My favorite New York City movies

My love letter to love letters to the city.

My favorite-ever museum exhibit is at the Museum of the City of New York in East Harlem. It’s called You Are Here: An Immersive Film Experience, and it’s a curated montage of NYC-based films from the last 100 years. The “experience” plays across 16 screens on three walls, so you’re completely surrounded. Depending on where you sit, you get a slightly different experience every time.

Movie clips are spliced together based on New York-y themes and tropes (apartment woes, street food, the apocalypse that loves to hit New York, falling in love, riding the subway, loneliness, dancing in the streets, and an ode to each of the five boroughs) to create a 21-minute film that plays on a loop.

If you’re someone who loves movies and loves New York like I do, it’s magical. And such an editing feat! There are iconic clips you recognize and some you don’t but will want to add to your watchlist. You’ll catch scenes from The Day After Tomorrow, Paris Is Burning, She’s Gotta Have It, and Home Alone 2.

I first saw the exhibit last summer but recently went back because it’s been on my mind ever since. You Are Here is running through October 5, with pay-what-you-wish admission for locals so I recommend you make a point to see it! If you can’t make it to MCNY, you can at least appreciate this Letterboxd list of all the movies featured.

My favorite New York City films

If a movie takes place in New York, my enjoyment automatically increases by like 30%. Hit me with an overhead shot of the skyline and a Sara Bareilles song playing, I’ll eat that shit up.

Of course, some are better than others. These are my favorites. There are plenty of glaring omissions like Do the Right Thing (classic for a reason but also a day-ruiner), Uncut Gems (I can only watch it so often), Coming to America (doesn’t show off the city!), and Goodfellas (feels more like a suburbs movie). The ones on my list are rewatchable and make a point to utilize and celebrate New York.

It Could Happen to You (1994)

Why does no one love this movie as much as I do?

It’s a 90s fairytale with all the best people in it: Bridget Fonda (underrated), Wendell Pierce, Rosie Perez, a cameo by Big Pussy from The Sopranos, and Stanley Tucci (the Tooch is loose in this one). Oh, and Nicolas Cage playing it surprisingly straight.

It’s about a police officer who doesn’t have enough money to tip his waitress, so he promises to share his lottery ticket with her. Well of course he does win the lottery and keeps his promise to give her half of the $4 million winnings. His wife is pissed and I’m kind of on her side!

Cage and Fonda celebrate by spending their days rollerblading through Central Park, paying for people’s subway rides, and renting out Yankee Stadium for the neighborhood kids. All while Frank Sinatra plays! It’s beautiful.

Moonstruck (1987)

More Nicolas Cage! This time he’s sweaty, with a wooden hand, and a passion for baking bread, opera, and having sex with Cher, who’s engaged to his estranged brother.

Cher is a dream in this. She has no patience for anyone. Like all the best movies, there’s a makeover scene. We aren’t good enough the way we are — I believe that.

Moonstruck is a love letter to Brooklyn Heights. My favorite part is Cher’s morning-after walk home with the Promenade and Manhattan skyline behind her. This movie is the reason why seeing the opera at Lincoln Center is on my NYC bucket list.

Big (1988)

For the FAO Schwarz scene alone! Not only do we get to enjoy Tom Hanks playing Chopsticks on a life-size piano, but this scene actually moves the story forward (by helping him land a job in the company’s marketing department). Pretty masterful. And like all good 80s movies set in New York, there’s a giant Soho loft for me to covet.

Yeah, Big is creepy. Tom Hanks gets 13 Going on 30ed and has a sexual relationship with a fully adult Elizabeth Perkins who looks exactly like Millie Bobby Brown. Still, it’s sweet, funny, and some of Tom Hanks’ best work.

Nursery University (2007)

This doc made a big impression on me — my friend Carla and I still reference it. It’s about mostly wealthy New Yorkers navigating the insanely competitive admissions process for … preschool!

Nursery University is both entertaining and depressing. The parents pay consultants thousands of dollars to help get their kids into private preschools because we all know sending them to the wrong one could screw up their entire future. It’s just ridiculous, full of entitlement, classism, and cute kids. These children would be in college now, I wonder if it all paid off!

Since this came out, NYC launched free 3-K and Pre-K, which I imagine takes some of the stress off normal people.

