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For more than a decade, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's devoted fans have been conditioned to check out their latest films on video rather than the movie theater. So, it is not that surprising that New York Minute was a box-office disappointment. But just as the twin tyke-oons make the leap from direct-to-video to the big screen, so are they taking well-calculated baby steps to extend their phenomenally successful careers into adulthood. New York Minute is part Ferris Bueller's Day Off and part Risky Business, but only in the sense that Ashley Olsen's Jane is just as future-focused as Tom Cruise's character was. Jane can't make a move without her day planner. "Remove stick from butt," sister Roxy (Mary-Kate, duh) derisively adds to Jane's schedule. Roxy, a drummer in a rock band, is "the No. 1 truant in Nassau County." On this day, she schemes to cut school to attend a music video taping, and the unwitting and very reluctant Jane goes along for the wild ride. Did I mention that this is also the very same day Jane is to give a speech that could earn her a scholarship to Oxford? A series of misadventures will detour the estranged sisters and bring them closer together (that's what this day is all about, Charlie Brown). As co-producers, the Olsens are savvy enough to surround themselves with A-list character actors, each going above and beyond the call of duty. Eugene Levy is a relentless truant officer on Roxy's trail. Andy Richter is a henchman with an unaccountable Chinese accent. Andrea Martin is a senator, and Saturday Night Live's Darrell Hammond is an ill-fated man who crosses paths with Jane and Roxy throughout the day. Some of the Olsens' misadventures are mildly risqué business. When the senator's hunky son catches the towel-clad twins in his mother's hotel room, he responds, "It's not my birthday." The film has an edgy look, and a soundtrack that rocks, but not too hard. There is no profanity. The Olsens are well at home in front of a camera, always game for slapstick at their own expense. And Full House fans will get a nostalgic kick out of a Bob Saget cameo. Donald Liebenson

All Movie Guide

Marking their first theatrical-release feature since 1995's It Takes Two, the Olsen twins bring their adventures back to the big screen with New York Minute. Billed as a sort of Ferris Bueller's Day Off for tweens, the plot involves the escapades of two enterprising Long Island girls, Roxy (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Jane (Ashley Olsen), as they decide to dupe their parents and spend a day on the island of Manhattan. It seems the high-minded Jane has a speech to give to a scholarship committee, while the punky Roxy wants to meet her favorite rock band. When Jane's planner gets swiped, however, the girls find themselves embroiled in a political scandal involving a high-powered senator (Andrea Martin), as their high school's truant officer (Eugene Levy) doggedly pursues them. Michael Hastings

Product Details

• UPC: 085392839421
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Full Frame
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Language: Français
• Time: 1:31:00
• Sales Rank: 10,497

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• What a Girl Wants / New York Minute

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