Chronically Metropolitan

This film is beautifully shot with its cinematography of the streets of New York City. Also, the characters here are rich and beautiful and, at times, they'll be some clever dialogue.

However, I also found most of the characters here quite manipulative and shallow and lots of the scenarios came across to me as contrived, like a soap opera in other words. To note, this is an adult drama, with some sex scenes, explicit references, raw language, and on screen drug use.

Fenton the writer returns home for a week, to a very hostile group. His own family, his ex, various friends and acquaintances around town. Some extra complications include his cheating father, in the hospital after an accident. The impending marriage of his ex girlfriend. Even his mother thinks it was wrong for fenton to write about the people around him, in such an obvious way. So much bickering. The mother seems to be willing to put up with dad's cheating, as long as she can nag him about it incessantly. At first. The usual dysfunctional family that most of us experienced, growing up. This seems to be about fenton returning to face his demons. He hurt a lot of people by writing about them in his book, then disappearing. Living with one's choices. Regret. Forgiveness. Lots of long, thoughtful scenes, with music playing in the background. It's okay... a thinker film. No big car chases or adventure in this one. Directed by xavier manrique, his third film direction. Story by nicholas schutt.

This film tells the story of a young writer, who goes back home to New York to find that his dysfunctional family is falling apart. To top that up, his ex-girlfriend that he cannot get over with is getting married to another guy in a few days.

"Chronically Metropolitan" is basically a showcase of how not to make a film. The plot is boring and tedious. It is just plain and uneventful. Camera work is really plain as there are many long shots showing conversations, and this would have been broken up to close up on the speakers in other films. The point of view for the viewers is almost like an passive bystander, without any engagement with the characters or the situation they are in. The actors are mostly devoid of any emotions, as they sleepwalk through their roles, delivering lines in a passionless and lethargic manner as if they were kids being forced to read texts reluctantly. The only exception is Josh Peck, who at least muster smiles and look energetic in his role. If not for Josh Peck, the film would have been completely bad.

I agree with previous reviews about the coldness of the characters, but l guess the real people who inspired the story are like that. The word 'cynical' is right there in the description so we were kind of warned.. It's very hopeful, the choices Fenton the protagonist makes are changing. Maybe that's not done in the most clever way (: but it is nice.

Of course the cinematography is very fun and draws you in.

Chris Noth is wildly entertaining and lively as a terrible husband and womanizer, not that it is a surprise to be entertained by Noth.

Side note: Seeing Mary-Louise Parker as a desperate housewife was sad, it's not like her......

Well the title fits the film. Chronically self absorbed wealthy New Yorkers. It's hard to really care about a young published author from a wealthy family when NYC is so full of unpublished poor authors. It's also hard to tell the difference between the cute young blondes in the movie. This movie is basically about "white peoples problems." I also suspect the tobacco industry paid a lot for product placements. There is a lot of gratuitous smoking in the film for no other apparent reason.