New York Stories is a compendium of three short films from directors whose oeuvre has been largely defined by the megalopolis. Leading off is Martin Scorsese with Life Lessons which details an artist's attempts to lure his ex-girlfriend/muse to stay with him in his studio apartment, allotting him both the opportunity to finish his gallery painting and torment her psychologically. It is a well realized film, written by Richard Price and based on a Dostoevsky short story, and features two nice performances from Nick Nolte and Rosanna Arquette. Up next is Francis Ford Coppola serving up pointless tripe with Life without Zoe which he concocted with his daughter Sofia. It tells a cloying Eloise like story about a young girl living on her own in a ritzy Manhattan hotel. Woody Allen wraps things up with Oedipus Wrecks, a hilarious tale (and my personal favorite of the lot) of an attorney being literally haunted by his overbearing mother following a mishap at a magic show.
