First there was Paris Je T’aime. In 2006, 20 acclaimed directors presented their short stories set in the capital of love. 3 years later, 10 minutes shorter, and with about half the manpower, an additional group of directors is presenting their 11 love stories in New York, I Love You, the second installment in the Cities of Love series.

Every few years, someone tries it. Yet somehow, despite uniting acclaimed directors and stars, these omnibus titles never achieve great acclaim. Maybe it’s the too-high expectations that kill them?

Still, it’s a perfect chance to explore the “New York” gene in our Movie Genome, in all its richness and variety. Read on to find just the type of New York movie you’re in the mood for…

10. New York (place) - click to see search results on Jinni

Thousands of movies and shows have been set in NY. We’ve seen the city attacked by creatures (Cloverfield), deserted after an apocalypse (I Am Legend), disaster-stricken (The Day After Tomorrow), attacked by terrorists (fictional in The Siege, and real and worse than any fiction, in World Trade Center), helped by superheroes (Spider-Man), decayed at night (Taxi Driver), ruled by gangsters (The Godfather), and the backdrop for numerous romances (Breakfast at Tiffany’s). Never a dull moment in the city that never sleeps. Any movie or show that happens entirely or just partly in the Big Apple will get the “New York” gene, weighted based on the city’s dominance in the story.

9. Indie (genre) + New York (place)

At Jinni, we call indies a genre, though indies vary widely. We expect indies to be more daring and imaginative than what the big studios and TV networks produce - and is there any other city that goes better with daring and intriguing? A banker by day and serial killer by night (American Psycho), a black, birds-raising Samurai (Ghost Dog), a couple erasing their memories (Eternal Sunshine), a musical about Nazis (The Producers), a DV work shot from a hot-air balloon and then reworked by animators (Waking Life), are just a few samples of what happens when the creative freedom of working outside a studio meets New York’s inspiration.

8. Multiple Stories (style) + New York (place)

New York, I Love You is a perfect example of this gene. Other examples are separate stories by the same director (Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth), or multiple stories that intertwine (Ed Burn’s Sidewalks of New York). Even more unique is The Hours, about three female characters in three different times and places – one of which is contemporary Manhattan.

7. All Star Cast (style) + New York (place)

Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, Shia LaBeouf, Orlando Bloom, Hayden Christensen, Robin Wright Penn, Christina Ricci, James Caan, Anton Yelchin, Ethan Hawke, John Hurt, Chris Cooper, Andy Garcia, Julie Christie, Eli Wallach, Burt Young, Irrfan Khan… Enough to justify the “all-star” gene in New York, I Love You - no?

We use this gene even when there are only 5 big stars in a movie, provided they’re not just making a cameo. Multiple stories are naturally a good excuse to cast bucket loads of stars, but not the only one. So let the stars take you on a trip through time in New York – from 19th-century Gangs of New York, through mid-20th century The Godfather, to contemporary Eternal Sunshine…

6. City Life (plot) + New York (place)

Not just movies by Woody Allen and Scorsese… New York has always fascinated creators and directors, who aspire to depict a slice of life in this amazing city. From light hits and cult classics like Friends, Sex and the City and Seinfeld, to more unusual depictions like the surreal and humorous night-trip After Hours, or the Hindi-language post-9/11 immigrant drama simply named New York.

5. Looking For Love (plot) + New York (place)

Whether true love or a casual encounter, a big metropolis like New York is filled with men and women – eligible bachelors, single mothers, widows, divorcees, unfaithful partners, gays and lesbians - all looking for love. Looking for Love is just one gene among many love-related ones in our Movie Genome (try Falling in Love, Tragic Love, Impossible Love, Love Affair and many more…) and it brings us many variations on the New York theme: from love mentors in Hitch, to light-hearted sailors in On the Town; from first-talk-then-have-sex in When Harry Met Sally, to first-have-sex-then-talk in Sex and the City.

4. Date Night (audience) + New York (place)

If you’re wondering which movie is right for your first date, we can suggest a few. Naturally, we don’t want to bum you out with heavy social problems, or ruin it with political differences, so mostly light, feel-good and romantic titles get the “date night” gene. But not just. Uplifting stories, thrilling adventures, superheroes and fantasies also fit. Some teens even like slasher flicks on their dates (Note for directors: very few are set in New York). And this is what’s so great about movies - and Jinni - even a guy living in New Delhi can take his girl on a date in New York…

3. Captivating (mood) + New York (place)

We use captivating in the sense that a movie or show is gripping, stirring, or powerful, sucking you in and keeping you glued to the screen for an hour or two, wishing it wouldn’t end, and saying a big WOW when it does (since you finally can pee…). Somehow, New York and Captivating mainly result in… crime and drugs. Giuliani and Bloomberg might not like it, but apparently viewers do.

2. Sexy (mood) + New York (place)

Here at Jinni we are picky! Not just anything involving sex gets the mood sexy (try finding Sex and the City in the collage above). On the other hand, titles with no sex at all still can (The Age of Innocence). So if the characters are sexy, or if the sex is presented in a sexy manner, then you’ll see this gene.

Yes, there are some memorable stories and modern classics above, like 9 1/2 Weeks, Sea of Love, Eyes Wide Shut and Coyote Ugly (not), but surprisingly, I can’t promise that the titles above are THE sexiest out there. So New York, you still have room to improve.

1. More Like: New York, I Love You

Our Movie Genome generates a variety of title suggestions, all similar to New York, I Love You, but in different ways. Paris, Je T’aime is obvious, as apart from the setting, it has many of the same themes and moods. Sidewalks of New York tells multiple stories (intertwining, unlike in New York, I Love You) of love and relations set in contemporary NY, but while it is also talky, it’s not atmospheric. New York Stories is a similar tribute to NY, an episodic multiple-stories title, directed by three acclaimed directors. In Search of a Midnight Kiss is also atmospheric, in black-and-white (New York, I Love You is partly B&W), and as the name suggests, deals with a search for love, although in a less sexy metropolis - LA.

I saved a question for the end: Scarlett Johansson was originally slated to direct one of the segments, and she still appears under writing credits in IMDb. Her segment didn’t make the cut though (to put it kindly). But will we get to see it in a black market or Director’s cut version of the movie…?

And where do you suggest placing the fourth installment (given that the next one is already set in Shanghai)? Comment and let us know!

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