Ed's Next Move Reviews

This unassuming comedy about love and life in New York City may not be terribly perceptive about either, but it's so disarmingly modest that you could only take issue with its flaws out of sheer mean-spiritedness. Ed (Matt Ross) leaves his girlfriend and his Midwestern life far behind when he moves to Manhattan to continue his education as a genetic engineer. Life in the Big Apple isn't easy, but exorbitant rents, roommates and the Byzantine garbage regulations are the least of Ed's worries once he meets Lee (Callie Thorne), the girl of his dreams who doesn't seem inclined to give him the time of day. Director John C. Walsh commits a few minor sins of first-time filmmakers: The fantasy sequences, in particular, are entirely at odds with the small, gentle scope of the picture. But the writing's sharp, the cast uniformly solid, Ross and Thorne are charming together, and it boasts an ace soundtrack, featuring the smart pop of Ed's Redeeming Qualities and The Comedians.