5 reasons why Francos and Anglos alike can dig Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in New York

Besides starring in the films of Godard, Kieślowski and Jarmusch, actor/writer/director Julie Delpy has made it her motto to craft smart, funny stories that bridge linguistic, cultural and national divides, which isn’t much of a surprise, given that the former Parisian moved to the U.S. back in 1990 but chose to retain dual citizenship. For those who came of age in the ‘90s, Delpy left quite an impression in Before Sunset (1995) as a romantic French woman ruminating on life and love with a sweet American (token Gen Xer Ethan Hawke) over the course of one passionate night in Vienna. One of the quintessential indie films of the ‘90s, Before Sunrise gave way to its equally well-written follow-up, Before Sunset, nine years later.

Her latest, 2 Days In New York, is a sequel of sorts to 2 Days in Paris, employing the same formula: Marion (Delpy) introduces her wild and crude French family to her American boyfriend to then find her own relationship unraveling. Exit former neurotic beau Jack (Adam Goldberg) and say hello to the more level-headed Mingus (Chris Rock). As her visiting family settles into her New York apartment a little too comfortably (with the onscreen dad played by his real-life equivalent), it doesn’t take long for things to devolve into a delirious Cirque du Trash. One you'll feel compelled to watch in all its trainwreck glory, for five hilarious reasons: 

1. For the cross-cultural role reversals!
With such a premise, you’d expect the French to be the sophisticated, refined family walking into a sketchy, rat-infected apartment block in the Bronx. Thankfully, Delpy flips those preconceived notions to find Chris Rock’s New York character an erudite Village Voice columnist and NPR host who worships his cardboard cutout of Barack, while the visiting French contingent play the parts (quite well, I might add) of filthy, clueless travelers who invite marijuana dealers into their hosts’ humble abode and who make creative use of Mingus’ electric toothbrush…

2. For the 30 lbs. of French sausage (only a slight embellishment)
Sure, the cliché of a smelly, old Frenchman smuggling cheeses and cold cuts across the Atlantic is a tad crude (although it was inspired by Delpy’s real-life dad), but the exaggeration is a cheeky way of painting certain stereotypical traits in broad brushstrokes. Another would be Delpy’s sister, a slight nympho with a penchant for nude strolls through her hosts’ apartment, who seems plucked right out of a Catherine Breillat picture.

3. For the embarrassing white guy trying to fetishize Blackness (not a strictly North American phenomenon, clearly)
Hearing nympho's boyfriend trying to bond with New Yorkers by telling Mingus’ sister that she reminds him of Beyoncé (because she’s Black, obvs) or making it a point to mention Salt-N-Pepa’s “Let’s Talk About Sex” – really, that’s the most up-to-speed U.S. rap reference he could muster? – is utterly hilarious. Waiting for Mingus’ reaction (“That was twenty years ago?!”) – is even better. New York, it seems, remains a fascinating…ly dated Public Enemy postcard for some.

4. To witness the art of saying outrageous things in a foreign language
Their parents may well have met in the romantic, anti-conformist setting of May 1968 Parisian protests, but Delpy’s Marion and her sister clearly don’t see eye to eye as their parents did. The siblings’ pent-up frustration finds them unloading at the dinner table, within earshot of their kids. One hysterical sister screams a flurry of obscenities to the other, such as: “T’arrives à contrôler ta chatte?” (Loosely translated as “Can you keep that pussy of yours in check, for God’s sake?”) Thank God French hadn’t yet been added to the wee ones’ classroom syllabus.

5. For a Vincent Gallo cameo that’ll make everyone happy
In a role that finds him embodying the type of strange New York bohemian not unlike our own beloved, transcendental Jean Leloup and James Di Salvio, Cannes favourite Vincent Gallo makes the most of his conceptual screen time. And you won’t be subjected to any Brown Bunny homages, I promise.

2 Days in New York
Now in theatres
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