Metropolitan (1990)

A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writer:

Whit Stillman

Stars:

Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 6 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carolyn Farina	...	Audrey Rouget
Edward Clements	...	Tom Townsend
Chris Eigeman	...	Nick Smith (as Christopher Eigeman)
Taylor Nichols	...	Charlie Black
Allison Parisi	...	Jane Clarke
Dylan Hundley	...	Sally Fowler
Isabel Gillies	...	Cynthia McLean
Bryan Leder	...	Fred Neff
Will Kempe	...	Rick Von Sloneker
Ellia Thompson	...	Serena Slocum (as Elizabeth Thompson)
Stephen Uys	...	Victor Lemley
Roger W. Kirby	...	Man at Bar
Alice Connorton	...	Mrs. Townsend
Linda Gillies	...	Mrs. Rouget
John Lynch	...	Allen Green (as John Lynch)

Storyline

In an apartment on Manhattan a couple of friends from the New York upper-class meet almost every night to talk about social mobility, play bridge and discuss Fourier's socialism; the cynic Nick, the philosophical Charlie, party girl Sally and austenite Audrey. They are joined by Tom. His background is much simpler and he is critical of their way of life. But he finds a soul mate in Audrey, who without his knowledge falls in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

upper class | new york city | debutante | socialite | aristocracy | 

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Taglines:

Finally... A film about the downwardly mobile.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Azok a New York-i báléjszakák

Filming Locations:

Cornwall, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$225,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$2,938,208

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westerly Films, Allagash Films, Westerly Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The female lead of Audrey was cast after the director's wife ran into Carolyn Farina while shopping at the Macy's store where Farina was working at the perfume section. She had no previous acting experience.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mrs. Rouget: You can't listen to what your younger brother has to say. I can't think of anyone less an authority of female anatomy.
Audrey Rouget: He can see... It's hideous.
Mrs. Rouget: No, it isn't. You're being very subjective. You know, there was a survey of girls your age some years ago and nearly all of them were convinced that either their behinds, or their noses, were grotesquely oversized. And there was no apparent correlation between this conviction and their actual size.
Audrey Rouget: Really? They did a survey of that?
Mrs. Rouget: Yes....

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Connections

Followed by Barcelona (1994)

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Soundtracks

I Need Love
Performed by Barbara Mason
Stilrun-Dandelion Music - BMI
Courtesy of Arctic Records

User Reviews

Brilliant Talkfest

I saw "Metropolitan" a couple of months ago, was fairly impressed with it on its own talky, cerebral terms, and took it back to the video store. Since then, it's grown on me to the point where I have to place its script up there with the best of Chekhov and "The Big Chill." Concerning the Manhattan prep and deb season of some unspecified year past, "Metropolitan" transports your mind into a social order that exists just beyond our consciousness: where young socialites discuss Fourier without conviction, Jane Austen without having read her work, and love without never having really been in it. It's sweet, smart and touching all at the same time. The characters are flawed and doomed -- though, as one character notes, not doomed to failure, but just doomed to a normal, boring lifestyle -- and we can't help but love them for it. Go to Blockbuster and rent it tonight; if you can't find it there, go to Amazon, order it, and allow 1-2 weeks for delivery. It's that good. This was Whit Stillman's first of three similarly themed films; the second, "Barcelona," is subpar, but "The Last Days of Disco" closes the trilogy with a delicious return to form.