New York Minute (Widescreen Edition)

Rating:
Summary: Isn't that a Don Henley Song?
Review: "New York Minute" is the Olsen twins' second stab at a theatrical outing, following 1995's "It Takes Two", as well as a gazillion straight-to-video flicks. It's about twin sisters (shocker!) with a dead mom (who saw that coming?) who are complete opposites (how new and different!). Jane Ryan (the one called Ashley) is a straight-laced student who has set her sights on a degree to Oxford, and has an important speech to deliver before the day is over. Roxy Ryan (the other one), meanwhile, is a "rebel" who wants to spend the day at a Simple Plan concert (because, after all, that's as punk as an Olsen twins movie is willing to get). However, both of them are soon thrown for a loop when a series of mishaps forces them to spend the day together, outrunning a truancy officer (Eugene Levy) and the Chinese mob (don't ask).

Well, I'm here to tell you, even considering all of the above, that this movie is actually vaguely entertaining.

Yet, I am aware that even slightly enjoying a movie like "New York Minute" goes against everything I believe in. It's a scrap heap of lame jokes, nonsense high jinks and awkward transitions, with a teensy bit of "plot" thrown in for good measure. In fact, it honestly feels as if the writers (Emily Fox, Adam Cooper & Bill Collage) and director (Dennie Gordon) came up with it at one of their support meetings for adult ADD.

So, what is there to love? Well, it actually depends on your mindset. Go in expecting a clever caper and you're likely to loathe it. Also, a bad mood is not compatible with this film. If you're grumpy, you'll hate it even more than the (not so bright) people with high expectations.

However, traipse in with low expectations and a light mood, and "New York Minute" just might work for you. And that's because you're more likely to see it as what it really is: a movie so bad...it's good.

Helping things along is a splendidly game cast. They're willing to put themselves through utter humiliation for a laugh, and at least 6 out of 10 times, it works. The twins are decent little comic actresses (though easier on the eyes than their lines), and their supporting players fare even better. Andy Richter kills as a white man adopted into the Chinese mob (who even sports a fake Asian accent), and Andrea Martin and Darrell Hammond do fine multi-scene cameos. As well, Eugene Levy is hilarious as the loopy truancy officer, even if it's not his best role. He has a gift for turning crap lines into pure gold.

So, there ya have it. One man's assessment on "New York Minute". It's no gem, and I'm not even sure I can justify a three-star rating, but it's a film that's stupid to the point of laugh-out-loud funny, and, ultimately, has a goofy spirit that's hard to resist.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, I have seen it, and I really liked it
Review: I have seen New York Minute 3 times. I saw it with my friend, Sarah from high school, and I saw it twice with my boyfriend. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen did a very good job in this movie. I think it was one of the best movies they've made. I really liked the part where Jane was on the train, and Roxy snuck on and she couldn't show she had a ticket, so the ticket checker kicked her off, the Jane got kicked off the train, because she couldn't find her ticket in time, and the ticket checker thought she was the same girl who he kicked off before. Then the girls ended up spending the whole day together and they got to know each other again. I really like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, And I have got all their movies, I have not bought New York Minute yet, but I'm going to be buying it when I go out again.

Rating:
Summary: this one's for the fans....
Review: If you are not a true, long-time fan of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, you really don't have any reason to watch this movie. "New York Minute" is for those who have grown up alongside Mary-Kate and Ashley and will enjoy seeing them in a movie that, yes, illustrates how much they have grown over the years. Anyone else will laugh, sneer, and tear it to shreds, but fans will respect it for what it is: a fun, lighthearted comedy. Personally, I went to see it the day it was released, and I loved it. I think a lot of people just looked at how highly publicized this film was and expected it to be something off the charts--the Olsen twins' explosion into theatrical production and adulthood. I'll admit that when I saw how much it was being promoted and how much time and work the Olsens were putting into it, I thought it was going to be a very successful film with a high public response. While it wasn't anything like that, it certainly showed a nice amount of improvements from the girls; it was a good plot, impressive acting, and highly entertaining. Compare this with some of their home videos like "Getting There" and "When In Rome," and you just might appreciate this movie a little more. I think Mary-Kate and Ashley did a great job; they showed their potential for comedy and proved that once they take the spotlight off them a little bit and focus more on the other aspects of the story, their film is greatly strengthened.

