• Rating:
• Genre: Comedy
• Movie Type: Romantic Comedy
• Themes: Matchmakers, Opposites Attract
• Director: Joan Micklin Silver
• Main Cast: Amy Irving, Reizl Bozyk, Peter Riegert, Jeroen Krabbé, Sylvia Miles
• Release Year: 1988
• Country: US
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• MPAA Rating: PG

Plot

Can an independent, contemporary woman find happiness with a guy who sells pickles? Isabelle Grossman (Amy Irving) is an attractive, intelligent Jewish woman in her early 30s. She has a good job and a nice apartment on the Upper West Side, and she values her independence; she often visits her grandmother Bubbie (Reiz Bozyk), who lives on the Lower East Side and wants Isabelle to meet a nice Jewish man and settle down. Bubbie goes so far as to obtain the services of Hannah Mandelbaum (Sylvia Miles), a matchmaker who finds the "perfect" man for Isabelle: a pickle salesman named Sam Posner (Peter Riegert). Isabelle thinks Sam is a nice enough guy, but she has a hard time imagining herself spending her life with the pickle man, and she isn't sure if she wants to pursue the relationship. However, Sam is taken with Isabelle and goes out of his way to change her mind. Crossing Delancy was directed by Joan Micklin Silver, whose breakthrough film Hester Street also examined Jewish culture on the Lower East Side, albeit from the vantage point of the 1890s. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Review

Crossing Delancey is a charming romantic comedy about the clash between traditional values and the modern world that too often pushes them aside. The story primarily focuses on the American experience of different generations of Eastern European Jews -- highlighted by Amy Irving's finely nuanced performance as the conflicted, ambitious Izzy -- but the tale is universal to any group of people whose roles and customs changed over the course of the 20th century. Directed with obvious love by Joan Micklin Silver from Susan Sandler's screenplay, Delancey is buoyed by endearing, funny supporting turns from Reizl Bozyk as Izzy's Bubbie, and Sylvia Miles as the matchmaker who brings Izzy and the more traditional pickle salesman Sam (Peter Riegert) together. Riegert's character is somewhat underwritten: It's hard to tell why he and Izzy should end up together, aside from his inherent niceness. Still, Delancey successfully stresses the need for love, regardless of Old World/New World, uptown/downtown differences. ~ Matthew Doberman, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Amy Irving - Isabelle "Izzy" Grossman
• Reizl Bozyk - Bubbie Kantor
• Peter Riegert - Sam Posner
• Jeroen Krabbé - Anton Maes
• Sylvia Miles - Hannah Mandelbaum

Suzzy Roche - Marilyn Cohen; George Martin - Lionel; John Bedford Lloyd - Nick; Claudia Silver - Cecilia Monk; David Hyde Pierce - Mark; Rosemary Harris - Pauline Swift; Amy Wright - Ricki; Faye Grant - Candyce; Deborah Offner - Karen; Kathleen Wilhoite - Myla Bondy; Mina Bern - Would-be Victim; Susan Blommaert - Leslie; Christine Campbell - Woman in Cab; Reg E. Cathey - Cab Driver; Debra Cole - Waitress; Ronnie Gilbert - Mugger; Jayne Haynes - Book Thief; Keith Reddin - Celebrity Party Guest; Vickilyn Reynolds - Woman in Sauna; Marie Antoinette Rogers - Party Guest; Moishe Rosenfeld - Rabbi; Stan Rubin - Pickle Stand Customer; Tudor Sherrard - Book Peddler; Dolores Sutton - Aunt Miriam; Myra Taylor - Friend in Sauna; Richard Frisch - Happy Birthday Singer; Pat Oleszko - Himself; Susan Sandler - Molly; John Patrick Shanley - Celebrity Party Guest; Arthur Tracy - Pickle Stand Customer; Dennis Belloco - Maitre d'; Mimi Bensinger - Mrs. Grossman; Susan Braudy - Celebrity Party Guest; Madge Cooper - Celebrity Party Guest; Sam Corsi - Handball Champ; Loring Eutemey - Celebrity Party Guest; Vicki Goldberg - Celebrity Party Guest; Ida Harnden - Mugger; Jacob Harran - Guest at Bris; Hendrik Hertzberg - Celebrity Party Guest; Paula Laurence - Diva; Stanley Leff - Celebrity Party Guest; Bob Levine - Mr. Grossman; Lee M. Lindersman - Watier; Quincy Long - Celebrity Party Guest; Hugh Nissenson - Celebrity Party Guest; Brad O'Hare - Photographer; Stan Page - Happy Birthday Singer; Miriam Phillips - Sarah Jacobs; Kevin Rogers - Messenger; Betty Rollin - Party Guest; Arthur Rubin - Happy Birthday Singer; Lore Segal - Celebrity Party Guest; Scott Somer - Celebrity Party Guest; Young Ho Kim - Mr. Kim; Meg Simon; Fran Kumin; Freda Foh Shen - Self-Defense Teacher; Michael Ornstein - Mickey; Tony Perez - Counter Boy

Credit

The Roches - Composer (Music Score); Daniel Boxer - Set Designer; Paul Chihara - Composer (Music Score); Gretchen Christopher - Songwriter; Barbara Ellis - Songwriter; David Forrest - Makeup; Oscar Hammerstein II - Songwriter; Isham Jones - Songwriter; Gus Kahn - Songwriter; Dan Leigh - Production Designer; Phil Neilson - Stunts; Michael Nozik - Producer; Pat Oleszko - Songwriter; David Roche - Songwriter; Margaret A. Roche - Songwriter; Suzzy Roche - Songwriter; Terre Roche - Songwriter; Richard Rodgers - Songwriter; Leslie Rollins - Art Director; Rita Ryack - Costume Designer; Susan Sandler - Screenwriter; Susan Sandler - Play Author; Rick Shaine - Editor; Joan Micklin Silver - Director; Raphael Silver - Executive Producer; Raphael Silver - Producer; Gary Troxel - Songwriter; Theo Van de Sande - Cinematographer; Meg Simon - Casting; Danny Michael - Sound/Sound Designer; Nellie Nugiel - Associate Producer; Fran Kumin - Casting; Louis D'Esposito - First Assistant Director

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Crazy from the Heart; Moonstruck; Household Saints; Next Stop Wonderland; Polish Wedding; Late Marriage; In America; Suzie Gold; I'll Do Anything

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