New York Stories

Plot

In Life Lessons, Lionel Dobie, an acclaimed abstract artist, cannot paint before a scheduled gallery exhibition. His assistant and former lover, Paulette, lives with him in his studio-loft. Lionel remains infatuated with her, but Paulette seeks only his tutelage and dates others, including a performance artist and a painter. Her deliberate provocations fuel Lionel's jealousy and creativity.

Both use each other: Lionel sexually, Paulette for entry into higher social and art circles. Paulette considers leaving for her parents, but Lionel persuades her to stay, insisting a painter must be in New York. Lionel channels his anxiety into his work, creating paintings with stormy skies, burning bridges, and tormented clowns. He realizes he needs emotional turmoil to fuel his art.

At the exhibit, he meets a struggling young painter and persuades her to become his assistant and potential lover, restarting the cycle. In Life Without Zoë, 12-year-old Zoë lives in a luxury hotel. She helps return a valuable piece of jewelry to an Arab princess, which the princess had given to Zoë's father and was stolen and recovered. Zoë attempts to reconcile her divorced mother, a photographer, and father, a flautist.

In Oedipus Wrecks, New York lawyer Sheldon Mills struggles with his overly critical mother, Sadie Millstein. He complains to his therapist, wishing she would disappear. Sheldon brings his shiksa fiancée, Lisa, to meet his mother, who embarrasses him. At a magic show, his mother is invited onstage, placed in a box, and disappears as intended, but never reappears.

Reception

New York Stories opened on March 10, 1989, earning $432,337 in 12 theaters during its opening weekend. It grossed $10,763,469 domestically in 514 theaters. The film holds a 77% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 26 reviews. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post considered Coppola's segment the director's worst work yet. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, describing it as one good, one bad, and one disappointing film. He found Life Lessons the only successful segment, called Life Without Zoë thin and unfocused, and said Oedipus Wrecks starts well but takes a wrong turn. Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave it 4 out of 5 stars. Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic wrote that the first segment is best, the second sags, and the third picks up smartly.