On one level, "Crossing Delancey" is a fun, heartwarming romantic comedy; on another, it has an agenda that is as pushy as any over-the-top matchmaker. Ironically, for a movie that undoubtedly shares much of its audience with those who loved "Fiddler On the Roof," it tries to undo the social revolution that drove "Fiddler's" plot; "Delancey" suggests that a Jewish woman might be better off relying on matchmakers and familial authority figures than actively choosing her own spouse, a job she only seems to mess up when it is entrusted to her. And while she's at it, maybe she should rethink her life in the non-Jewish world and come back home. You've come a long way, baby, but what did it get you?
For the record, I believe women are best off finding their own mates, and preferably from a set that is larger than two. But what I find most troublesome in this movie is not so much the implied counterargument as the fact that it is made poorly. I can imagine a movie where a woman rejects her background, is miserable alone, encounters repeated disappointment in the Gentile world, and finally returns to her grandmother's milieu to find true fulfillment, romantic and otherwise. It might be done as propaganda; it might be done as a persuasive, touching story. But "Crossing Delancey" doesn't make a serious effort to do it at all. Izzy never really rejects her background in the first place, never comes across as particularly lonely or unhappy, and only undergoes a single unpleasant romantic failure. Then, when she does surrender to the man who has been preselected for her, the movie fails to make a convincing case that she will truly be happy. Sam is pleased with how things work out. Izzy's grandmother is ecstatic. It is almost as if the romance is between those two characters, and Izzy is simply the one who, through her sacrifice, allows the match between them to be consummated.
It's a pity, because the movie does raise some interesting questions before it rushes to extinguish them. There is a rich potential in the premise of a woman unfairly dismissing a suitor due to how he has been thrown at her, perhaps due even to a small amount of snobbery, only to gradually discover his merits and discover that they are good for each other after all. There are certainly possibilities in the idea of a woman being romanced by a man with what she thinks is an aesthetic sensibility, only to recognize that he exploits people and the artistic impulse alike. It would be interesting to see a character seriously wrestle with which components of the literary world she values and which she decides are simply based on vanity, and the extent to which she reconciles her ongoing involvement in that landscape with her attachment to a man who doesn't fit particularly well into it. There are even interesting minor notes that are never satisfactorily explored: how do a woman who has essentially used her friend as a means to flee from a potential relationship, and a man who has taken the bait, reconcile their behavior and their future friendship with her when they push her out of the picture again? But as this is not a movie designed for a sequel, we are not meant to explore those questions further.
According to its tag line, "Crossing Delancey" is "a funny movie about getting serious." If only its makers had been more serious about exploring the questions it raised, this could have been a better film.
For the record, I believe women are best off finding their own mates, and preferably from a set that is larger than two. But what I find most troublesome in this movie is not so much the implied counterargument as the fact that it is made poorly. I can imagine a movie where a woman rejects her background, is miserable alone, encounters repeated disappointment in the Gentile world, and finally returns to her grandmother's milieu to find true fulfillment, romantic and otherwise. It might be done as propaganda; it might be done as a persuasive, touching story. But "Crossing Delancey" doesn't make a serious effort to do it at all. Izzy never really rejects her background in the first place, never comes across as particularly lonely or unhappy, and only undergoes a single unpleasant romantic failure. Then, when she does surrender to the man who has been preselected for her, the movie fails to make a convincing case that she will truly be happy. Sam is pleased with how things work out. Izzy's grandmother is ecstatic. It is almost as if the romance is between those two characters, and Izzy is simply the one who, through her sacrifice, allows the match between them to be consummated.
It's a pity, because the movie does raise some interesting questions before it rushes to extinguish them. There is a rich potential in the premise of a woman unfairly dismissing a suitor due to how he has been thrown at her, perhaps due even to a small amount of snobbery, only to gradually discover his merits and discover that they are good for each other after all. There are certainly possibilities in the idea of a woman being romanced by a man with what she thinks is an aesthetic sensibility, only to recognize that he exploits people and the artistic impulse alike. It would be interesting to see a character seriously wrestle with which components of the literary world she values and which she decides are simply based on vanity, and the extent to which she reconciles her ongoing involvement in that landscape with her attachment to a man who doesn't fit particularly well into it. There are even interesting minor notes that are never satisfactorily explored: how do a woman who has essentially used her friend as a means to flee from a potential relationship, and a man who has taken the bait, reconcile their behavior and their future friendship with her when they push her out of the picture again? But as this is not a movie designed for a sequel, we are not meant to explore those questions further.
According to its tag line, "Crossing Delancey" is "a funny movie about getting serious." If only its makers had been more serious about exploring the questions it raised, this could have been a better film.