# Little Manhattan

Little Manhattan is a 2005 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mark Levin and written by Jennifer Flackett. Josh Hutcherson and Charlotte Ray Rosenberg star. It is set in Manhattan and is about a ten-year-old boy as he experiences his first love.

## Plot

Gabe, an adventurous 10-year-old boy lives in Manhattan with his parents who are on the verge of divorcing. Gabe spends most of his free time exploring the city on his scooter. His daily exploits are noticed and encouraged by the friendly concierge at his building. Gabe runs across Rosemary, an 11-year-old classmate whom he's known since kindergarten, in a karate class. After being partnered with her for sparring, he suddenly notices her as a girl, not another face in school (even if she is the "third prettiest girl at school" to him). Gabe is elated when they hang out together and he is completely enamored with not only her, but her daily life. Rosemary lives with her loving upper-class parents on the edge of Central Park. Gabe takes Rosemary on a tour through Central Park and another day they venture across the city to Septuaguesimo Uno, Manhattan's smallest park while finding an apartment for rent (for Gabe's father who inevitably will be moving out). Gabe's nervous parents are worried.
Rosemary's parents take them to hear a jazz pianist and singer at The Carlyle, where Rosemary and Gabe finally hold hands. After the show, Rosemary's parents tell them to say goodnight and her parents go to buy milk. After they walk off, Gabe and Rosemary talk; he interrupts her by kissing her.
Rosemary's family's life is in contrast to Gabe's; his parents have declared an awkward truce while waiting for their divorce to be official. As their relationship progresses, Gabe begins to question what is happening to him and why he is falling in love with Rosemary. Complicating matters, Rosemary is going to summer camp for six weeks and her parents will enroll her in a private school when she returns.
Things seem to be going perfectly (too well even). Gabe's world is turned upside down when he and Rosemary are assigned new sparring partners in martial arts school. Gabe is jealous of Rosemary's new partner, a tall blonde boy who is much better at self-defense than Gabe. With time quickly running out, Gabe tries to get closer to Rosemary, but managing only to drive her away.
In a desperate move to win Rosemary back, Gabe attempts to show off and earn his yellow belt, but painfully fractures his hand attempting to break a board (he was just about to pass the test). His father tells Gabe that Gabe's parents' marriage fell apart because of things they left unsaid. After an argument on the phone, Gabe goes to find Rosemary at her aunt's wedding reception and declares his love. Taken aback, Rosemary replies she does not think she is ready for love, but is really happy to see Gabe and asks him to dance. As they dance, Gabe muses that he and Rosemary were on different paths—"like two ships that passed in Sheep Meadow (in Central Park)". He returns home and his parents are laughing while reminiscing about their honeymoon. Gabe is pleased and surprised when his father says he "cleared out some old stuff" and his parents have reconciled. They happily go out for dinner and as the movie ends, Gabe, narrating, summarizes what Rosemary meant to him: "I'm never gonna get another first love. That one's always gonna be her."

## Cast

* Josh Hutcherson as Gabriel "Gabe" Burton, the main protagonist who falls in love with Rosemary Telesco
* Charlotte Ray Rosenberg (credited as Charlie Ray) as Rosemary Telesco, Gabe's love interest
* Bradley Whitford and Cynthia Nixon as Adam Burton and Leslie Burton, Gabe's parents
* Willie Garson as Ralph, the elevator man who's nice to Gabe
* Tonye Patano as Birdie, Rosemary's nanny
* Leigha and Juliette Nicoloro as Mae-Li, Rosemary's three-year-old sister
* Josh Pais as Ronny, Leslie's new date
* Michael Bush as Max, a boy who's one of Gabe's friends
* John Dossett and Talia Balsam as Mickey and Jackie Telesco, Rosemary's parents
* Jonah Meyerson as Sam, a boy who is also one of Gabe's friends
* Brian W. Aguiar as Jacob, a boy who is also another of Gabe's friends
* Connor Hutcherson (Josh Hutcherson's younger brother) as the boy who throws up
* Anthony Laflamme as Tim Staples, Rosemary's new karate partner and Gabe's rival
* Mike Chat as himself, Gabe's karate hero
* J. Kyle Manzay as Master Coles, the karate teacher from Gabe and Rosemary's karate class
* Nick Cubbler as Daryl Kitzens, the bully who is beat by Gabe and Rosemary
* Neil Jay Shastri as David Betanahu, Gabe's new karate partner

## Production

The original idea for the film was just one sentence in a long list of ideas. Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett wanted to make a film as director. An adolescent love story had the added benefit of not being a project led by a star actor. They believed they could make it for a reasonable budget. From concept to completed script, it took about two months and the film was greenlit soon afterwards.

## Reception
### Critical response

Little Manhattan received mostly positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 31 critics. The site's consensus says, "Little Manhattan is a sweet story of young love that provides an enlightening if pragmatic view on love and courtship." Metacritic gave it a score of 52 based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
BBC's Stella Papamichael wrote that the film was "sweet but not syrupy and heart-warming without being manipulative, this kid flick stands tall among recent Hollywood love stories". Kevin Thomas, writing for the Los Angeles Times, called the film "a handsome charmer about the avalanche of first love... an endearing, affectionately humorous and even lyrical depiction of the dawning of adolescence amid the privileged". Thomas felt the script was "problematic...[Gabe's] speech as soundtrack narrator of his own story is precociously improbable". Jeffrey Lyons of NBC called Little Manhattan "one of the sweetest, most touching films you'll see". Variety's Brian Lowry was less positive about the film, "Resting almost entirely on the shoulders of its young leads, both they and the pic lack the sparkle to sustain what seeks to be a whimsical premise but, except for a few moments, proves ponderous instead." He believed the film belonged on "youth-targeting basic-cable networks" instead of being in cinemas.

### Box office

The film made $36,397 in the opening weekend in the United States and by December 18, 2005, it had grossed $385,373. Its worldwide box office gross was $1,117,920.

## Music

The film's score was composed by Chad Fischer, the guitarist and lead singer of Lazlo Bane. The movie featured 18 other songs, half are covers by a variety of musicians, from the well-known The Beatles and Elvis Presley to little-known The Meadows and Loston Harris (the jazz pianist in the film). Chad Fischer contributed several songs to the film both as a performer and producer.
The soundtrack album for the film was not released and half of the songs used are exclusive to the film.

### Track listing

* A ^ Available on other releases
* B ^ Available to listen on Chad Fischer's Myspace page
* C ^ Available by original and/or other musicians