It's a real shame that "New York Minutes" fared so poorly at the box office; I imagine it was a real blow for the girls, but they'll get through it. They'll move on. Their 1995 feature film "It Takes Two" didn't do so hot either (only pulled in about $20 million), but the VHS and DVD releases sold very well; I have a feeling that the same thing will happen once this film comes to DVD in August. It is exactly the kind of film in which only the real fan can witness the evolution and the maturity in these girls. Yes, they have grown up a lot and have great things ahead of them, but for someone who despises them you're best off staying away from this movie...we all know what you think. Let the loyal followers of Mary-Kate and Ashley watch the movie and give their opinion; they're the best ones to comment because they'll give the twins the fairest shake for their efforts and everything they put into this movie.

Again, I liked it a lot...I thought it was funny and enjoyable, with a far better plot and acting job from the Olsens than I have ever seen before from them. Look for these things instead of the Oscar-worthy material that the girls weren't even going for in the first place, and you just might be surprised.

Rating:
Summary: Look out, movie pirates!
Review: If you've ever wasted valuable minutes of your life wondering what Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are going to do now that their cuddly child star days are behind them, "New York Minute" offers a glimpse of the shape of things to come.

Here's a clue: Think Britney.

Does the world need more vapid, cutesy sex kittens? Probably not, but Teasetown seems to be the next exit on the Olsens' highway to maturity. Throughout "Minute" they are either wrapped in body-hugging "ghetto fabulous" fashions or scanty skirts, or totally nude (albeit carefully photographed to preserve that PG rating, which in this case might as well stand for "pandering guaranteed"). Their faces have been plastered over with enough makeup to coat the entire cast of "Mean Girls."

Here's a movie aimed at young girls that must have been created with the "tired businessman" -- or at least the hormonally charged older brother -- squarely in mind. In one scene, the twins are discovered clad in towels and bathrobes in a hotel room by a leering college-aged man (Jared Padalecki) who snickers, "Is today my birthday?"

There's also a bit in which a bicycle messenger takes a spill and lands squarely on top of Jane. "Am I squashing you?" he asks. "Yeah -- it feels great," she sighs. There's even a wisecrack about Paris Hilton.

When the trio of screenwriters who slow-cooked this turkey aren't thinking up jailbait jokes, they're dishing out sorry stereotypes. A gang of Chinese crooks operates out of a laundry, a la "Thoroughly Modern Millie"; a flamboyant male hairdresser twitters and flutters as he styles the fur on a Chinese Crested dog, announcing with a lisp, "Boyfriend, you a girlfriend now!"; an African-American woman actually calls a white man a "cracker." Guess the raindancing Indians and the swarthy Arabs selling magic carpets must have been mercifully left out at the last minute; perhaps they'll turn up on the DVD.

Even the Olsens get into the act, playing two of the most annoying, obvious adolescent characters you could ever hope to find. Ashley is cast as Jane, a pent-up prig with a 4.2 GPA. Mary-Kate throws herself into the role of Roxanne, a puffball punk who runs around in costumes she might have picked up at Cyndi Lauper and Joan Jett's garage sales; she's a girl who just wants to have fun and she does not give a darn about her bad reputation.

The squabbling siblings are forced to cooperate during a hectic afternoon in the Big Apple when Roxanne is hunted by an inept truancy officer (Eugene Levy, slumming) and Jane's precious day-planner is stolen by a dull-witted criminal (Andy Richter, who doesn't look as ashamed of himself as he should) who wants a computer chip that inadvertently landed in Roxanne's purse. The chip is then accidentally swallowed by a senator's dog, which means everybody spends plenty of screen time trying to get the poor animal's bowels churning.

