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It is never a good sign when a studio chooses not to screen a movie for critics. That ignominy is usually reserved for howlers like Friday the 13th, Part X or Cute Teenagers Doing Even Cuter Things (The WB Story). I mean, even Battlefield Earth was shown to critics. So when MGM decided not to preview Autumn in New York and then made a point of decrying its stars' chemistry, I was expecting something truly awful. Maybe it was the low expectations, but Autumn isn't that bad. It's not that good, either; but in this season of Hollow Man and Nutty Professor, mediocre has a certain charm.

In case you haven't seen the commercials (which, as usual, pretty much give the plot away), here's the rundown. Richard Gere is Will Keane, a 48-year-old restaurant playboy, a man who's been featured on the cover of New York magazine and spends most of his time flirting and wooing models at his upscale establishment. Winona Ryder is Charlotte Fielding, an idealistic, hat-making socialite who blushes when she meets someone she fancies. It's a pleasant shade of pink that crosses her face when she spies Keane.

The problem is that Charlotte's barely of drinking age, while Keane is old enough to have dated Charlotte's mother. Not only is he old enough, but he did. Actually, this doesn't seem to be that big of a concern, as our
protagonists happily jump into the sack after their first date. No, the real conflict in this story is that Charlotte has a terminal condition--a "problem with her heart," we're told--and Will can't decide whether he wants to give his heart away to someone who won't be there next year. It might not be Love Story, but it's a syrupy tale, nonetheless.

This sort of movie rises or falls on its stars. Last year's Runaway Bride worked because it was so much fun watching Richard Gere and Julia Roberts come together. Autumn in New York, unfortunately, makes the mistake of having our leads fall in love too quickly. Will and Charlotte meet in the restaurant and two scenes later are waking up in bed together. The film's audience doesn't get to watch these two work through their age differences; we have to take it on faith that they love each other, and that's hard to do.

It's made particularly difficult because Gere doesn't jump into the role with both feet. In the weepy romance genre, the male character has to care about his beloved, and Gere doesn't seem to. Further complicating matters is that Ryder's Charlotte acts even younger than the 21 she's supposed to be. She giggles uncontrollably, says "wow" every third sentence, and makes hats that are supposed to be chic but resemble a telemarketer's headset. Ryder has a waifish, vulnerable, let-me-hold-you-till-it-stops-hurting sort of beauty, but that's always been tempered by her characters' innate irony. Think of her roles in Heathers or Girl, Interrupted. Here, she's all 'girl' and no 'woman,' so it's hard to accept that Keane would actually stick around for more than one night.

The film's secondary characters don't do much, either. While Runaway Bride's Hector Elizondo and Joan Cusack made nice foils for its stars, here Elaine Stritch, as Charlotte's grandmother, and Anthony LaPaglia, as Will'sbartender, spend most of their time imploring Will to be nice.

The movie's New York locations are quite beautiful, particularly the overhead shots of Central Park in brilliant oranges and yellows. But a better title for this movie might have been Autumn on the Upper East Side. Not that you'd expect our characters to be dancing down the streets of the Bronx, but you'd never guess from this movie that New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world. 

J. Robert Parks

Girl On the Bridge, The (2000)
Director: Patrice Leconte 
Cast: Vanessa Paradis, Daniel Auteuil, Frédéric Pfluger, Demetre Georgalas, Catherine Lascault, Isabelle Petit-Jacques, Mireille Mossé, Didier Lemoine

If you're in the mood for real romance this weekend, I urge you to check out Patrice Leconte's Girl on the Bridge. Starring Daniel Auteuil as a knife-throwing circus performer and Vanessa Paradis as a girl he saves from suicide and then convinces to be his target, this film is old-fashioned romance at its best. Paradis, a gorgeous gamin who says yes to any handsome hunk who comes along, plays her role with flair and genuine star appeal. And Auteuil is just fantastic as a stylish older man who can't admit his attraction for his partner and instead sublimates that desire into his act.

The movie's sexual metaphors get spread on a little thick (one scene involves a knife-throwing session inside a train tunnel), but I'll take that delayed gratification over Hollywood's jump-into-bed mentality any day. Yes, the movie is subtitled, and, yes, it's even in beautiful black-and-white, but stretch yourself. This is a fine movie, a rare find in these dog days of August. 

J. Robert Parks