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"I think that there is a certain kind of something that is in your blood as a New Yorker," actress Kyra Sedgwick says over Zoom while discussing her new movie, The Best You Can. "You're fast, you're moving, you're rushing. You’ve got places to be and things to do."
Two other subjects spark that same candor and excitement during our call, which also includes Sedgwick’s husband, fellow actor Kevin Bacon, who stars alongside her in the film: the project itself—their first on-screen collaboration in twenty years—and the changing nature of the film industry.
"Growing up and being in New York in the 1970s, which was such a seminal moment in American film history, going to the movies feels like a really important part of our lives," Bacon says. "We really, really make an effort to go out and sit down and get some popcorn and experience the thrill of the movies."
When asked about their go-to movie theater, the couple, married for 37 years, is quick to point out that they tend to "go where we need to go," depending on what films are playing where. Among their favorites are AMC 84th Street 6 and the New Plaza Cinema on 67th Street, both in their Upper West Side neighborhood.
LOOK Dine-In on 57th Street and the Angelika also get mentioned.
But back to New York: the mix of nostalgia, pace and emotional honesty that the actors allude to during our chat sits at the heart of The Best You Can. Sedgwick plays Cynthia, a tightly wound New York urologist whose world turns upside-down as her husband starts showing signs of dementia. Bacon's character, Stan—a home security guard estranged from his daughter—stumbles into her life after a late-night break-in, an encounter that sparks an unexpected mid-life connection.
"It's a story that felt really fresh and some of the themes it was exploring felt fresh because we don't have a lot of movies about middle age in America," says Sedgwick. "It just doesn't seem like we are exploring this time of our lives and we should be because we are all getting there."
Beyond the movies, the couple savors another New York tradition: dinner at a restaurant. When it comes to eating out, the two seem to gravitate towards familiar neighborhood gems, including Italian eateries Gennaro and Tarallucci e Vino.
Sedgwick, though, has a bone to pick with the city: "There aren't that many great restaurants on the Upper West Side, sadly!"
It’s a comment that doubles as a friendly challenge to the city’s hospitality pros: even Hollywood’s finest are rooting for stronger Upper West Side dining.