"New York Minute" Article from the Daily News - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

musicradio77 · 05-07-2004, 09:22 PM

Here is an article taken from the Daily News website: www.nydailynews.com

"Minute" Scmaltz
NEW YORK MINUTE: Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Eugene Levy, Andy Richter. Director: Dennie Gordon (1:26). PG: Mild sensuality, thematic elements.

Like that whistle whose high frequencies only dogs can hear, the high-pitched babble of the Olsen Twins is a sound best appreciated by girls still living at home.

The Olsens are a unique media phenomenon, having grown up in front of televison cameras. Now 17, they are multimedia powerhouses and co-producers of this movie.

I salute them.

Still, the teen comedy "New York Minute" is a bit of a slog for anyone not thoroughly Olsenized.

Ashley and Mary-Kate play good and evil twins, respectively. Jane Ryan (Ashley) is the diligent one, perfecting her speech to win a scholarship to Oxford. Roxy (Mary-Kate) is a rebel who plans to get her band's demo tape into the right hands at a big deal video shoot. (Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy, makes an unimpressive debut as the band's manager.)

Although they are, like, so not compatible, the sisters travel into Manhattan together to pursue their respective agendas. They wind up sharing a hellish day that brings them closer.

Among their misadventures: Jane loses her all-important day planner; the twins are stalked for a valuable microchip (Andy Richter, using strange Chinese accent, plays the stalker); a monomaniacal truant officer (Eugene Levy) is hot on Roxy's heels.

Also, their hair gets mussed.

(And they don't seem to recognize Bob Saget of their former TV series "Full House" in his wink-wink cameo.)

The overstuffed plot keeps things moving at a hectic pace under the misapprehension that "busy equals "funny". But the lures of this movie for its target audience are the frequent wardrobe changes and the secondhand excitement of see their idols triumph over intentionally silly odds.

As you can tell from the title, this is not a homegrown New Yorker's view of New York. It is toroughly tourist vision of a Big Apple full of garbage, smells, colorful ethnics - and more garbage.

The movie is carefully designed for maximum blandness. The twins each get a love interest and wear a succession of precocious outfits without ever giving off a whiff of dangerous sexuality.

The most preposterously sanitized moment is one in which the girls make their way out of a sewer into Harlem and are welcomed without irony at Big Shirl's House of Bling, where they are treated to free makeovers.

The Olsen twins are professional and adorable, with round facial features bordering on cartoons.

They're like velvet paintings come to life. They tackle this generic movie material with gusto, as if there is something to it.

05-07-2004, 09:22 PM	#1
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	"New York Minute" Article from the Daily News Here is an article taken from the Daily News website: www.nydailynews.com "Minute" Scmaltz NEW YORK MINUTE: Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Eugene Levy, Andy Richter. Director: Dennie Gordon (1:26). PG: Mild sensuality, thematic elements. Like that whistle whose high frequencies only dogs can hear, the high-pitched babble of the Olsen Twins is a sound best appreciated by girls still living at home. The Olsens are a unique media phenomenon, having grown up in front of televison cameras. Now 17, they are multimedia powerhouses and co-producers of this movie. I salute them. Still, the teen comedy "New York Minute" is a bit of a slog for anyone not thoroughly Olsenized. Ashley and Mary-Kate play good and evil twins, respectively. Jane Ryan (Ashley) is the diligent one, perfecting her speech to win a scholarship to Oxford. Roxy (Mary-Kate) is a rebel who plans to get her band's demo tape into the right hands at a big deal video shoot. (Jack Osbourne, son of Ozzy, makes an unimpressive debut as the band's manager.) Although they are, like, so not compatible, the sisters travel into Manhattan together to pursue their respective agendas. They wind up sharing a hellish day that brings them closer. Among their misadventures: Jane loses her all-important day planner; the twins are stalked for a valuable microchip (Andy Richter, using strange Chinese accent, plays the stalker); a monomaniacal truant officer (Eugene Levy) is hot on Roxy's heels. Also, their hair gets mussed. (And they don't seem to recognize Bob Saget of their former TV series "Full House" in his wink-wink cameo.) The overstuffed plot keeps things moving at a hectic pace under the misapprehension that "busy equals "funny". But the lures of this movie for its target audience are the frequent wardrobe changes and the secondhand excitement of see their idols triumph over intentionally silly odds. As you can tell from the title, this is not a homegrown New Yorker's view of New York. It is toroughly tourist vision of a Big Apple full of garbage, smells, colorful ethnics - and more garbage. The movie is carefully designed for maximum blandness. The twins each get a love interest and wear a succession of precocious outfits without ever giving off a whiff of dangerous sexuality. The most preposterously sanitized moment is one in which the girls make their way out of a sewer into Harlem and are welcomed without irony at Big Shirl's House of Bling, where they are treated to free makeovers. The Olsen twins are professional and adorable, with round facial features bordering on cartoons. They're like velvet paintings come to life. They tackle this generic movie material with gusto, as if there is something to it.
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