But Delpy proved to be much more than the sum of her influences, as the film cut straight to the heart of its central relationship – that of Delpy’s nervous thirtysomething Marion and her nebbish American beau Jack, played by Adam Goldberg – while delivering both a searing portrait of its Parisian surroundings, and a consistently well-observed meet-the-parents farce. Jack is long gone, and Marion now lives with Mingus (Chris Rock), a radio DJ, with his daughter, and her son. Their life together is one of comfort, routine and, whisper it, maturity – and it is ripe for disruption of a distinctly Gallic variety. Accompanying Jeannot is Marion’s sister Rose (Alexia Landeau) and ex-lover Manu (Alexandre Nahon, both credited as co-writers), and the trio waste no time causing all sorts of fuss for their hosts. In the transatlantic switcharound, 2 Days In New York loses much of its predecessor’s perspective. Before, Delpy dumped a paranoid New Yorker in the middle of a satirically stereotypical Paris. Here, the Parisians return the favour, and the script is tweaked accordingly. The comedy, for one, is much broader, as the three visitors are each pushed almost to breaking point as frightfully French caricatures. Rose and Manu are all sex and skunk, smoking weed in the apartment building’s elevator in front of Marion’s neighbours, and utilising Mingus’ electric toothbrush in a late-night bout of coitus. However, despite the quick-cut picture postcard montage sequences, sped-up taxicab rides and location shoots in tourist hotspots, Delpy doesn’t cook up a similar commentary on New York to match her rather damning portrait of Paris, apart from a slightly woolly subplot following Marion’s attempts to bait the city’s art scene. Although, after all, what is there to say about New York that hasn’t already been said? As the film progresses, it seems that this time Delpy has moved on from exploring how relationships can be eroded by doubt, to look more closely at family, both those we suffer, and those we create. The effect, in many ways, is the same. The French characters still chat, bicker and sometimes outright argue in wonderfully bilingual dialogue, as the monolingual American stares on in horror. But Marion, like Delpy, is hoping for more this time around – a ‘love story with a happy ending’. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
