New York City Serenade (2007)

8% of critics liked it
(13 reviews)
21% of users liked it
(330 ratings)

Two lifelong pals living in New York City discover that sometimes the only way to remain friends is to grow apart in this semi-autobiographical drama from screenwriter/director Frank Whaley. Owen (Freddie Prinze, Jr. is an aspiring filmmaker who frequently spends the early hours of the evening with… More Two lifelong pals living in New York City discover that sometimes the only way to remain friends is to grow apart in this semi-autobiographical drama from screenwriter/director Frank Whaley. Owen (Freddie Prinze, Jr. is an aspiring filmmaker who frequently spends the early hours of the evening with his girlfriend Lynn (Jamie-Lynn Siegler) before ducking out to watch best-friend Ray (Chris Klein)'s provide the beats for his popular bar band. By day Owen may work at the local photomat, but when night falls he strives to forget about his dead end job by drinking the town dry and raising hell with Owen and company. The late night hours, when Owen and Ray inevitably end up at raucous parties with uninhibited women and plenty of booze, are usually when things get really interesting though. One day, after Owen receives word that his latest film has been invited to screen in a popular festival, the lives of these two best friends begin to travel down divergent paths. Now Ray begins to see himself in competition with Lynn for Owens attentions, and the death of a friend's father prompts both friends to stand back and take stock of their lives. Later, after Owen and Ray meet actor Wallace Shawn at the airport, the unlikely trio strikes up an amiable friendship. Trouble soon arises, however, when Owen discovers that Ray has been posing as Shawn's son and the two part ways on unfriendly terms. But as with most lifelong friends it's only a matter of time before Owen and Ray find their way back into one another's company, and eighteen months apart can work wonders for healing old wounds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Frank Whaley
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Sep 13, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Mar 24, 2009

Critic Reviews

Kyle Smith, New York Post
One of those pointless indies that you'll have forgotten before the credits roll.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The overgrown boys at its center are so unappealing that the setting certainly won't make their trials worth your time.
Nathan Lee, New York Times
The movie is a character study about two underachieving dullards scarcely worth contemplating.
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
This ersatz Swingers attempts to tap into the male psyche as represented by a pair of one-note losers (played by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Chris Klein), but the self-absorbed film keeps playing the same, talky refrain.
Eddie Cockrell, Variety
A series of sour notes.
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com
The contrast is inviting, the emotional momentum is there, and the dramatic situations are ripe with potential...and then the viewer is faced with Klein, Prinze Jr., and Sigler doing all the heavy lifting. How deflating.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Uninspired performances and a lack of chemistry fail to project whatever has brought and kept the film's odd couple together.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
Suffers from mediocre performances and a contrived and silly screenplay that, ultimately, makes it falls flat as a drama, comedy and satire.
Ben Walters, Time Out New York
The reason this 2007 drama has languished for so long could be that it's a bromance whose moment has only now arrived; more likely, it's because Frank Whaley's lightweight slice of life is so crashingly ordinary.
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant Magazine
Possesses a poorly explored but fecund meta-analysis of juvenile semi-stardom that demands a more sensitive treatment.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a well-intentioned effort...
Susan Green, Boxoffice Magazine
Prinze's limited range as an actor drags down a spirited performance by Klein, but the script is too awful to give either of them much hope.
David D'Arcy, Screen International
Doesn't break enough rules of the mid-1990's Sundance coming-of-age buddy template to bring any new insights to the bonds of male friendship.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Al S

A smart, compelling and wickedly enteraining movie. A brilliant, sharp, very funny and very moving drama that shows sheer realism in the lives and emotions of these characters. A great mix of comedy in drama that actually blend in well together. Freddie rince Jr. and Chris Klein are… More
A smart, compelling and wickedly enteraining movie. A brilliant, sharp, very funny and very moving drama that shows sheer realism in the lives and emotions of these characters. A great mix of comedy in drama that actually blend in well together. Freddie rince Jr. and Chris Klein are outstanding, giving honest, enduring and flat-out wonderful performances that truly shine. A wonderful film from the begining to it's very powerful and realising conclusion.
Chosen 7

Chris Klein is very good at playing an as$hole in this comedy-drama co-starring Freddie Prinze Jr. [good performance by him as well]. In some ways it's very cliche... they're best friends that are so different that they make you wonder why they're even friends with each… More
Chris Klein is very good at playing an as$hole in this comedy-drama co-starring Freddie Prinze Jr. [good performance by him as well]. In some ways it's very cliche... they're best friends that are so different that they make you wonder why they're even friends with each other, and they're both in a rut working menial jobs. Chris Klein's character Ray is a slick-talking loser, band member, and alcoholic...who happens to be a father to a little girl [whose mother seems to hate his guts]. Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character Owen is an aspiring filmmaker who gets a good opportunity to make some minor connections when his short film is nominated in a film festival in Kansas. Owen wants to share this experience with his fiance before he screws things up with her. Owen invites Ray to go with him to the film festival and Ray takes this as an opportunity to have some fun and act like a big shot. Ray is the type of friend who constantly gets you into trouble; this leads to a showdown between him and Owen which makes them question why they were ever friends to begin with. At this turning point they take steps toward making changes in their lives [That's all I'll say without ruining the ending]. Overall this is a compelling independent film with good performances and a realistic ending.