Crossing Delancey (1988)

"...delivers some provocative observations on sexual politics...  Frederic & Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
"A well directed and sensitive portrayal of match-making in the 20th century...  Niki Patton, Martha's Vineyard Times

Editor's Note Amy Irving stars as Isabella Grossman in this enjoyable, slightly off-kilter romantic comedy from Joan Micklin Silver. A beautiful woman in her early thirties, Isabella works as the manager of New York City bookstore, putting her in contact with a wide range of stellar literary figures. Among them is Anton Maes (Jeroen Krabbe), an egotistical European poet who, smitten, offers her a job as his personal secretary. However, it becomes clear that typing and filing were not what Anton had in mind, and Isabella is soon involved with him. But her grandmother, Bubbie (Reizl Bozyk), unhappy with Isabella's unmarried status, intervenes, contracting with a matchmaker (Sylvia Miles) to introduce her to a nice Jewish man. Isabella agrees to date pickle salesman Sam Posner (Peter Riegert), and, predictably, it doesn't go too well. Naturally, things are not always as they seem, and Isabella has to rethink some of her assumptions before she can find love in this charming, old-fashioned take on romance in the 1980s.

	Amy Irving
	David Hyde Pierce
	Peter Riegert
	Rosemary Harris
	David Wakeling - Original Music By
	Joan Micklin Silver - Director
	Leslie E. Rollins - Art Director
	Michael Nozik - Producer
	Paul Chihara - Original Music By
	Raphael D. Silver - Executive Producer
	Rick Shaine - Editor
	Susan Sandler - Writer
	Theo van de Sande - Cinematographer

A Manhattan book store manager (Amy Irving) is busy concentrating on life among the New York literati, until her European grandmother decides to mix it up by hiring a flamboyant matchmaker to find her a husband. The owner of a local pickle stand turns out to be the man of her dreams in this winning Joan Micklin Silver comedy starring Sylvia Miles, Peter Riegert, and Jeroen Krabbe. New York Times
"...A down-to-earth, contemporary outlook [combined] with the dreaminess of a fairy tale....Played charmingly and believably by [Irving]..." 08/24/1988 p.C15

Los Angeles Times
"...It's at once hip and romantic, wittily sophisticated and unabashedly affectionate....Full of perfectly detailed performances..." 08/31/1988 p.C1

Variety 8 of 10
In an unexpectedly enjoyable way, Crossing Delancey addresses one of the great societal issues of our day - the dilemma of how the 30-ish, attractive, successful, intelligent and unmarried female finds a mate she can be happy with...Off-off-Broadway fans may remember the title from playwright Susan Sandler's semi-autobiographical 1985 comedy about how her loving, old-worldly and slightly overbearing Lower East Side NY Jewish grandmother engages the services of a matchmaker to find her a suitable marriage partner...To the credit of most of the actors, the sentimentality doesn't sink the story.