That all-important little bit of software contains scads of illegally acquired songs that the Chinese villains are planning to burn to CDs and sell. The girls later discover that -- gasp! -- the bad guys' ill-gotten items even include pirated movies. (Perhaps this story was secretly co-authored by Jack Valenti.) Unsurprisingly, "New York Minute" is not one of the contraband titles shown for sale, perhaps because no matter how many copies of this one you made, its street value would still be nil.

Rating:
Summary: ROTFLMAO
Review: New York Minute marks the return of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen to the big screen after many years of absence. I was a little hesitant to see this movie. While most of their videos in their straight to DVD series have been entertaining they haven't been that great. But I do enjoy the girls, and I was curious so I went. Well folks, I was very very surprised at how funny this movie was.

The basic plot revolves around Roxy and Jane Ryan - twin sisters that have grown apart since the death of their mother. Through a series of often funny events they are forced to spend the day together. We join them on a journey to get Roxy to a Simple Plan video shoot and Jane to her speech for college at Oxford. Through the day they meet Chinese "mobsters" (Andy Richter - so funny), a man they insist on terrorizing, a dog that eats a chip, and of course the cute boys.

The dialogue is funny and fast paced, keeping the movie moving forward and not giving the audience a chance to get bored. Adding to the enjoyablity of the movie is the fact that the girls are becoming very talented actresses - they deliver the lines perfectly. There is a scene where the girls confront each other about their issues with each other. In my opinion, they are great in this scene. I believed they didn't like each other much at that moment (...maybe they were fighting that day and they weren't acting =0) - we'll just forget that the scene felt a little forced to make the movie more than just a silly comedy and to give it another dimension.

I also have to mention the direction. It was fun and fast paced. It worked very well for the movie.

I went into this movie expecting to chuckle a couple of times. Instead, I found myself laughing out loud for nearly the entire thing. It is seriously one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time. This is one movie I would urge you to see. I know I'll be buying it when it comes out on video.

Rating:
Summary: NO WAY IN HECK!!!
Review: OH GOD NO!!! I haven't seen this movie and i DON'T want to!
Mary-Kate and Ashley are DUMB, OBNOXIOUS, BAD-ACTORS, and ANNOYING!!! I rest my case on this the same way I did "PASSport to paris" Don't watch this movie! Your kids will be messed up for life if you do!!!

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: This movie was cute, it had a good story line, the actting was good. There were some funny thing's in it. I especialy liked the part where Mary-kate's person is up on stage and quotes Avril Lavigne. The movie had stupid thing's in it too. Like Levy's person was a little stupid. And there's a scene where there is a kung foo fight scene. A few skimpy clothes but that's about it. It good, I might buy it when it goes on sale. Any Mary-kate and Ashly fan would probbly love it

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie!!!!!
Review: This year has been a bad year for Mary Kate and Ashley, well not Ashley at least. Mary Kate we all know is battling anorexcia and is addicted to cocaine and mothers now no longer think Mary Kate and Ashley are "good role models". Also, this movie basically bombed at the box office. I have seen this movie twice at the movies and if you are ranging from the age of 8-14 or 15, (like i am) or if you are a fan of Mary Kate and Ashley you will like this movie. If you despise Mary Kate and Ashley you will not like it, so don't waste your time. I thought this movie was really good because ever since I was 6 or 7, Mary Kate and Ashley were my favorite actresses. You people who gave this movie a bad review walked in the theather expecting a academy award nominated motion picture, when it is just a fun, fluffy comedy! I loved this movie it had a good story and it was well acted. Andy Ricther as Benny was priceless! Eugene Levy as Lomax was histarical! Mary Kate as Roxy was hilarious! Ashley as Jane (my favorite character in the movie) was really well done!! I hope Mary Kate gets better real soon! Mary Kate and Ashley are the best!