The Daytrippers 🚘

Happy Monday! It’s March 1st and it’s cheese (if you get that reference, marry me).

Wins of note at last night’s Golden Globes: Chadwick Boseman posthumously won Best Actor in a Drama for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Daniel Kaluuya won Supporting Actor for Judas and the Black Messiah, and Chloé Zhao won Best Director and Best Picture for Nomadland — the first for a woman of color. Here’s the full list of winners.

▶ Streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel

Today’s movie is Greg Mottola’s New York City dramedy The Daytrippers. Though this indie gem was largely overlooked when it was released, 10 years later Mottola would direct a little film called Superbad. If you’re missing pre-pandemic NYC, give this a watch.

What it’s about: Eliza (Hope Davis), suspecting her husband Louis (Stanley Tucci) is having an affair, decides to go to follow him to work in New York City and confront him. Her family, including her parents Jim (Pat McNamara) and Rita (Anne Meara), her sister Jo (Parker Posey), and Jo's live-in boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber), go along for the ride in the family station wagon from Long Island.

Similar to: The Apartment, Moonstruck, On the Rocks

Parker Posey and Hope Davis in The Daytrippers. Courtesy of HBO Max.

Why you should watch it: Picture an indie movie and you’d probably see The Daytrippers. It’s filled with eccentric characters, witty one-liners, and slapstick plot points that make it the definition of “quirky.” While today that’d be an insult as we’re inundated with insincere (and frankly insufferable) indie dramedies aimed at pulling at your heartstrings, The Daytrippers is instead effortlessly charming and poignant.

At its core, it’s a love letter to New York City and the boundless potential it offers a person to be who they want to be. As someone who grew up in New Jersey, watching the family drive through a tunnel and be greeted by the packed streets brought a nostalgic feeling — the one that made my little gay heart realize I have a place.

Directed by Greg Mottola
Runtime 87 mins
Year 1997

Have a great week! Be gentle with yourself. See you Thursday.

📽 P.S. You can see every movie I’ve ever recommended right here.
🍅 I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes! You can find new movie reviews here.