New York City Serenade (2007)

Two down on their luck childhood friends struggle to figure out their lives. Ray a drummer in a rock and roll band, and Owen an aspiring film maker spend most of their time working menial ... See full summary »

Director:

Frank Whaley

Writer:

Frank Whaley

Stars:

Freddie Prinze Jr., Chris Klein, Jamie-Lynn Sigler

Cast

Credited cast:
Freddie Prinze Jr.	...	Owen
Chris Klein	...	Ray
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Lynn
Ben Schwartz	...	Russ
Christopher DeBlasio	...	Ben
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Todd Barry	...	Smark
Kate Bayley	...	Condiments Girl
Emma Bell	...	Melinda
George Bryant II	...	Limo driver
Heather Bucha	...	Mary
Alexander Chaplin	...	Terry
Joanna Chilcoat	...	Girl #1 (Dawn)
Chase Coleman	...	Jock 1
Raymond De Felitta	...	Chuck McGrady
Nada Despotovich	...	Miss Lormph

Storyline

Two down on their luck childhood friends struggle to figure out their lives. Ray a drummer in a rock and roll band, and Owen an aspiring film maker spend most of their time working menial jobs and drinking. When Owen's fiancé Lynn breaks off their engagement he finds himself spiraling, and allows Ray to come along with him to a two bit film festival he has been invited to in Kansas. There Owen makes several attempts to patch up his relationship, while Ray scams them into a deluxe suite at the local Four Seasons hotel by posing as Wally Shawn's son (who happens to be receiving a lifetime achievement award) and generally causes a major ruckus. By the end, Owen decides to make some changes in their relationship and in his life.

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Taglines:

Good friends are hard to find.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, brief sexuality and drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

NYC Serenade

Filming Locations:

Madison Square Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Archer Entertainment, IKM Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tag line reads "Good Friends Are Hard To Find" this is also the title to a track off of Composer/Songwriter Ed Harcourt's album 'A Beautiful Lie' and serves as the title/theme song for the film.

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Connections

References WWE Smackdown! (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Clarinet Bandleader"
Composed by Stephen Edwards
Published by Source in Sync Music
Courtesy 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Underrated!!!

This is a fantastic movie. Frank Whaley, whom I love as an actor, wrote and directed this perfect little indie film and it is interesting and endearing from beginning to end. Chris Klein gives an amazing performance as the alcoholic best friend-bad influence, to a hapless lovelorn Freddie Prinz Jr. Theirs is a friendship based on nothing good and the fuse is lit. It's a familiar relationship. One of them takes everything seriously. The other takes nothing seriously. And both are prone to bad choices.

How the story is framed and delivered to the audience is what makes this film so special and that's where Frank Whaley comes in. He knows this story and knows how to tell it. Your heart can't help but go out to these two jerks bumbling their way through life and leaving a swath of misery and regret in their wake. Whaley chooses some interesting camera angles with the two leads. A couple times he has them in the frame, in two dimensional profile, in fairly serious scenes, delivering their lines in the, visually, flattest possible way. I didn't understand the choice, but I thought it was interesting, and it made an impression.

Frank Whaley has to be commended for a great script, deft directing, and a funny cameo as an overworked, and most likely underpaid, "limo" driver. However, Chris Klein steals the show as the drunk screwup with a huge personality. He has perfect pitch as an actor and it's on full display here.

I'm not sure why this movie flew so low under the radar. It's too good to have such a low rating here and deserves better. See it. You won't be sorry.