how many pet peeves she has—and there are many—I never tired of hearing them. At times, Scorsese laughs so hard at Lebowitz’s commentary that I feared he would literally collapse. (The two are friends and he's her most appreciative audience, issuing an Ed McMahon laugh to almost everything she says. But it would take a great pretender to act like it's worthy of the time devoted to them. PRETEND IT’S A CITY isn’t so much a documentary as it is a collection of ruminations, conversations, and witticisms about life in New York. Pretend It’s a City Updates: is one of the interesting upcoming American TV series. Pretend It's a City caught my attention because I learned that it was produced and directed by native New-Yorker Martin Scorsese, who also stars in the Netflix limited series. Each installment runs around 30 minutes, offering up just enough to leave you looking forward to the next. Martin Scorsese is the director of this series. When she arrived on the scene in the late ‘70s /early 80’s with her acerbic magazine articles and wildly successful book of comic essays, METROPOLITAN LIFE, she was somewhat of a sensation. “Everyone had the idea that New York was cheap,” she says in episode three, correcting that mistake. Season 1 Review: Pretend It's a City is a tribute to two things Scorsese loves, Fran Lebowitz and New York City, and that affection is contagious for much, if not quite all, of its running time. Toni Morrison, to whom the series is dedicated, appears in interview footage as does Spike Lee, who grills Lebowitz on her dislike of sports. I’m sure there was a commercial reason for the release date, but I like to think it was chosen because it’s almost quite literally the darkest day of the year. Getting Away With It: Mads Mikkelsen and Anders Thomas Jensen on Riders of Justice, Sun-Kissed Tension: On the Staying Power of Deray’s La Piscine, Ambitious Jupiter’s Legacy Examines Changing Definition of Heroism. Huh? Across its seven episodes, the director converses with the author about all manner of things that irritate and inspire her. I haven’t laughed so heartily and consistently since 2019. This is a very funny production, though I suspect it will play best amongst the denizens of the city Lebowitz loves. Scorsese grew up in Manhattan, of course, and for much of the film, the two hold court in a few standard locations. When Lebowitz recounts her time as a taxi driver in a profession full of men with cigars who hated her inclusion, the screen cuts to footage of the cab ride in “After Hours.” After a story about Leonardo DiCaprio giving Lebowitz a vape pen as a cigarette substitute, Scorsese cuts to an onscreen disclaimer he reads about Leo not endorsing vaping. One of Fran Lebowitz's finest stories in Netflix's Pretend It's a City — like Cole Porter songs, Agatha Christie mysteries and Barry Bonds home runs, it's a long list — involves a breakfast she shared with jazz legends Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. Lee presses her on this, becoming animated as he goes on about Jordan and Lebron and Kobe. Yet despite all this, she’s still a sports agnostic. Their spirited interplay is a highlight of the series. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here. Netflix let Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" run 3 ½ hours and allows similar excess with "Pretend It's a City," the director's decade-later follow-up to his previous documentary about her, "Public Speaking. I had a few lumps in my throat all over the place, but Lady Gaga’s “Star Spangled Banner” and Amanda Gorman’s poem had me weeping and wailing. The end credits also provide a closing zinger surrounded by an appropriately chosen piece of music. In Martin Scorsese’s documentary miniseries Pretend It’s A City, the famed director basically puts a mike on Fran Lebowitz and lets her talk. She's equally dismissive of the concept of "guilty pleasures," suggesting pleasures shouldn't evoke guilt as long as no one gets hurt by them. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pretend-its-a-city-movie-review-2021 “I could get better, but I’d never be good.” We also hear about being voted “class wit” before ultimately getting kicked out of high school. Pretend it’s a City Documentary Review. Another is inside the Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York, the gigantic geographical model commissioned by Robert Moses for the 1964 World’s Fair. In it they have an actor playing Fran Lebowitz talking and an actor playing Martin Scorsese laughing like a hyena. Pleasures, she suggests, shouldn't be guilty as long as no one gets hurt by them. Your mileage may vary, but one thing that I think will grab everyone’s attention is the pre-pandemic world of “Pretend It’s A City.” People are out and about, and that normalcy struck a very poignant chord. The primary one is the Players, a Gramercy Park social club founded in the 19th century by actor (and brother of John Wilkes Booth) Edwin Booth.

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