Pretend it's a City

Pretend it's a City - A Review

Netflix's docu-series ‘Pretend It's a City’ is an insight into Fran Lebowitz's, author and New York legends stories, affections, frustrations and tall tales of the city streets over the last 50 years!

‘Pretend It’s a City’ gives Fran a soap box to vent to her fellow New Yorkers and all city folk worldwide, that common courtesy, while navigating busy streets, is not overrated!

She reminisces about the epidemic of the unaware zombie pedestrians technology has created.
The kids annoy her and she isn't shy to let us all know! she suggests that behaviour such as riding a bike, while texting, eating pizza and wearing headphones, is not only unnecessarily cumbersome, but also moronic!

Fair, but who cares!

The series showcases her witty and staunch outlook of how the ever evolving technology, infrastructure, changing attitudes, demographics and social norms have shaped her life, career and the very fabric of the city inside out!

Martin Scorsese, Academy Award winning Director (& Fran's personal friend), facilitates Fran's story via conversational interviewing, allowing the tales of the cities wonders to unfold.

The series is a cinematic and all encompassing 360° view of the vastness and diversity of New York, providing snapshots of the slap stick and often comedic annoyances the hustle and bustle of the city presents.

At a glance, it's easy to ride Fran off as an overly opinionated curmudgeon; muttering and irritated by the overwhelming nature of New York, but we quickly learn the true breadth of her insight and everything life has afforded her.

We get an inside look at her extensive personal library, her inspirations, passions, influences and anecdotal stories of writers, musicians, and the socialites of New York's art and literary world, past and present.
She enchants her audience with stories of society, vibrant personalities and interactions, the beauty in the details and the things you see when you look close enough.
Living in the greatest city in the world has lived up to it's name for her and the city's complexity, inner workings and anatomy have shaped her life at every turn.

One of Fran’s most charming qualities is her dedication and admiration for paper-back books.
Quite impressively, within her apartment she showcases her extensive, curated, cultured and catergorised library that riddled me with nostalgia. It reminded me of memories that may not even exist, fantastical places we've all been but can't pin point.

Lions, witches and wardrobes oh my!

Her commitment to sourcing books, locating mainstream book stores as well as underground book stores (only found through insider information) revealed the deep and multifaceted relic Frans existence brings to the city, and the imprint she has left in her wake.

Books are no joke to Fran and a bad book suggestion may get you cut from her list!
Ok Jan! Sure, cool!
Slight overreach if you ask me, but I can't help but be reminded of my appreciation for people who commit whole heartedly to being as big a nerd possible, without hesitation, and feel comforted by the reminder that introverts can leave their mark as much as anyone!

Fran's honesty, unapologetic pessimism, brashness and quick wit, was endearing and I found myself hanging onto her words like she was an oracle teaching all the life lessons that she had to offer!

‘Pretend it's a City’ is brutally unromantic in its willingness to expose the cities ugliness, the angry faces that need to batted away, but offers a realistic, honest story of a fascinating and highly accomplished woman indulging in a love affair with the city, her books and herself.

8.5/10

Review by

Mel Nicolosi- Instagram @melfunction.13