Little Manhattan

RATING:

Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Charlie Ray, Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon. Written by: Flackett Levin. Directed by: Mark Levin.

PG (for mild thematic elements, language and brief action)

Little Manhattan follows the coming of age tale of Gabe (Josh Hutcherson), a 10-year-old living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan with parents (Cynthia Nixon and Bradley Whitford) in the process of completing a divorce. As their tale of romance is winding down, the pre-adolescent begins his own amorous adventures for the first time when developing a crush on Rosemary (Charlie Ray), a girl he’s attended classes with his entire life but never truly noticed until she became his karate sparring partner. While the subject of childhood love interests has been handled in some form or another in other films, this one is unique in that it is a true romantic comedy with cherub-faced leads. The handling of this idea is fresh and charming at some moments, but falls short of delivering at others.

The films attempts to appeal to audiences of all ages but only manages to do so in small doses. Much of the film was aimed at the “Aw, isn’t he adorable?” crowd of women in their twenties onward. In this, the filmmakers must have been successful as every time young Gabe stuttered while addressing the object of his affection, or combed his hair and put on a tie for his first date, its was accompanied at the screening with the sought after “Aw, isn’t he adorable?” from said demographic. While these moments may have been wasted on me, a man in his early twenties, I did appreciate every scene revealing Gabe struggling with his neurotic obsession. When you have a crush at that tender age, you tend to think of it in globe-encompassing terms. You don’t just like the girl that has caught your eye, but you think about them to a degree that becomes frightening in hindsight. Every smile or flirtatious glance from this person can make your tiny, inexperienced universe.

Little Manhattan reveals this honest, and frankly creepy, aspect of a first crush with its young protagonist. With the benefit of cinematic editing, Gabe replays his ambiguous first kiss with Rosemary from multiple camera angles in his mind. He goes off on an internal tangent dissecting every possible meaning or subtext that can be found in one of her half-hearted smirks. The kid even fantasizes about pummeling another boy he deems a threat to winning the girl’s heart. While sugar-coated, these moments accurately take you back to a time where the girl three desks over could make or break your existence.

The problem, however, is that in trying to appeal to audiences of all ages, it fails to wholly entertain any. The voice-over, which is used constantly and unapologetically as a commentary to Gabe’s ever-shifting emotions, is a weird mix that attempts tickling the older folks while being silly enough for younger viewers. The result is a strange and muddled monologue that satisfies neither and never becomes a dependable stream of conscious for the character. As opposed to flowing, the device darts back and forth in its aim. The jokes that overreach the kiddie viewers are in vain as they tend to be the least funny in the script.

At its best, the film works as an antidote for cynicism. Juxtaposing the divorcing parents with essentially Gabe’s first love, it reminds of how wonderful and invigorating an act as simple as holding your loved one’s hand for the first time was. As people get older and more experienced in relationships, they tend to forget this initial excitement. The filmmakers cleverly use a story with many literal firsts in the hopes of having their audience remember what drew them to their significant others in the beginning and to never take it for granted. While this is a lofty aspiration, it does succeed in at least allowing you to leave the theatre with this fresh mindset, even if its only for a brief moment. As a film, Little Manhattan is far from perfect in its construction, but makes up for many of its flaws with heart.