Film / New York Stories

New York Stories is a 1989 Anthology Film that consists of three shorts set in New York City, each directed by a prominent New York-based filmmaker.

The parts are:

• "Life Lessons" by Martin Scorsese: A painter (Nick Nolte) struggles with a creative block and with his difficult relationship with his ex (Rosanna Arquette), who's still living with him.
• "Life Without Zoë" by Francis Ford Coppola: A schoolgirl (Heather McComb) who lives in a luxury hotel tries to reconcile her estranged parents (Talia Shire and Giancarlo Giannini).
• "Oedipus Wrecks" by Woody Allen: A middle-aged lawyer (Allen) has an overbearing mother (Mae Questel) who ends up as a giant face in the sky, which strains his relationship with his fiancée (Mia Farrow).

This film provides examples of:

• Arbitrary Skepticism: Played for comedy in Oedipus Wrecks when Sheldon claims not to believe in the supernatural... as a giant talking head of his mother is looming in the New York sky above him.
• Big Applesauce: It's in the title. All three films show the artistic side of the city.
• Deadpan Snarker: Paulette is this in Life Lessons, even casually snarking at Lionel after he threatens to rape her, kill her, and/or kill himself, dryly responding "or you could rape yourself". In fairness, though, the threat was pretty clearly empty - Lionel is certainly a creep, but the idea he'd actually be capable of rape or murder is presented in-universe as extremely unconvincing and unthreatening.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Lionel likes to force himself in these relationships to help his art.
• Jewish Mother: Sheldon's mother alternates between kvetching at him about everything, embarrassing him by telling everyone about his childhood bedwetting, and being very critical of his gentile divorcee girlfriend. He feels genuinely relieved when she disappears during a magic act. Then she reappears in the sky over New York, doing the exact same thing except now literally everyone in the city can see or hear her. She only returns to human form once Sheldon has been dumped by his gentile girlfriend and he introduces his mother to his new Jewish girlfriend, who similarly nags and controls him.
• Kent Brockman News: In Oedipus Wrecks, the news anchors reporting on the magical woman who just appeared in the sky above New York generally speak about it as if it were a casual "lighter side" story rather than the redefinition of all modern science that is blatantly is, engaging in casual lighthearted dialogue and focusing on tangential facts such as that Sheldon's changing his name and former bedwetting. In fairness, almost every non-focal character treats it an Unusually Uninteresting Sight as well, and, while they at least acknowledge it as inexplicable, even the protagonists express only Dull Surprise. Of course, that still doesn't explain why they're including irrelevant embarrassing gossip about Sheldon in their report.
• Magic Realism: "Oedipus Wrecks" is the only of the three stories that features a small fantasy element: After vanishing in a stage magician act, Sheldon's mother appears as a giant face in the sky of New York.
• Muse Abuse: Lionel derives his artistic energy from the "Life Lessons" with his assistants. He's looking to do the same thing with different assistant at the end of the story.
• My Beloved Smother: Sheldon's mother, who doesn't approve of his Shiksa Goddess fiance. She becomes an Amazingly Embarrassing Parent when she looms high in the sky, getting all of New York involved in her complaints.
• Shiksa Goddess: Sheldon's fiancée Lisa, whom his mother does not approve of.
• Shipper on Deck: Sheldon's mother definitely approves of Treva, who makes food as bland as her, and returns to normal after Sheldon hooks up with her. It's hinted the entire thing was her Batman Gambit to get Sheldon to be interested in her pick of partner.
• Technical Euphemism: Lionel from Life Lessons considers the term "performance artist" to be one of these, insisting on using the term "comedian" for Paulette's unseen ex-boyfriend (who is implied to have performed a similar shtick to Andy Kaufman), and comparing using his official job title to referring to a garbageman as a "sanitary engineer".
• Uncle Pennybags: The title character of Life Without Zoe attempts to be an Aunt Pennybags, though in typically childish ways (e.g. giving a homeless man a box of Herhsey's).