Austin knows how to party. [Pictured: W Austin’s Wet Deck pool party [https://austin.culturemap.com/news/society/06-14-16-summer-skip-day-w-austin-hotel-ferris-bueller-pool-party/#slide=0] June 10]
Photo by Ben Porter
Variety isn't just the spice of life; it seems it's also the key to partying like a rock star. And thanks to a plethora of places to drink, listen to music, and just have a good time, Austin ranks among the top cities to party in the country.
That's according to Wanderu, a booking agency for train and bus travel, which surveyed the Yelp API and added up the number of grown-up entertainment venues to determine the cities with the most options, which Wanderu translated into the biggest party hubs in the U.S.
With 667 bars, 137 music venues, and 52 dance clubs, Austin ranks the 12th best party town in the nation. We've also got a handful of beer gardens, 6 country dance halls, 18 jazz and blues venues, 10 pool halls, 31 karaoke bars, and a few piano bar for good measure.
But we're not the biggest party animals in Texas. That distinction goes to Houston, which ranks sixth on the list. Dallas also edges us out, at No. 9.
Claiming the number No. 1 spot, based on variety of options, is New York City, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and San Diego.
"The race for the top spot was tough and, as expected, it came down to the age-old question of what city is better, New York or Los Angeles," according to Wanderu.
"While LA came out as the top destination for dance lovers, karaoke enthusiasts, live music fans, and pool shooters, NYC’s almost-double number of bars gave it a significant boost, making it the top party hub in the United States."
John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.
John Turturro is one of those people who embodies the term “character actor” the best. With over 120 credits in his nearly 50-year career, Turturro has rarely been the star of any of his projects. Instead, filmmakers have mostly used his unique face, New York accent, and inimitable acting style to help support the lead actors, a role for which Turturro seems well-suited.
Now 69, Turturro is taking the reins in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, playing Harry, a long-in-the-tooth thief who still has skills but not as many opportunities. The plucking of wallets isn’t as lucrative in the mostly-cashless modern society, and Harry has little use for smartphones since he doesn’t know how to use them. However, a rare opportunity presents itself when he happens upon Dylan (Will Price), a young man who seems to be as oblivious as he is rich.
After a clever robbery of Dylan’s vintage car, though, Harry discovers he might be in over his head, especially when he finds a card-shaped USB drive. It's the contents of the drive that soon puts Harry and anyone around him in danger, including his wife, Rosie (Karina Arroyave), who’s suffering from unresponsive wakefulness syndrome; Ben (Steve Buscemi), who helps Harry sell stolen items; and even his estranged daughter Kelly (Tatiana Maslany).
Written and directed by Noah Segan, the film is a low-key thriller made to emulate the tempo of Harry’s life. While one of the plot points puts a degree of urgency into his actions, for the most part Harry is someone for whom slow and steady always wins the race. He is someone who has developed relationships over decades, including with NYPD Detective Warren (Giancarlo Esposito), and it’s those bonds that help him make it through each day.
Even though Harry is a criminal, the film treats him as an overall good guy, especially through the way he takes care of Rosie and the generosity he displays with his (stolen) money. Almost no one has a bad thing to say about him, and so Segan comes up with a couple of ways to give him more depth. His one scene with Kelly does the trick, providing a glimpse into a lesser man who clearly existed at one time.
One of the pleasures of the film for longtime movie fans are the reunions Turturro has with Buscemi (his co-star in The Big Lebowski) and Esposito (his co-star in Do the Right Thing). All three could be all-stars on a team of character actors, with each having made big impressions in all sorts of roles over the past 40 years. Seeing them back together again as very different characters from when they last collaborated underscores the level of talent each of them has.
Turturro ably carries the load in the lead role, but given his acting style and the type of role he’s called to play, his performance is far from showy. The same goes for Buscemi and Esposito, who are there to give great support to the classic supporting actor. When someone does go over-the-top, as Price does in most of his scenes, it stands out in a bad way. Maslany scores a lot of points in her brief appearance.
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York is a quiet film with big rewards despite its small ambitions. The beauty of the story lies in its small details, both character-related and not. Turturro rarely disappoints when he’s not the lead actor, and he demonstrates that he’s equally capable of making a movie great when he’s out front.
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The Only Living Pickpocket in New York opens in theaters on October 30.
