ReelBob: ‘In a New York Minute’ ★★
By Bob Bloom
“In a New York Minute” tells the story of three Chinese/Chinese-American women in the Big Apple. And kudos for that.
Unfortunately, the movie is told in such a soap opera-like manner that it fails to completely hold your interest.
The crux of the three overlapping tales is a pregnancy test strip that impacts the lives of the three women — Amy Chen (Amy Chang), a food writer; Angel Li (Yi Liu), an actress; and Nina Wong (Cecilia Au), who is forced to work as a call girl to repay her father and stepmother for the cost of her visa.
Each woman is dealing with issues: Amy, who is nearing 40, is being constantly pressured by her mother to find a husband; the dissatisfied Angel, in a loveless marriage with an American businessman, is carrying on an affair with a Chinese writer; and Nina is trying to save enough money to leave home.
The stories all have promise, but writer-director Ximan Li, tells them in such matter-of-fact manners that none really provide any emotional resonance.
It’s as if Li is being too careful and detached; not taking advantage of potential of some of the big moments in the stories.
It also does not help that with the exception of Roger Yeh as Ian Tam, Nina’s boyfriend, none of the other men involved with the women make an impact.
Jae Shin as Peter Chow, the over-eager suitor of Amy, is too buffoonish; Ludi Lin as Angel’s lover, David, is a self-centered cad; while her husband, Howard (Erik Lochtefeld), is an uninvolved bore.
Ian, at least, has some drive. At the outset, he owns a food truck, but has dreams of opening his own restaurant and wants Nina to be part of his dream — and his life.
Even at 102 minutes — and telling three stories — “In a New York Minute” moves at a crawl. The movie needed more passion and adrenaline to get us truly involved in the lives of the women. And it doesn’t help that the vignettes are more on sad than optimistic.
Instead, we simply sit back as passive observers. And the pregnancy test does not bear fruit, which would have added some nice suspense that the movie sorely needed.
“In a New York Minute” had an interesting premise that was undone by its execution.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. I review movies, 4K UHD, Blu-rays and DVDs for ReelBob (ReelBob.com), The Film Yap and other print and online publications. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com. You also can follow me on Twitter @ReelBobBloom and on Facebook at ReelBob.com or the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My movie reviews also can be found at Rotten Tomatoes: www.rottentomatoes.com.
IN A NEW YORK MINUTE
2 stars out of 4
Not rated, language, sexual situations, violence