Side Streets

The New York melting pot gets another stir in this uncharacteristic, lighthearted Merchant Ivory production. Gerber's kaleidoscopic first feature presents five tangentially connecting stories, one for each borough. In Queens, a heart throb Romanian butcher boy steals from his wife to feed his compulsion for gambling; in Manhattan, an airhead aspirant designer fails to persuade a buyer from Italy; a food-obsessed, fading Indian screen idol comes between his Staten Island taxi-driver brother and his wife; a Cadillac nut West Indian finds love is better than gleaming metal; and a promiscuous Puerto Rican tries to raise cash for a designer frock for his sexy girlfriend. Dreams and aspirations get a light going over, diversity is celebrated, but there are no searing insights or real admissions of difficulties. Still, it's a fine enough calling card, with an agreeable comic feel.