25th Hour (2002)

25th Hour is why I named my cat Edward Norton. It’s the post-9/11 movie (is that a distinction anyone wants?). I can't believe David Benioff wrote this then went on to co-create Game of Thrones. What a waste.

Edward Norton plays a convicted drug dealer on his last day before going to jail for seven years. He moves across the city tying up loose ends, walking his dog, and spending time with his childhood friends. It’s classic Spike Lee. Style and substance, featuring two of my favorite movie monologues.

Insane supporting cast: Rosario Dawson, Brian Cox, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, Barry Pepper. Drew met Rosario Dawson once and this is the movie he complimented her on.

Okay, time to listen to “Bra” by Cymande.

Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)

The world wants Jesse Eisenberg to be W**dy Allen’s successor but why don’t we let Jennifer Westfeldt do it? This was always on HBO in the early 2000s so I’ve seen it about 50 times. A movie with “Kissing” in the title? I was intrigued.

Our main character seems to have a great life. She’s a copy editor with her own apartment (it has a fabulous red spiral staircase) and spends her nights painting and eating Chinese straight from the container. Seems like the dream to me. BUT she’s 28 and unmarried so the situation’s dire. Time to try something new, like dating a woman!

This movie’s got early 00s clothes, a fun soundtrack, the West Village as its backdrop, and it coined “sexy ugly” way before that website Babe (RIP) did its ugly hot guys list. The end of this movie is divisive but if you like Sex and the City’s approach to dating, I think you’ll be into it.

A young Jon Hamm is in this because he dated Jennifer Westfeldt for 18 years. I always admired their relationship and how open they were about never wanting to marry or have kids. Then, at the height of his Mad Men fame, they broke up. Now he’s married and apparently does want a kid. He’s 53. I hope Jennifer is thriving.

The Last Days of Disco (1998)

Toxic female friendship, pseudo-intellectual WASPs, and the awkwardness of roommates living in a railroad-style apartment. I love this movie.

The Last Days of Disco is about two recent grads (Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale) who work in publishing by day, and by night, are desperate to get into their favorite disco club and meet guys. They’re frenemies who haven’t figured that out yet, saying things like “Anything I did that was wrong, I apologize for. But anything I did that was not wrong, I don't apologize for.” I feel that.

There are bangers throughout, but you will not believe how many good songs play in the first 30 minutes alone. I’m a big disco person.

If you don’t like talky hangout movies with unlikable characters, you probably won’t like this. If you like Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s collaborations, you will like this.

THE FINAL SCENE WITH EVERYONE DANCING ON THE SUBWAY!!!! <3

Hitch (2005)

I won’t hear anything bad about Hitch! This is one of the best NYC romcoms. Courtside at the Knicks, going out in the Meatpacking District, jet-skiing on the Hudson, hitting up that rice pudding place in Nolita that people think is a money laundering scheme. And I’m sorry, but the Kevin James dancing scene is legitimately funny!!

Center Stage (2000)

My number-one comfort watch and unironically one of my favorite movies. The final dance number (a full ten minutes) is heaven. I love any movie that takes us to Lincoln Center.

How fun does their limo ride through Times Square look? I want to make a group of my friends ride the ferry to the Statue of Liberty! Cooper Nielson (ugh, I have such a crush on him) driving Jody over the Manhattan Bridge on his motorcycle so they can have sex in his DUMBO loft!!

Zoe Saldaña does better work in Center Stage than in her Oscar-winning Emilia Pérez role.

Best line in film history? “I’m the best goddamn dancer in the American Ballet Academy, who the hell are you?”

Frances Ha (2012)

When I saw Frances Ha in my twenties, I liked it. I recently watched it again in my thirties and LOVED it. A no-brainer 5-star movie for me that scratches the same itch as my beloved Girls, right down to casting Adam Driver as obnoxious.

Frances Ha portrays the very real issue of your roommate(s) making or breaking your New York experience. And how hard it is to find an ATM when you really need one.

Greta dancing down the street to Modern Love is a top-tier movie moment that’ll be in award show montages until the end of time.

Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Damn, this movie’s dark but it’s a classic. My favorite soundtrack and first celebrity crush. Is there a more iconic movie opening? John Travolta folding two pizza slices on top of each other because he’s a guy on the go. His strut is rivaled only by Brigitte from Passport to Paris (“attitude, attitude, attitude always”).

