Pretend It's a City

Amazing dynamic between Marty and Fran! And Fran is probably the funniest person I know. I have never been in New York and that didn't take anything away for me.

I could listen to Fran Lebowitz all day. A lot of her observations are astute, clever and very funny. She's brilliant at describing New York and New York life, mixed in with a little of her personal biography, I was left wanting to know more about her. She would make a mint if she ever wrote her memoirs.

If you've read Fran Lebowitz's clever essays from back when she used to write (i.e., before she succumbed to what has to be the world's longest case of writer's block) and you enjoy her sarcastic wit, you will no doubt enjoy this show. It is pretty much episode after episode of her riffing on various topics. I loved it! She is such a careful and original thinker with a razor sharp wit. Her style of humor, which stops just short of insult comedy, is pretty much what she's been doing since the seventies, but strangely, it suddenly feels very timely here.

I love this woman! Fran Lebowitz's astute observations are just the dose of medicine my millennial generation needs. She's so sharp and so entertaining to watch. I also get a kick out of seeing Martin Scorsese double over in belly laughs. Lebowitz has the gift of delivering her commentary shrewdly, but with a light-hearted tone that leaves you feeling upbeat and joyful. Pretend It's A City is a terrific start to the weekend.

What a wonderful treat this is! The concept of the film is incredibly simple. It's a conversation but really it is Fran talking. About everything, mostly about NYC and also about everything. And to see Scorsese barely saying 2 words but laughing hard almost throughout it, yet to be completely gripped is such a surprise. You hang onto Fran's every word.

My personal favourite so far, I haven't finished the series - I'm on episode 6 and don't want to finish it just yet so I can enjoy it for a bit longer - my favourite moment so far is Fran talking about believing all the women who have called out the men taking advantage of them or abusing them: the me to movement. It is so empowering and validating because, as a woman who was once a girl and a young woman, I have been through all that and think exactly like Fran. This is just a small nugget of beauty of the whole series. There are so many, many more moments like this.

And what adds to its beauty is the fact that a woman who talks about being so angry and is ranting and raging about this and that can talking about things that are so inspiring and moving and hopeful. Thank you for such a treat.