they could make it for a reasonable budget. From concept to completed script, it took about two months and the film was greenlit shortly after that. Reception Critical response Little Manhattan received mostly positive reviews from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 77% based on reviews from 31 critics. The site's consensus states: "Little Manhattan is a sweet story of young love that provides an enlightening if pragmatic view on love and courtship." Metacritic gave it a score of 52 based on 10 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". BBC's Stella Papamichael wrote that the film was "sweet but not syrupy and heart-warming without being manipulative, this kid flick stands tall among recent Hollywood love stories". Kevin Thomas, writing for the Los Angeles Times, called the film "a handsome charmer about the avalanche of first love...an endearing, affectionately humorous and even lyrical depiction of the dawning of adolescence amid the privileged". Thomas called the script "problematic...[Gabe's] speech as soundtrack narrator of his own story is precociously improbable". Jeffrey Lyons of NBC called Little Manhattan "one of the sweetest, most touching films you'll see". Varietys Brian Lowry was less positive about the film. He wrote "Resting almost entirely on the shoulders of its young leads, both they and the pic lack the sparkle to sustain what seeks to be a whimsical premise but, except for a few moments, proves ponderous instead." He also believed the film belonged on "youth-targeting basic-cable networks" instead of having a cinematic release. Box office The film made $36,397 in the opening weekend in the United States. By December 18, 2005 the film had grossed $385,373. It had worldwide box office takings of $1,117,920. Music The film's score was composed by Chad Fischer, the guitarist and lead singer of Lazlo Bane. The film also featured 18 other songs, half of which are covers, by a variety of musicians, from the well-known The Beatles and Elvis Presley to little-known The Meadows and Loston Harris. Chad Fischer contributed several songs to the film both as a performer and producer. The soundtrack album for the film hasn't been released, making half of the songs used exclusive to the film. Track listing A Available on other releases B Available to listen on Chad Fischer's Myspace page C Available by original and/or other musicians References Notes References External links 2005 films 2005 romantic comedy films 20th Century