Little Manhattan
On a green bench, the hands of two people are barely touching.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMark Levin[lower-alpha 1]
Written byJennifer Flackett[lower-alpha 1]
Produced byGavin Polone
Arnon Milchan
StarringJosh Hutcherson
Bradley Whitford
Cynthia Nixon
Charlie Ray
CinematographyTim Orr
Edited byAlan Edward Bell
Music byChad Fischer
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.1 million[1]

Little Manhattan is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mark Levin and written by Jennifer Flackett, starring Josh Hutcherson and Charlotte Ray Rosenberg.[2][lower-alpha 1] It is set in Manhattan, and follows a ten-year-old boy as he experiences his first love.[3]

Plot

Gabe, an adventurous 10-year-old boy, lives in Manhattan with his parents who are on the verge of divorcing. Gabe spends most of his free time exploring the city on his scooter. His daily exploits are followed and encouraged by the friendly concierge at his building. Gabe encounters Rosemary, an 11-year-old classmate whom he's known since kindergarten, in a self-defense class. After being partnered with her for sparring, he suddenly notices her as a girl, not another face. To Gabe's elation, they begin spending time together and he is completely enamored with not only her, but her life. Rosemary lives with her loving upper-class parents on the edge of Central Park. One day, Gabe takes Rosemary on a tour through Central Park, and another day they venture across the city for fun. They travel to Septuaguesimo Uno, Manhattan's smallest park, and try to inspect an apartment for rent, worrying Gabe's nervous parents. Rosemary's parents take them to hear a jazz pianist at The Carlyle, where the young twosome finally hold hands. After the show, Rosemary's parents tell them to say goodnight and her parents go to get milk. After they walk off, Gabe and Rosemary begin talking, and he interrupts her by kissing her.

Rosemary's family's life is in contrast to Gabe's; his parents have declared an awkward truce while waiting for their divorce to be finalized. As their relationship progresses, Gabe begins to question what is happening to him and why he is falling in love with Rosemary. To complicate matters, he discovers Rosemary is going to summer camp for six weeks and her parents are enrolling her in a private school when she returns. When things seem to be going perfectly, Gabe's world is turned upside down when he and Rosemary are assigned new sparring partners. Gabe is jealous of Rosemary's new partner, a tall blonde boy who's much better at self-defense than Gabe is. With their remaining time running out, Gabe tries to get closer to Rosemary, but only drives her away. In a desperate move to win Rosemary back, Gabe attempts to show off and earn his yellow belt, but painfully fractures his hand in the process.

Being crushed with what love really is, he learns from his father that his parents' marriage fell apart because of things left unsaid. Realizing he is running out of time, Gabe goes to find Rosemary at a wedding reception she is attending and declares his love. Taken aback, Rosemary replies she does not think she is ready for love, but is really happy to see Gabe and asks him to dance. As they dance, Gabe muses that he and Rosemary were on different paths—"like two ships that passed in Sheep Meadow". He returns home to find his parents laughing over their honeymoon recollections. Gabe is pleased and surprised when his father says he "cleared out some old stuff" and his parents appear to have reconciled. They happily go out for dinner, and as the movie ends, Gabe, narrating, summarizes what Rosemary meant to him: "...I'm never gonna get another first love. That one's always gonna be her."

Cast

  • Josh Hutcherson as Gabriel "Gabe" Burton, The main protagonist who falls in love with Rosemary Telesco
  • Charlotte Ray Rosenberg (credited as Charlie Ray) as Rosemary Telesco, Gabe's love interest
  • Bradley Whitford and Cynthia Nixon as Adam Burton and Leslie Burton, Gabe's parents
  • Willie Garson as Ralph, the elevator man who's nice to Gabe
  • Tonye Patano as Birdie, Rosemary's nanny
  • Leigha and Juliette Nicoloro as Mae-Li, Rosemary's three year old adopted sister from Beijing China
  • Josh Pais as Ronny, Leslie's new date
  • Michael Bush as Max, a boy who's one of Gabe's friends
  • John Dossett and Talia Balsam as Mickey and Jackie Telesco, Rosemary's parents
  • Jonah Meyerson as Sam, a boy who is also one of Gabe's friends
  • Brian W. Aguiar as Jacob, a boy who is also another of Gabe's friends
  • Connor Hutcherson (Josh Hutcherson's younger brother) as the boy who throws up
  • Anthony Laflamme as Tim Staples, Rosemary's new karate partner and Gabe's rival
  • Mike Chat as Himself, Gabe's karate hero.
  • J. Kyle Manzay as Master Coles, The karate teacher from Gabe and Rosemary's karate class
  • Nick Cubbler as Daryl Kitzens, the bully who is beat by Gabe and Rosemary
  • Neil Jay Shastri as David Betanahu, Gabe's new karate partner

