First Paris, now New York and, soon, Rio, Shanghai, Jerusalem and Mumbai. Not cities contending for the Olympics but providing backdrops for a series of "Cities of Love" films from producer Emmanuel Benbihy.

In what sounds like a film school assignment or knockoff of the 48-hour film competition, directors were given two days to shoot their film and seven days to edit their stories about love, in its earliest gestation, spurned or long established.

"Paris, je t'aime" or "Paris, I Love You" featured 18 vignettes from 18 European and American directors.

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'New York, I Love You'

2 stars = Mediocre
Ratings explained

• Starring: Julie Christie, Natalie Portman, Orlando Bloom, Eli Wallach.
• Rating:R for language and sexual content.
• Web site: www.newyorkiloveyouthemovie.com/

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"New York, I Love You" represents the work of 11 directors with lots of name actors -- Julie Christie, Shia LaBeouf, Bradley Cooper, Orlando Bloom and Eli Wallach among many -- working against backdrops such as Chinatown, the Diamond District, Central Park and Greenwich Village.

Watching "New York ..." is a bit like reading a book of short stories that vary in quality and interest. When Robin Wright Penn says, in the Soho slice of the cinematic pie, "This is what I've always liked about New York, these little moments on the sidewalk, smoking, thinking about your life," that sentiment could apply to any city, even Pittsburgh.

New York is used in a sly manner in most of the segments but it's front and center in a lovely look at a couple (Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman) marking their 63rd wedding anniversary in Brighton Beach.

Joshua Marston, who made his feature debut with "Maria Full of Grace," writes and directs that short, which shows a couple arguing about broken hips, walking speed and whether their daughter overseas really mailed them an anniversary card on time. When Leachman loops her arm through Wallach's and drops her head to his shoulder, it's the most loving, real gesture of any.

It reminds us how artificial some of the previous banter and encounters were, although Wright Penn and Chris Cooper, Christie and LaBeouf, and Natalie Portman (who also directs a separate segment) and Irrfan Khan make obvious connections in their bite-size encounters.

Subways, skylines and glimpses of the Empire State Building or Chrysler Building appear in the background, which is how real New Yorkers might see them, not with mouths agape and heads tilted back. In the end, though, "New York" feels more like a curiosity or intriguing experiment than a full, rich cinematic experience.

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