"AUTUMN IN NEW YORK"
(2000) (Richard Gere, Winona Ryder) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	None	Heavy	Minor	None
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	Minor	None	Heavy
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Minor	Minor	Mild	None

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QUICK TAKE:

Drama: A middle-aged playboy with an aversion to commitment finds himself falling for a woman half his age who may not have long to live.

PLOT:

Will Keane (RICHARD GERE) is a successful and suave New York restaurateur and renowned ladies man, whose age of forty-eight has neither hampered nor slowed down his efforts in either field. Charlotte Fielding (WINONA RYDER), on the other hand, is a still somewhat awkward 22-year-old woman known best for making bizarre hats. When the two meet on Charlotte's birthday through her salty grandmother, Dolores (ELAINE STRITCH), whom Will has known for quite some time, the sparks immediately fly between them, despite their differences in age.

Ever the womanizer and after an amorous evening, Will tells Charlotte that this romance won't work between them. She agrees, but for different reasons as she then informs him that she's living on borrowed time since she has a non-cancerous tumor growing inside her heart that should have killed her by now. Despite warnings from Dolores and advice from his friend and restaurant worker, John (ANTHONY LaPAGLIA), not to get involved with Charlotte, her candid disclosure has now made him fall for her.

With word from Charlotte's physician, Dr. Sibley (MARY BETH HURT), that Charlotte probably has less than a year to live, Will sets out to make her remaining time as enjoyable as possible. Yet, his involvement with several women from his past, Lynn (JILL HENNESSY), a former girlfriend and Lisa (VERA FARMIGA), the adult daughter he's never met, soon impact his and Charlotte's relationship. As Charlotte's condition continues to deteriorate and her love affair with Will hits its share of bumps in the road, they try to make things work out before time runs out for both her and them.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're fans of Gere, Ryder or attempted tearjerker romantic dramas, they just might (the target audience among kids seems to be teenage girls).

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For language and some sensuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

RICHARD GERE plays a middle-aged restaurateur with a reputation as a ladies man. He ends up falling for Charlotte and wishes to move on after bedding her, but changes his mind after hearing of her terminal disease. He can't change his ways, however, and has sex with an old girlfriend on a building rooftop (not seen) at a party he's attending with Charlotte. As her condition worsens, however, he changes his ways and tries to care for her while also finally taking responsibility for being the absent father to another young adult woman. He also briefly uses strong profanity.

WINONA RYDER plays a young woman facing a terminal illness who becomes smitten with Will and ends up in bed with him. Looking for love in her remaining time on Earth, she becomes angry with him upon learning of his return to his womanizing ways.

ELAINE STRITCH plays Charlotte's salty grandmother who cusses some and bemoans what age has done to her.

ANTHONY LaPAGLIA plays Will's friend and restaurant worker who tries to advise him about his relationship with Charlotte and briefly uses some strong profanity.

VERA FARMIGA plays Will's adult daughter who's finally tracked him down.

JILL HENNESSY plays an old girlfriend of Will's who apparently seduces him at a party (since they end up having sex on the rooftop).

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a quick summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated romantic drama. Profanity is rated as heavy due to 2 uses of the "f" word, while a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. A sexual encounter is partially seen (but mostly obscured), while two others occur off camera. Some non-explicit sexually related dialogue is also present.

The male protagonist is known as a womanizer and in one instance he cheats on his girlfriend with an ex-girlfriend and we learn that he fathered a child in the past but wanted nothing to do with her. Some viewers may also not like the May-December romance angle between him (age 48) and a 22-year-old woman. One character is dying from a terminal illness and much of the material revolves around that issue.

Beyond that, several characters drink and some brief smoking occurs. The rest of the film's remaining categories, however, have little or nothing in the way of other major objectionable content. That said, should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for anyone in your home, you may want to take a closer look at our detailed content listings for specific examples of what occurs in the film.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Some people in Will's restaurant have drinks.

Charlotte and her friends have wine or champagne, while Delores has a drink.

People have wine/champagne at a reception.

John pours Will a drink.

Delores has a drink and offers one to Will who asks for Scotch.

