Review: "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993)

Of the fifty-something movies that Woody Allen has made over half-century, some are great classics, some are really good, some are just okay,  and some are entirely forgettable. 

One of my favorite of his movies that is often overlooked in his oeuvre is Manhattan Murder Mystery in 1993. It's actually really good. 

The story concerns a middle-aged, empty-nest couple named Larry  (Woody) and Carol (Diane Keaton) who live a good quiet Manhattan life with friends and work and culture and all that you could want from marriage and NYC. But Carol is bored -- and when she suspects that their neighbor might have murdered his wife, she takes it upon herself to investigate the "crime", dragging a very reluctant Larry along the way. What starts out as a lark becomes something much, more darker.

And, in the meantime, they talk a lot about the state of their marriage. 

By the time Woody made this movie, he had been directing movies for almost 25 years and was already wildly successful and acclaimed. And he was still challenging himself -- he shoots this movie in a documentary, fly-on-the-wall way. He manages to make the filming look casual but there's a steady intention to each shot, a real vision at work, and it's one of my favorite of his movies as matter of pure directing style. 

Then there's the cast -- Keaton, reuniting with Woody over a decade since Manhattan, is brilliant and Alan Alda and Angelica Huston, who had appeared, seperately, in Crimes & Misdemeanors a few years earlier, are excellent. And the movie manages to be both an intriguing mystery yarn while also a meditation on getting older and what you want out of the rest of your life.

And it's funny! Woody has made lots of funny movies but this might be one of his best. The humor is so understated that, when a joke arrives, it lands softly and firmly and really tickles your funny bone: "I can't listen to that much Wagner, I get this sudden urge to conquer Poland!" 

This movie was also a bit of a turning point in Woody's life and career. When he made it, he was going through his nasty custody battle with Mia Farrow, and that's why Diane Keaton replaced her in the movie (although Farrow, weirdly, after accussing Woody of child abuse, then showed up ready to work; Woody understandable didn't want to work with someone trying to put him in jail). He also wrote the script with his old partner, the recently deceased Marshall Brickman and their magic chemistry shows. 

Right after this Woody would make the classic Bullets Over Broadway and then begin an uneven series of movies until the triumph of Midnight in Paris in 2011. 

So I highly recommend this often forgotten Woody classic. It's not just a good movie, it's a balm. 

The Eric Adams Saga Takes Another Bizarre Turn

Whoever said "May you live in interesting times" was an asshole.

Actually, it was/is an old Japanese proverb and was in fact meant as a curse. The flip side to that is another Japanese proverb that states "May you have a boring life" and that was meant as a blessing.

As I get older, I see the wisdom in both sayings. 

Here in NYC, we're living in the "interesting times" of Mayor Eric Adams -- the criminal who runs the city. Only now he's technically not a criminal any more -- the corruption charges against him were dropped -- with prejudice, meaning they can't be brought against him again -- and now Adams says he's running for re-election as an Independent.

I hope to heck he loses but who knows? These days the vox populi est imbecile. 

Then again, in the 19th century there was Fernando Wood, in the 20th century there was Jimmy Walker -- so now, in the 21st century, we have Eric Adams. 

Still, the whole thing is rotten and weird and depressing. New York City deserves so much better than this.

Mr NYC is Officially an Adult

Wow, Mr NYC started eighteen years ago today. 

Today Mr NYC is officially old enough to drive, vote, get drafted, have sex, pay taxes, and go to jail. 

In short, an adult. 

Happy to say, the real me has never been drafted nor gone to jail but I've paid a lot of taxes, voted and driven a bunch, and sex ... well ... I have two kids but my most constant partner has been ... Mr NYC.

Hope we'll go on for another few more years. This city never ceases to be a great source of material! 

My "Sopranos" Story ... or ... How I Got a Book on TV

If you're a fan of the White Lotus series, you'll note that there are lots of scenes of characters lounging by pools or laying in bed, reading. Over three seasons, lots of different books have been used as props -- including Barbra Streisand's phonebook of an autobiography -- and they help to give the characters reading them another dimension.

In this third season of the show one of the characters is reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Beautiful and Damned -- a book I blogged about back in 2022. And there's a person whose whole job it is to get these books onto White Lotus, a sort of literary props master, that must be a fun job. (People on TikTok are chatting about it).  

This remind me of a story -- albeit, a very short, rather underwhelming one. But it involves another noteworthy HBO show.

In early 2001 I was working -- miserably -- at a company that produced trade books. It was an awful job at an awful company with awful people, and I didn't last long there. But there was one fleeting brief moment that catapulted me into cultural relevance.

One afternoon my phone rang and I answered. A cheery voice said to me, "Hi! I'm calling from the HBO show The Sopranos!" I was floored. In early 2001 The Sopranos was, by far, the hottest show on TV. Everyone was watching and talking about it. This was while they were making the third season that included the legendary "Pine Barrens" episode.

Of course, I thought, "Why the hell are they calling this company?" But the friendly guy on the phone informed me that they needed books on real estate for an upcoming episode and could we provide some gratis. I said I thought that was possible, took down the info, informed my bosses, they went nuts, and off the books went to the Sopranos production company.

Months later, I'm out of this job horrible job and, one night, catch the show. And there, at the end of the episode, is Edie Falco herself reading the book I sent. That was weird, and cool, and my only connection to one of the best TV shows ever made.

I don't recall exactly which episode it was but it's towards the end of the third season. So, if you ever see it, remember Mr NYC himself masterminded this epochal contribution to the culture. 

Two Sites on the Streets of NYC

As seen on Riverside Drive and 122 street on March 8th, 2025 at 1:37 PM ...

