Garry Marshall Forces Early Christmas on Smith Street

It took a moment before I realized that the something that looked off about Smith Street this week were the strings of Christmas lights lining the Brooklyn street. They were hard to see against the gray-white sky. At first I thought lazy neighborhood officials had failed to remove the lights after last year's holidays had passed. But then I remembered that Smith Street didn't have any Christmas decorations. Then I noticed the food services trucks, lighting units and fat men with clipboards. Movie shoot!

 

The movie, which is sure to be awful, as it's called "New Year's Eve," and is a sequel to the execrable "Valentine's Day." There are pine boughs around the lampposts. Many of the shops along Smith are done up with Christmas decor, some of it on the tacky side for hip Smith Street (see above.) There's also a fake dance studio, which must serve as one of the film's set. I see Jennifer Garner as the owner of a charming indy Brooklyn ballroom dance hall.

All pretty cheesy. But the wall-painting below I am interested in. Not a bad imitation of the hand-painted ads that used to dot the NYC landscape. "Park Your Gondola in Rear" is a bit much. But only a bit.

The sign is conveniently over a vacant lot that's under construction. This sign is on the blue plywood.

Now, that's a familiar sight, one that smacks of authenticity in today's New York City.