Autumn in New York (2000)

Lack of good storyline.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This movie is typical of one that has all the necessary ingredients for a hit... except the heart. Great cinematography, great cast, and the most beautiful New York scenes you would expect, but still it fails miserably. As the wonderful actor Joan Chen's first directorial debut, she did her best, albeit with the wrong project. As Shakespeare once said so long ago, "The play's the thing." In other words, without a great story, not matter how much money you throw at the project, it falls flat, and this writer is certainly no Shakespeare. When you combine cliché dialogue, with flat, unbelievable situations and poor character development, no amount of glamorous shots or pretty music can fill the chasm between fantasy and reality. And as much as I emotionally wanted to go along for the ride, alas, this film started out a romantic walk through Central Park, then slipped on the ice and fell flat on its face.

Typical, predictable, seen-it-all-before story about a guy who gets involved with a terminally-ill girl.Richard Gere is supposed to be Mr. Wonderful in this "Love Story" rip-off with Winona Ryder as the sick chick. Many ideas from the latter movie are regurgitated here including the ice rink and hospital deathbed scenes.Things stay safe and sterile from the first hour of 'charming' date sequences, like the moment when a giggling Winona puts on one of the 'hats' she made (it looks like a bent-up coat hanger), all the way to the end of this Joan Chen-directed date flick when Winnie faints for the twentieth time, sparking Dick to once again exclaim another exasperated "Jeeeez!".Lame. Stick with "Love Story" (1970).

"Autumn in New York" is a 2000 film from MGM. It is a love story and is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is Joan Chen. And the writer is Allison Burnett. The actors include Richard Gere, Winona Ryder, Anthony LaPaglia, Elaine Stritch, Vera Famiga, Shery Stringfield, Jill Hennessy, J.K. Simmons, Sam Trammell, Mary Beth Hurt, Kali Rocha, Steven Randazzo, Toby Poser, George Spielvogel III, Ranjit Chowdry, Audrey Quock, Tawny Cypress, Gabriel Portuondo, Laurent Schwaar, Patrick Price, Ted Koch, Alvin H. Enbender, Daniella Van Graas, Rachel Nichols, Steven Ravid, Ron Emanuel, Dan Camins and John Guidera. The story revolves around the two main characters played by Richard Gere and Wynona Ryder. He is too old for her and she is dying from a cardiac tumor. They stare at one another for what seems like hours. So I only was able to give it 4 stars. Dale Haufrect

I watched this movie primarily because I like Winona Ryder. At first I was not very excited to discover the movie was for the most part a remake of LOVE STORY. Of course there are a few new twists but one can't deny many parallels. That wasn't that big of a deal but I must say the first half of the movie is rather uneventful with the two stars not really seeming to generate much legitimate chemistry. However, for me at least, things started to pick up considerably from the point the man is caught cheating. From there on the scenes are more dramatic and the cast responded to the increase in intensity. There is also some very artistic photography during the second half.....one scene in particular I found striking. This would be after Winona's character refused to have surgery and was sitting out in the cold on the balcony with Gere's character staring helpless through the window behind her. Very beautiful with the snow and unique composition of the shot. I would like to make a painting of that moment. Having the guy revisit his past via the arrival of his ignored daughter was a very nice touch. Suddenly it became a film about searching for redemption which was fairly well portrayed. Gere is pretty good here but I did find myself sorta wishing that someone with slightly better acting chops had been offered this role. He wasn't terrible though and the part was sort of tailored for his image. At least I got the fact that the Gere character was a man lost and desperately needing to connect with real people and his own real needs.I gave it an eight but truly it deserved maybe a 7.5 I did enjoy it though and there were some very touching scenes later in the film. And gosh, Winona was just so freaking lovely....what a face she has...wow!!!Anyhow,this is a tragic love story with a bit of depth and some truly beautiful people. The actress playing the daughter was very lovely to look at also I must add.