... and in Northest East, Queens on March 17, 2025 6:45 PM ...

That is all.

Mr NYC Ahead of His Time

I might be forgiven for claiming that I possess a crystal ball. I don't -- but I certainly have, over the years, written about things long before the mainstream media or others have.

That's why I created an entire section of this blog called Mr NYC Ahead of His Time with examples of my psychic abilities.

Two blog posts that I did were about the borough of Queens and how it's essentially the "swing" borough in NYC politics -- the borough where mayors are made, the true political pulse of the city. (I referred to Queens as the "Ohio" of NYC but these days it's more like the "Wisconsin.") Also, I blogged about the political dynasties in this city, families that have posessed power in NYC for generations.

Well, whatyaknow, there was recently a big article that breaks down exactly how Queens breaksdown politically and how volatile it is, and the role that political dynasties play in NYC politics.

Like ... wow! I was writing about this stuff LONG before the hotshot political reporters in this town did. I don't claim to be brilliant but yours truly sure does have a habit of noticing and writing about things before others, a kind of "sixth sense" about NYC.

I plan to continue doing this for a long time to come!  

Remembering "Brooklyn Bridge" (1991)

Of all the great TV shows set in NYC, one of the best but most forgotten is the early 1990s show Brooklyn Bridge. It was one of those shows with smart writing, great acting but little seen -- yet those who did see it, loved it.

Set in the mid-1950s in Brooklyn, the show concerns a Jewish family trying to make their way up the socio-economic ladder in post-war NYC. It was a show about strivers, about trying to grow beyond your roots, about trying to "make it" while also not forgetting where you came from and who helped you along the way. 

The show was created by Gary David Goldberg who, in the 1980s, had great success with the show Family Ties that made Michael J. Fox a big star. Brooklyn Bridge was based on Goldberg's childhood, and it received great reviews and award nominations -- and also low ratings. 

The show had a short run, from 1991 to 1993, but it was remembered long afterwards for its quality. One of its episodes, "When Irish Eyes are Smiling", was rated as one of the best episodes of television ever made. 

I remember when this show was on the air but I didn't watch it every week. I do recall one episode when the the teenage boy on the show, named Alvin, gets accepted by Bronx Science. He wants to go but his parents are worried about the very long subway ride he'd have every day from Brooklyn if he went. I remember thinking that this was a show that really got NYC -- the legnth of the commute is the kind of thing that makes people in this city think hard about what schools they want to send their kids too. My mom's dad didn't want her going to a prestigious school in Manhattan because of the commute -- a decision she always regretted.

Anyway, you can find a lot of episodes of Brooklyn Bridge on YouTube. I strongly suggest watching this nostalgic show that is itself a piece of nostalgia.

Sidenote: Alvin was played by a kid named Danny Gerard. A couple of years before Brooklyn Bridge I remember seeing him on stage in Les Miserables as Gavoroch. He was really talented and I don't know why he didn't go on to a big career as an adult. But he's really good in Brooklyn Bridge. 

President Washington Was a Renter

Every day in the news you hear things like "The White House says ..." or "According to the White House ..." or "Now we go live to The White House ..." -- whatever it is, it's "White House" this or "White House" that.

It's the most powerful building in the world, and its very name projects power. And we all know, it's located in Wasington, DC.

But the first capital city of these United States was New York City -- from April 30, 1789 until August 30, 1790, approximately. The first capital was at Federal Hall. And then the capital moved to Phildelphia while Washington DC was being built.

But where did the President, George Washington, live in NYC?

Two places: the first was the Samuel Osgood House at 3 Cherry Street. Washington moved in just before being sworn in. Believe it or not, the first presiden'ts first house was a rental, and ten months later, like any good New Yorker, Washington moved when he found a better deal -- a bigger place called Alexander Macomb House at 39-41 Broadway. But just a few short months later his gig took him to Philly. So these two NYC homes served as the first "White Houses" for a very short time.

Sadly both homes were demolished in 1856 and 1940, respectively. It's hard to believe that no one thought they were worth preserving -- certainly we wouldn't make that mistake today! But it's interesting to know that George Washington, the first American president, was an NYC renter like so many others. 

Sick & Sicker

It's hard to believe that it was only five years ago that COVID hit the world like a thunderclap. It shut down the globe for a year -- and, to a large extent, we're still recovering from it if also living in denial or trying to forget about how it destabilized us.

But did we learn anything? Are we better prepared if something like this happens again? 

Sadly, the answer is no.

If you want to see a way that NYC has been failed by its current leadership, read this article. It outlines how, five years after COVID hit and a few years after the crises ended, there's been no attempt by the city -- or even the country -- to perform a comprehensive review of what happened. There's been no attempt to investigate and compile a narrative of the COVID timeline -- about what happened, what decisions were made (rightly or wrongly),  what impact did it have on NYC, what lessons were learned, and how can we be better prepared next time?

None of this has happened! There's been no investigations, no "after-action" report.

And now, if the current insane people running the country, measles and other infectious diseases are headed our way -- and we're not ready!

Of all the things that drive me nuts about our society today, it's this almost pathalogical contempt for public health. This anti-vax, anti-educational movement that benefits no one and threatens everyone.

It's sick! It's insane! And I REALLY hope that this is a fad that ends.

The Paintings of Mr NYC

I painted both of these more than 30 years ago when I was in high school.

As you can see, one of them is a placid lake scene (based on a special place I love) and the other is my Jackson Pollock/Basquiat-inspired color montage. 

I know they're not great but they ain't that totally bad, aight?