New York Minute

Starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Andy Richter, Jared Padalecki, Riley Smith, Andrea Martin and Eugene Levy
Screenplay by Emily Fox and Adam Cooper & Bill Collage
from a story by Emily Fox
Directed by Dennie Gordon
website: www.newyorkminutemovie.com

IN SHORT: For fans and young teens only. [Rated PG. 90 minutes]

For those new to this site, movies like New York Minute are why we make every effort to screen the new movies with preview audiences. We are a couple of decades past the time when we were dating fourteen year old girls -- keep your snide comments to yourself -- but are old enough to know that our fourteen years old nieces will eat up New York Minute like candy. Those in our preview applauded when it was done. Those of parental age, like us, who have to hang out in the back row should know that 90 minutes still feels like 90 minutes.

With apologies to our nieces, both of whom are 14 and would hate to be called kids, we don't put a dollar rating on kidflicks. New York Minute rests on that fine line delineating movies with lots of material for pre and young teens and absolutely nothing for grownups. Where the bulk of the teen audience lies in regards to NYM depends on whether or not there is still hero worship of the Olsen Twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, amidst the ticket buyers.

Yeah, we know. With twenty plus direct to vid movies under their belts the Olsens are a power all to themselves. Their section of the teen audience is still one that has little drawing power for adults. Unless, of course, you're lugging the kids.

New York Minute is a day in the life of sisters Roxy and Jane Ryan (Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). Jane's day is laid out early. She's to give a speech about World Economics at Columbia University. She hopes that reaction to the speech will win her the McGill Fellowship and a free ride at Oxford University. Roxy plans to ditch school to watch the band Simple Plan shoot their new video. Unknown to her, an evil villain bad guy drops some kind of computer chip into her bag, just before local cops take him down. It's left to his hench man / killing machine Bennie (Andy Richter) to get the chip back no matter what the cost since the chip contains millions of dollars worth of pirated music. Yeah, we realize that the writer has no idea what you can get onto a chip. Hitchcock called a useless element like this a MacGuffin. It starts the plot rolling and is quickly forgotten.

Bennie isn't the only grown-up chasing the teen. Truant officer Max Lomax (Eugene Levy) has been trying to catch Roxy out of bounds for, like, ever. Thanks to the ever fabulous Finger of Fate, two young hunks cross their path. One is bike messenger Jim (Riley Smith). The other is Trey Lipton (Jared Padalecki), son of Senator Anne Lipton (Andrea Martin). Driving the story is a plot involving the loss of Jane's day planner, which contains the speech she is to give and a year's long conflict between the sisters. Jane is fixed and resolute in her ways, feeling that it's her job to fill the hole left by their mother's death. Roxy decision to ski school is also economic. She plans to slip her band's demo to whatever A&R types she can find at the vid shoot.

Martin has less to do than fellow SCTV vet Levy. Richter once again shows he can take very little and make it very funny. Their work is not enough to lure fans without benefit of kids in to the theater. The Olsen Twins are pleasant enough to watch on the big screen that parental units will not suffer.

	Click to buy films by Dennie Gordon
	Click to buy films starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
	Click to buy films starring Eugene Levy

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