Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in 1960’s The Apartment
I recently discovered that entertainment writers Jennifer Armstrong and Erin Carlson will be offering fall tours of romantic comedy film sites in New York’s Upper West Side. The prospect of seeing where Billy Wilder filmed some of The Apartment intrigued me, so Armstrong (who I recently interviewed) put me in touch with Carlson to discuss the tours. Slots are still open for the first tour on Sunday, September 8, and they are a true bargain at only $35 per person.
Tim O’Shea: When did you and Jennifer realize you were interested in offering these romcom location tours?
Erin Carlson: SideTour first reached out to Jen about leading a tour based on one of her pop-culture books, but after a lengthy Facebook conversation about the amazingness of You’ve Got Mail, she pitched me the idea of an 80s/90s romcom-themed jaunt through Nora Ephron’s Upper West Side. I said yes immediately.
What location proved to be one of the hardest to research/track down?
Actually, this is kind of embarrassing. I don’t know how many times I have seen When Harry Met Sally — maybe 20 times? I always thought the scene when they went to the museum was filmed at the Museum of Natural History on Central Park West. Probably because of the ancient Egyptian relics. But no. It was shot in the MET (on the Upper East Side), and I eventually realized my mistake — and scratched the Natural History off the locations list — when a friend, thankfully, corrected me. However, the museum still has merit as a romcom destination: it was where, on the TV’s Friends circa the early ’90s, Ross and Rachel hooked up inside a diorama.
When you go on vacation (or are otherwise are able to travel out of town) to a new city, do you find yourself trying to track down obscure movie locations?
No but my as-yet-unrealized dream is to visit all the locations from the 1980 PBS miniseries adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. (All you diehard Anne-girls out feel me on this.)
Of all the sites you visit over the tour, is there one or two that you cherish more than others?
Cafe Lalo, hands down. It’s the location of the You’ve Got Mail scene where Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) have decided to meet in person after many, many days of e-flirting and e-chatting via AOL email (!!!). Unbeknownst to the would-be lovebirds, however, is the fact that they are public enemies who have viciously attacked one another in the media. She’s the beloved owner of a neighborhood bookshop and he is the (allegedly) soulless corporate suit behind Fox Books, a mega-store modeled after Barnes and Noble that threatens to put Kathleen out of business. As Joe arrives at Lalo, with his colleague Kevin (Chappelle) for moral support, they peer through the window and realize it’s …. HER! Drama ensues, along with some brutally entertaining Ephron barbs. To me, Lalo stirs memories of the moment where Joe discovers he truly loves a woman he’s supposed to loathe — and that she’s also his best friend.
In the information about these tours, it is noted that you have a “particular penchant for John Cusack films”. What was the first Cusack film you saw and which film of his is the most under-appreciated (I am partial to the absurdity of Better Off Dead)?
I can’t be alone in my penchant for Cusack films. The first one I saw had to be Say Anything, the movie that also got me hooked on Peter Gabriel. There’s something appealing about Cusack’s strange brew of brooding intensity, boyish visage and cynical humor. He was particularly good in Grosse Point Blank and especially underrated as the voice of suave, roguish Dimitri in the 1997 animated film Anastasia. Did anyone else ever see that? Is it wrong to have (ahem, have had) a crush on a cartoon?
The tour ends with a film screening of You’ve Got Mail followed by a discussion. Was it hard trying to settle on which film to pick?
Very. For the Sept. 8 tour, we decided on You’ve Got Mail because it’s now a classic and such a valentine to the Upper West Side. In October, we may screen When Harry Met Sally.
What is it about romantic comedies that makes the film genre appeal to you?
The chemistry of the cast. The best romcoms not only have great writing — they also generate real sparks between the leads. You need to cast people who spark off one another, otherwise the movie falls flat. Even the most jaded among us root for Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly to end up together. Why? Because they’re soulmates. Obviously.
Do you ever offer tours of other cities, or is your sole focus on New York?
We do not! At least, not yet. Perhaps, one day, we’ll do a romantic-dramedy tour through all the European settings of the Richard Linklater’s Before saga. It would involve long, cobble-stoned-street stretches of trading life philosophies and other intellectual banter with a paid Ethan Hawke lookalike.
How do you and Jennifer divvy up tour duties?
We will take turns speaking at each location. (I called dibs on Lalo.)
Anything we should discuss about the tours that I neglected to ask you about?
Just that if you unabashedly love the romcom genre — and New York in the fall — this tour will not disappoint! There will be wine. And prizes. And girl-talk. And more wine.
