Things That Make Me Want To Go To New York

1. Godzilla (1998): This was the second monster movie I’d seen. The first was King Kong, the 1930s version, which was also set in New York. Needless to say giant creatures seem to like tearing that city up quite a bit. My favourite scene was where the Chrysler Building came a-tumbling down. A morbid fascination really.








2. Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest: The scene in Grand Central Station especially, but also the visit to the UN building. I guess it also has a lot to do with Carey Grant, the stylish minx. You just have to love a man who sends his suit for pressing right after someone tries to kill him with a crop duster. Class.






3. Dave Chappelle’s Block Party: Dave Chappelle is an American national treasure. I’m not American, nor am I qualified to induct him officially as their national treasure, which does sort of mess up the power of my statement. However, I reiterate; the man is awesome. I saw a conversation between him and Maya Angelou on TV by accident one day, and then saw this film. It is such a fantastic film too; the concept is immense, and it may be a cliché to say, but the people are the most interesting thing in it. I love how he pulls different communities together to claim a piece of the city, even if only for a day or so. I especially love the quirky couple with their self-built ‘Broken Angel’ building. I like to think that people who are a bit offbeat are unique to big cities. That’s not to say that smaller towns don’t have them; I just think that their eccentricities would make them outcasts. I think bigger cities accommodate strangeness. They let people be. Not necessarily in a nice way, maybe in a cruel way too, but they are still allowed to be who they are.



4. How I Met Your Mother: Only really for that one episode where they try to find the perfect burger that Marshall stumbled upon one evening. I love food, and I love cities, and I love the idea of a perfect-burger-treasure-hunt. Especially if the place has a red door!

5. Home Alone 2: You can probably tell that most of this list revolves around buildings and interesting human beans. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is full of both! Duncan’s Toy Chest (which is apparently actually in Chicago. Hmph.), Central Park, the Plaza Hotel, the pigeon lady who sees the opera for free, the scary cabby, that house under renovation which is the scene of the sticky, oozy, firey, hurty, laughy, ouchy mayhem.... Absolute classic.

6. Green Card: Oh! To have Andie Macdowell’s apartment! And a Frenchman with a hard past and a musician’s heart! Sigh.

7. Ryan Adams’ song ‘New York’. Also Gene Kelly’s song ‘On The Town’: Basically any young man, fit or scruffy, dancer or singer, pasty or tanned, army, navy, airforce or civilian who sings about New York makes me want to go there. I like to believe it combines city-lust with male-lust. The two most important forms of lust after yarn-lust.



8. Catcher in the Rye: Of Course. Obvious. Is there a person alive who didn’t like this book and didn’t want to be Holden Caulfield?

9. The Babysitter’s Club books: Because Stacey, the one from New York was described as the ‘sophisticated’ one. I wanted to be sophisticated. So I wanted to go to New York. Still applies.

10. Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Holly Golightly. Because she was a weary sophisticate. A Woman Without A Past. Rather, she could reinvent herself and live life fast and loose in stunning dresses with a cat and good wine. Not bad for a country girl.

11. Radio Days, Woody Allen: This was such a beautiful film. It was like listening to small anecdotes from your grandparents. The family is such a beautiful example of the messed up-ed-ness of families, but it also shows how at the end of the day family is always there to love you. They may box your ears, but then they’ll give you a big hug and a glass of milk. Goofy grin inducing film. I wanted to hug everyone I saw after watching it.