Will tells Charlotte that her mother was rather straight and only tried drugs once (when a lifeguard gave her a hash brownie that she threw up back on him).

People, including Charlotte, have wine in Will's restaurant.

Will has a glass of wine.

People drink at a party, including Will who has a beer.

Will visits Charlotte in the hospital where she's on some sort of painkillers. He asks her how she feels and she replies, "Stoned."

BLOOD/GORE

None.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Will is a womanizer who retreats to his old ways (having casual sex with an old girlfriend and lying to Charlotte about that) despite being involved with Charlotte. Some may also see him as having a bad attitude for dating/sleeping with Charlotte who's young enough to be his daughter.

Will lies to Charlotte about him having a date that then cancelled on him, but does so in order to go out with Charlotte.

After succeeding in bedding Charlotte, Will tries to put an end to any romantic thoughts she might have about them.

Some may offended by a comment Delores makes about "one day you're as rich as an Arab, the next day you're lucky if you can afford pistachio nuts."

We learn that Will wanted nothing to do with the daughter he had as a result of one of his womanizing flings. We also learn that he cheated on the mother of that child.

Will tells Charlotte that in his opinion women seem to love it when they're lied to.

Will lies to Charlotte about where he went one day (but only to keep her from getting mad about him seeing a doctor about her).

FRIGHTENING SCENES

The few scenes where Charlotte has an adverse reaction to her condition and/or passes out and has to be rushed to the hospital may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.

GUNS/WEAPONS

None.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Bullsh*t," "You're sh*tting me," "Pissed," "Kicked my ass," "Bitch," "Uncultured swine," "Creep" and "Nuts" (crazy).

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A tiny bit of suspenseful music plays in one scene.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

At least 2 "f" words, 4 "s" words, 3 S.O.B.s, 2 damns, 1 ass, 1 hell, 4 uses each of "Oh God" and "Oh my God," 3 of "God" and 1 use of "G-damn" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

Charlotte's gay friend jokingly says that she might have a fight on her hands after both get an initial look at Will.

John makes a comment along the lines of too much sex being bad for the brain, while his wife then makes a comment about them having sex three times a week.

Charlotte shows some cleavage in a low-cut dress.

Will and Charlotte make out for the first time on their first date (at a reception) and we then see her in his bed (under the sheets with a few glimpses of the top of her bare back) the next morning, implying that they had sex (she even states that he looks guilty about their encounter).

Charlotte tells Will, "If you wanted to seduce me, all you had to do was ask." He then points out that that wouldn't be considered a seduction then.

Charlotte discovers Will and Lynn coming down some stairs from a rooftop setting. Later, she asks if he had sex with Lynn. He asks "ever?" and then denies doing so at the party (saying that it's not his "style"). Eventually, however, Charlotte gets the truth out of him and he admits to having sex with Lynn on the roof during the party (although he says it meant nothing to him). Later, Will admits this to John (that he had sex with Lynn up on John's roof).

Charlotte states that her definition of a womanizer is a man who has sex with many women and is good at lying about it.

Delores tells Charlotte that her mother (Charlotte's) never slept with Will, but does say that he was "knocking up" the mother's friend while seeing her.

We see Will and Charlotte making out while lying down (clothed) and then see the palm of her hand pressed against a smoked pane of glass. We then see just their heads sticking out beyond this glass with him behind her, apparently having sex (we see some implied movement but no nudity, as well as her pleasured facial expression, brief related sounds and their hands clasped together).

Charlotte asks whether an opportunity that Will mentioned he had on a trip was professional or sexual and he jokingly kids that it was sexual (it wasn't).

SMOKING

Delores smokes once while some miscellaneous characters also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Although we never really learn what happened to Charlotte's parents, it's implied that they were killed in an accident sometime in the past.

Will finally meets Lisa, his adult daughter he's only once seen in a photograph (meaning he was never there to help raise her as a child).

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

May-December romances and whether there's anything wrong with them and whether the ages (20 and 50 vs. 40 and 70, etc.) make any difference.

Terminal illnesses and what one would hope to do in their last weeks and months.

VIOLENCE

None.

Reviewed August 11, 2000 / Posted August 11, 2000

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