2 Days in New York

Julie Delpy's heralded and hysterical 2 Days in Paris centered on two lovers—the French Marion (Delpy) and her American beau (Adam Goldberg)—whose relationship is thrown into turmoil when visiting her family. In its sequel, 2 Days in New York, the setup is similar with the culture clash of the free-spirited French family conflicting with the American squeamishness of Marion's boyfriend, but its differences give this comedy an exuberant new energy. Goldberg and his anxiety-driven humor are gone, replaced by Chris Rock who shines in a rare straight man role as Mingus, Marion's current live-in love whose patience and sanity is tested when her peculiar papa (Deply's real-life father Albert Delpy), and troublemaking sister (Alexia Landeau) arrive for a visit with plenty of baggage in tow, including one of Marion's embarrassing exes (Alexandre Nahon). As her family and her love life once again collide, Marion is prepping for an art exhibition in which she will literally sell her soul to the highest bidder, which leads to a climax that is absurd yet totally believable. Delpy's comedy is flush with a frenzied energy and a sharp but wild sense of observational humor that makes it entirely engaging and deeply hilarious.