‘Bunny’ review: Hilarious and heartfelt, this love letter to New York is a must-see

After hours. Do the right thing. in the heights, When Harry met Sally. They’re films with very different plots and vibes, and yet all are decidedly New York. Now the canon of extraordinary New York films has grown, thanks to Bunny.

Ben Jacobson’s directorial debut, rabbit It centers on an East Village tenement resident whose terrible birthday is a tapestry of the chaos, community, and characters that are undeniably the fabric of New York City. Like the iconic cinemas listed above, rabbit Channeling the energy of this great city, while also embracing its fun elements. It’s also an unapologetic and insensitive love letter to brilliant, funny, and surprising indie New York.

But what is it about?

rabbit This is the story of a hustler and the diverse community that loves him.

Co-writer Mo Stark plays Bunny, an East Village resident whose life – and tenement apartment – ​​is very, very busy. “Today I messed up,” Bunny explains in a voiceover over the home movies of his wife Bobbie (a sizzling Liza Colby), his best friend Dino (co-writer/director Ben Jacobson), and their aunty landlady Linda (Linda Rong Mei Chen). “I messed up the lives of the people I love most, my family.”

At the beginning of the day, this eponymous hero is running down the street. Her long, dirty-blond hair flows behind her and blood drips from her chin and goatee, down her neck and onto her cream-colored knitted top. We won’t know from where he’s running until later. But it’s related to his job, “A gigolo like Richard Gere, but not as flashy.”

rabbit I won’t waste any time explaining what’s going on. Instead, as she washes the blood from her body, Bobby, wearing transparent lingerie and a big smile, introduces her to his birthday gift, a threesome with her friend Daphne (Eleanor Hendricks) and “the best Molly that can be found in the tri-state area.” But Bunny is in no mood to party. There is business to attend to.

For starters, an Airbnb guest named Happy Chana — not just “Chana” — is coming to rent out his spare room. As an Orthodox Jew, she (Genevieve Hudson-Price) has specific needs that Bunny must meet or lose the required rental fee. Then, while Bobby is out, his estranged father (Tony Drazen) arrives, but comes under the influence of Dino and his edibles. Before Bunny can catch his breath, he has to deal with some corpses and cover up a murder. It’s a really bad birthday, but at least he has his family to help him.

creates chaotic comedy rabbit Fabulous.

This East Village tenement is filled from floor to ceiling with colorful characters who have little in common except their love for each other. Bunny and Bobby are joined by real-talk Linda, the impulsive but protective Dino, an elderly neighbor with moxie named Ian (Richard Price), and a trio of twentysomething party girls, all of whom must play a role in helping Bunny through the worst birthday of his life. Rather than hide a murder from them, Bunny drops the corpse of a “bad guy” on the linoleum floor for a brainstorming session. How do they dump a body in this bustling neighborhood – especially when there are some sycophantic cops (Liz Carribelle Sierra and Ajay Naidu) roaming around outside?

Stark, Jacobson, and co-writer Stephen Maroulachakis create a script that’s surprisingly lively. Cultures collide from scene to scene with the charming melting pot energy of NYC’s hundreds of neighborhoods. As a character-driven movie, it has little quirks about birthday plans, roommate etiquette, and the best way to fold a corpse into a rolling suitcase. But when it comes to helping someone of their own, these free spirits, neurotics and weirdos come together as a family, bonded by years of shared space and energy.

The film’s stellar casting delivers authenticity, avoiding famous faces and leaning toward an infectious and even volatile chemistry between the ensemble cast. Watching rabbitNew Yorkers will not only recognize people from their neighborhoods, but will also feel a part of this habitat, caught up in the excitement, gossip, and intoxicating energy of community. New York is a city of strangers who make families, and rabbit Explores those bonds through a funny and unexpected family drama. Because what is a corpse among friends?

Mo Starc is a star in this Bunny.

Often, when filmmakers write and star in their own films, the result can be a bloated vanity project (belfast) or a little lie that portrays his character as an underappreciated talent (Cha Cha Real Smooth, rabbit These pitfalls are avoided because Stark and Jacobson remain firmly committed to their characters’ goofball origins.

Bunny is a hibo with a heart of gold but his past is much messier than Julia Roberts’ beautiful womanDino is ride or die, but is also dangerously impulsive, Together, they’re a duo I’d see running the bodega, just because they’re so lively and fun, Every moment together vibrates with their deep love for each other and a wide, bright interest in the people around them, This is the New York I know and love, and it’s a joy to see it captured, warts and all, Because yes, for every hot girl marching down the sidewalk to the beat of her own drum, there’s a weirdo bent on farting into the window of a police car or otherwise ruining your day,

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Yet in this whirlpool of crazy people, Stark keeps his head above water, maintaining focus and direction as the bunny moves forward. Far from commanding a situation like a strange suit or police force, Bunnies are more like cantankerous street cats, leaping through personal, professional and criminal problems with the agility of an Alvin Ailey dancer. He is a rock for his tenant companions. And the delightful revelation of this crime-comedy is that when she needs a rock, they’ll be there for her. Stark grounds the film so beautifully in the unconventional opening voiceover and unexplained blood that for the entire movie, whatever wild nonsense happens, we are glued to the bunny, rooting for him just like the rest of his circle. We truly feel like one of them, caught up in the warmth and fierceness of their bond.

Simply put, rabbit is a quirky, gritty indie crime-comedy/New York family drama that accomplishes much with little. Set primarily in one location, with no big stars in its charismatic ensemble, it’s a weak story both on and off screen. You feel the bunny’s movements in every frame. Vibrant, exciting, fun and original, rabbit She is a gem that should not be ignored.

rabbit Will open in select theaters and be available for purchase on Apple TV on November 14th. Early access screenings begin November 7 in New York.