Production

The original idea for the film was just one sentence in a long list of ideas. Levin and Flackett wanted to make a project as directors, and an adolescent love story had the benefit of not being a project led by a star actor. They believed they could make it for a reasonable budget. From concept to completed script, it took about two months and the film was greenlit shortly after that.[4]

Reception

Critical response

Little Manhattan received mostly positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 31 critics. The site's consensus states: "Little Manhattan is a sweet story of young love that provides an enlightening if pragmatic view on love and courtship."[5] Metacritic gave it a score of 52 based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[6]

BBC's Stella Papamichael wrote that the film was "sweet but not syrupy and heart-warming without being manipulative, this kid flick stands tall among recent Hollywood love stories".[7] Kevin Thomas, writing for the Los Angeles Times, called the film "a handsome charmer about the avalanche of first love...an endearing, affectionately humorous and even lyrical depiction of the dawning of adolescence amid the privileged". Thomas called the script "problematic...[Gabe's] speech as soundtrack narrator of his own story is precociously improbable".[8] Jeffrey Lyons of NBC called Little Manhattan "one of the sweetest, most touching films you'll see". Variety's Brian Lowry was less positive about the film. He wrote "Resting almost entirely on the shoulders of its young leads, both they and the pic lack the sparkle to sustain what seeks to be a whimsical premise but, except for a few moments, proves ponderous instead." He also believed the film belonged on "youth-targeting basic-cable networks" instead of having a cinematic release.[9]

Box office

The film made $36,397 in the opening weekend in the United States. By December 18, 2005 the film had grossed $385,373. It had worldwide box office takings of $1,117,920.[1]

Music

The film's score was composed by Chad Fischer, the guitarist and lead singer of Lazlo Bane.

The film also featured 18 other songs, half of which are covers, by a variety of musicians, from the well-known The Beatles and Elvis Presley to little-known The Meadows and Loston Harris. Chad Fischer contributed several songs to the film both as a performer and producer.

The soundtrack album for the film hasn't been released, making half of the songs used exclusive to the film.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Artist(s)Length
1."Only the Strong Survive[A]"Jerry ButlerElvis Presley2:42
2."Birdland"Ron AsperyRon Aspery 
3."When the Saints Go Marching In[C]"TraditionalThe All Star Marching Band 
4."Kung Fu Fighting (Adrian Sherwood On-U-Remix)[A]"Carl DouglasCarl Douglas4:41
5."Sleepless in Brooklyn"Chad Fischer, Timothy Bright and Chris LinkLazlo Bane 
6."Younger Yesterday[A]"Todd Herfindal and Kevin HoulihanThe Meadows3:15
7."New Fast[A]"Jeff GrammAden2:27
8."Miserable Life"Chad Fischer and Lyle WorkmanChad Fischer and Lyle Workman 
9."Burning Flame[C]"Richard FriedmanRichard Friedman 
10."Teach Me Tonight[C]"Sammy Cahn and Gene de PaulLoston Harris 
11."Map of My Heart[B]"Chad FischerChad Fischer3:24
12."Lonely Road[A]"Erik SchrodyEverlast3:18
13."Polly Wolly Doodle[C]"TraditionalSusannah Blinkoff 
14."The Very Thought of You[A]"Ray NobleNat King Cole3:48
15."Love[A]"Matt White and Paul UmbachMatt White2:50
16."At Last[A]"Mack Gordon and Harry WarrenEtta James3:02
17."Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)[C]"Barry Mason and Tony MacaulayFreedy Johnston 
18."In My Life[C]"John Lennon and Paul McCartneyMatt Scannell 
  • A ^ Available on other releases
  • B ^ Available to listen on Chad Fischer's Myspace page[10]
  • C ^ Available by original and/or other musicians

References

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Though Levin is credited as the sole director and Flackett as the writer, they assert on the DVD commentary that they shared writing and direction duties.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Little Manhattan at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ "Little Manhattan > Production Credits". allmovie. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Little Manhattan > Cast". allmovie. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  4. ↑ Rina, Rina (October 8, 2005). "Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett, Writer/Director, Little Manhattan". gothamist.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Little Mahattan (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Little Manhattan". Metacritic.
  7. ↑ Papamichael, Stella (June 5, 2006). "BBC Movies review – Little Manhattan". BBC Entertainment. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (December 2, 2005). "'First Descent', '39 Pounds', 'Little Manhattan'". calendarlive.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  9. ↑ Lowry, Brian (September 29, 2005). "Little Manhattan Review". variety.com. Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  10. ↑ Chad Fischer Archived October 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, on Myspace
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