Written by: Edward Burns
Starring: Edward Burns, Rosario Dawson, Dennis Farina, Heather Graham, David Krumholtz
Rating: [3.5/5]
In a city comprising of eight million people, you would think the chances of intersecting with the lives of others in some web of romance could not work. After all how in the world could six people all find themselves in such a situation but when it occurs in such a densely populated one it allows for the messiness to intermingle in a way to make for a fun and breezy romantic comedy and we receive just that with Sidewalks of New York.
Following the end of a long-term relationship, Tommy (Edward Burns) begins a new relationship with Maria (Rosario Dawson). This begins the web of connection as she must contend with her ex-husband Benjamin (David Krumholtz) who has an interest in NYU student Ashley (Brittany Murphy) who’s having an affair with Griffin (Stanley Tucci) whose wife Annie (Heather Graham) begins a flirtation all the way back to Edward. Let the messiness ensue.
With such a messy set of circumstances, it leaves plenty of room for things to go wrong narratively as you try to juggle all of these plotlines interconnected around love and lust. Quite the task but one Edward Burns handles swimmingly well in part because of the characters he creates here and the personality they bring to the story. Each of them has their own issue with commitment and you can see their perspective where you can understand why they want to engage in this new type of relationship while also acknowledging none of them have won at the game of love. Either they have recently separated from a long-time partnership or sit right at the brink like Griffin and Annie. It allows for the dissection of these relationships and when it makes sense to cut ties or if you’re far too deep with no point of return up ahead. For Annie, the narrative asks at what point would it be okay for her to engage in an extra-martial affair as she battles with the morality of it while her husband already engages in it. Thus we have a story of severed halves looking to be made whole again with another person to varying degrees.
Burns, in turn, does a great job of balancing the narrative by giving each of these characters their space and letting their story unfold in a way where we reach the conclusion and it feels like they each received their time in the sun. Obviously, his main character, the protagonist Tommy, gets a bit more to do but it comes with the territory when you write, star, direct, and produce a movie I suppose. It all amounts to something with plenty of charm and allows for some lovely dialogue about relationships and what makes them tick and what makes them fall away.
While feeling obvious to say, New York plays such a factor in this story and like no other city feels like a character in whichever movie uses it as its setting. It comes par for the course when you have a metropolis with so many individuals trying to make something of their lives with their different perspectives and wishes they seek to complete. The congestion brings these characters together in this small island allowing for some genuinely funny moments thus continually adding to the romanticism of the city that will never go away.
For a small independent film back in 2001, this feature solicited the services of some great actors all of who bring their distinct charm to the story. You’ll never hear me complain about getting the chance to watch Stanley Tucci act and pairing him with Heather Graham makes this fighting married couple such a whimsical duo where they have nothing much left between them but demonstrate what makes them appealing to their potential new partners. You also have the likes of Brittany Murphy and Rosario Dawson bringing in what makes them tick to the story in their respective roles and it culminates in a cast helping craft characters you will care for. Even if you carry a distaste for some based on their actions, Burns does a good enough job in their characterization to make them intriguing to follow.
Operating as a messy romantic comedy with some class Sidewalks of New York brings bundles of fun through its narrative while also levying some truths about the intricate nature of relationships in all forms. It brings together a fun group of characters to tell this enjoyable story and shows Edward Burns truly thrived in the 90s to early 2000s.
Films with Josh 