You hate to see a film’s protagonist attempt to assault his dance partner in the final act, among several other hard-to-watch scenes. By far the best part is Travolta’s solo dance scene. It’s an athletic feat.

Working Girl (1988)

Immediately we open on the Statue of Liberty and that Carly Simon song. Transcendent. Again, I really romanticize the Staten Island Ferry.

This movie has everything and everyone: the Twin Towers, Joan Cusack in wacky makeup, Kevin Spacey jump-scare, a hot and greasy Alec Baldwin, even legend Olympia Dukakis.

And so many good quotes! “Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, me?” “I have a head for business and a bod for sin.” “Six thousand dollahs?? It’s not even leathuh.” “You want another answer, ask another girl.”

Melanie Griffith has an amazing speaking voice (watch this space for my list of favorite voices). When she catches Alec Baldwin cheating on her, instead of yelling, she whispers “you snake.” It’s so satisfying.

Oliver & Company (1988)

If you’re strong enough to get past the beginning, where little kitten Oliver is abandoned in the rain after all his siblings are adopted and he’s not, you’re in for a fun adventure. Oliver is quickly taken in by a gang of thieving dogs. I mean, it’s Oliver Twist so you know the story. Bette Middler playing a poodle! Kind of underrated as a Disney movie. I still listen to Why Should I Worry regularly.

Unzipped (1995)

A perfect documentary, especially if you like watching someone navigate the creative process.

This one’s about fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi coming off a poorly reviewed runway show, trying to redeem himself with his next collection. It’s 90s New York at the height of the supermodels’ power, like Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista, who seems like a real nightmare.

So, was his fashion show a hit?? You’ll have to watch to find out. My only issue with this doc? Too short! Isaac himself is such a lovable character. Drew surprised me last Valentine’s with tickets to see Isaac perform at Café Carlyle, one of those New York institutions (the Kennedys lived there!).

After Hours (1985)

I’m never out at 3 am because I don’t do cocaine, and this movie validates why I never go looking for adventure. Instead, I go home. If you like The Odyssey, you’ll like After Hours.

A guy meets a girl and goes back to her apartment, then when things start to go wrong, can’t extricate himself from the situation and get back home. It’s funny, ridiculous, and I love how the neighborhood of Soho is the aggressor. The truest thing about After Hours is that New York is a place where things that are hard to do everywhere else are easy to do here, but stuff that should be simple can sometimes feel impossible.

7 Days in September (2002)

I’ve got to have a 9/11 doc. This is one of many that’ll scratch the itch.

Ghost (1990)

This movie justifies being a worry-wart. At the beginning of Ghost, Patrick Swayze says “whenever something good in my life happens, I’m worried I’m going to lose it.” And he dies the next day, so like, there is reason to stress.

Whoopi Goldberg rightly won an Oscar for this movie. Vincent Schiavelli plays a ghost who haunts the subway and he really scared me as a kid! I, again, love their big loft. Unchained Melody is one of the best movie music moments.

Uptown Girls (2003)

The best movies are 90-minute movies. Brittany Murphy plays a more lovable Holly Golightly and Dakota Fanning plays a boss bitch. I’m now 11 years older than Brittany Murphy’s character and I still want her entire wardrobe but age is just a number!

You get plenty of Central Park scenes, the teacup ride at Coney Island, and a Sugar Ray cameo.

A Perfect Murder (1998)

Sometimes you want to watch a C+ quality movie with an A-list cast. That’s A Perfect Murder. Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow play a married couple living in a HUGE apartment overlooking Central Park. There’s literally an atrium in the middle.

Meanwhile, Viggo Mortensen lives in a spooky Greenpoint artist space where he and Gwyneth are having an affair. I know a lot of people don’t enjoy infidelity in their entertainment but I personally love it and root for it. It’s not real life!

Gwyneth wears a beautiful brown coat in this. She’s wonderful at wearing clothes. Watch this next time you want a dumb thriller.

How to Survive a Plague (2012)

Idk how to convince you to watch a documentary about AIDS but How to Survive a Plague is incredible. It starts on year six of the crisis when there’s no cure, limited care, and a nearly 100% fatality rate. You spend two hours at the frontlines of ACT UP’s protests and demand for FDA-approved treatment. Maddening, inspiring, and a reminder why it’s important to know our history.

