My weekly movie reviews. You can also read these on letterboxd.
This week focuses on two more films directed by Joan Micklin Silver.
CROSSING DELANCEY (1988)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
What’s best about Joan Micklin Silver’s work, an honest depiction of men and women, is ever present in CROSSING DELANCEY. She gives us a fully-realized female lead, one with as many psychological weaknesses as strengths. She allows her characters to be flawed and frustrating while charming us along the way.
There’s much to like about this film, probably Micklin’s most popular work, but it isn’t quite as good as CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER or BETWEEN THE LINES. Something feels missing, especially at the end which has one of those, “Is it really over?” conclusions. The story arch of Izzy doesn’t feel quite complete, like there’s a missing scene or two. There’s more much Jewish humor and a focus on that culture in this movie than her other two, which played more to anyone and everyone. CROSSING DELANCEY is very New York and very ethnically-focused. It works but sometimes distracts from the central story about a woman figuring out what kind of man is right for her, one that could have been even more poignant if Micklin hadn’t gotten distracted with the side stories.
Watched on Criterion Channel.
A FISH IN THE BATHTUB (1998)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
I can see why this film didn’t do well upon release. Marketed as a comedy, A FISH IN THE BATHTUB might technically fall in the wide range of that genre but it has little to no laughs.
Joan Micklin Silver’s late 90s film is more of a relationship drama. I don’t find it pleasant to watch people fight and that’s what the first half of FISH is all about. The second half is much more insightful as Jerry Stiller’s character starts to feel the emptiness of life without his wife. The movie also explores his son, a young Mark Ruffalo, as he’s tempted to have an affair. Ironically, the examination of the men in FISH is much more complex than the female characters. We don’t really ever see how Anne Meara learns anything from the situation, nor do we really get a sense that Ruffalo’s wife or sister change at all through the picture. Why Silver doesn’t delve more into the minds of the women in the story I’ll never know, but I continue to admire her in-depth portrayal of men on screen.
Watched on Criterion Channel.