Fuck you, Ronald Reagan. Health care is a human right.

A Thousand and One (2023)

A terribly underrated and beautiful movie that should’ve earned Teyana Taylor many, many awards. Set in Harlem in the early 90s, Teyana’s character kidnaps her son out of foster care and we watch them try to make a home in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood that doesn’t make it easy. I don’t want to say too much about A Thousand and One besides you should absolutely be watching it right now.

Btw, remember when Teyana was on My Super Sweet 16?

American Psycho (2000)

Written and directed by a woman! American Psycho is a satire horror that reinforces the importance of a diligent skincare routine and depicts how stressful it can be to get a decent dinner reservation here. I like this movie because I too identify as extremely vain with shallow interests: clothes, eating out, gossiping, listening to pop music.

Yay for seeing Christian Bale’s butt in the first five minutes. Film needs more male nudity! And Reese Witherspoon needs to take dark roles again.

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Straight-up Upper West Side porn that makes me wish I lived there in the late 90s, or now. It captures all the charm of Riverside Park, Cafe Lalo, Zabar's, and just walking down Amsterdam Ave in autumn.

The way Meg Ryan tiptoes around her apartment like a cartoon character, afraid to be caught using a titillating new service called AOL? A true comedienne. She’s so cute and charming that she’s able to overcome her depressing khakis & sweater-set wardrobe. At the end, when Tom Hanks says “don’t cry, shopgirl,” I do cry!

Cruel Intentions (1999)

I went through a phase in high school when I watched this movie every single day. It was all I thought about. A lot of that had to do with Ryan Phillippe coming up the escalator to Colorblind by Counting Crows.

Best New York scene? Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar kissing on a blanket in Central Park, of course.

The Way We Were (1973)

A film about a highly principled but exhausting Barbra Streisand who’s in love with the smallest man who ever lived. Robert Redford plays Hubbell, a hottie who always takes the easy way out, despite Babs urging him to be better. People thirst over Chris Evans in a cable knit sweater in Knives Out, but Redford did it first. Also, Barbra looks truly gorgeous in this — her hair, her makeup, her nails. And she’s not scared to call someone a fascist!

The most idyllic parts of The Way We Were take place in Malibu, but ahh that ending in front of the Plaza. I cry every time.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

My mom likes this movie, my dad likes this movie, everyone likes this movie! I’ll let the Vogue montage speak for itself.

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

It always sucked watching this movie with your parents when the orgasm scene came on. Katz’s is a really stressful place btw! That’s the last place you’d have an orgasm, even a fake one. I guess you are surrounded by meat, though…

When Harry Met Sally is the greatest romcom ever made and maybe the greatest New York City film. I love all the interstitial couple interviews. I love its scenes at the Central Park Boathouse, the Met, and Shakespeare & Co.

As soon as Billy Crystal launches into “I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out…” it’s over for us. We’re hearing the best declaration of love in a movie ever.

Honorable mentions

• The Royal Tenenbaums for that house

• Party Girl for Parker Posey’s outfits and her dedicated patronage of the falafel cart

• Stuart Little for boat racing in Central Park

• The Godfather Part II for the entire Don Fanucci parade sequence

• Brown Sugar for making me want a hot dog real bad

• New York Minute for being the last Olsen Twins movie

• Maid in Manhattan for J.Lo bravely sitting on a park bench in an all-cream outfit

• Six Degrees of Separation for Will Smith playing against type and Stockard Channing’s diabolical all-red apartment

• Summer of Sam for the Studio 54 stuff

• Spider-Man (2002) for being the only superhero movie I like

• Unfaithful for the sex

• Taxi Driver for grimy 1970s Times Square

• You Hurt My Feelings for the main conflict taking place at the Union Square Paragon Sports, a place where I’d totally get my feelings hurt. Bad vibes.

• The First Wives Club for reinforcing my fear of heights

• Serendipity, Prime, and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days for being endlessly watchable, set-in-NYC romcoms

Some classics I still need to watch:

• Mean Streets

• The Apartment

• Barefoot in the Park

• Crossing Delancey

• The Cruise

• Fame

• The King of Comedy

Please recommend any I missed or tell me your favorites!

What else is up

Well I am now part of a class action lawsuit against Lincoln Center for the $12 in convenience fees I’ve paid over the years, so I can’t wait to get that Venmo payment in 2030.