The brutal honesty of Fran Lebowitz is everything, a stark reminder of the New York we love, the honest no-nonsense attitude and the hard reality of life. The show encapsulated the pulse and personality of every resident but also shines a light of what is remarkable about Fran Lebowitz and her opinion on everything and this is something that is a joy to watch in the 7-part series Pretend It’s a City on Netflix.
Pretend It’s a City, is part interview, part self-reflection but 100% Fran Lebowitz covering every topic of interest from reading, wellness, apartment buying, smoking to driving cabs. Lebowitz is the epitome of New York City, the brash, bold personality that you can’t help but love no matter the time of day.
Moving to New York during the ‘70s and ‘80s has helped harden Fran Lebowitz’s humor that she is renowned as a writer. First working at Changes magazine, Fran galvanized a name for herself as the sharp critique of films.
She then moved to the famed Andy Warhol magazine Interview, where she was hired as a columnist.
Lebowitz’s first novel, Metropolitan Life, was published in 1978 and was a collection of essays highlighting her sharp wit and dry honest delivery, which she became famous.
Interviewed by Martin Scorsese, Pretend It’s a City, visits some amazing spaces to conduct the conversations including the vaults of New York Public Library, the bar at the Players Club and the panorama of New York City located at the Queens Museum. These are just a handful of these incredible spaces that make you want to explore New York City.
The life of Fran Lebowitz is incredible for the sheer amount of history that she has witnessed by living in New York City, simply being in and around the city. The struggle to make it resulted in her working at a notorious restaurants and at one point even driving a yellow cab. She finally landed on her feet, writing, and through her work the cultural world opened up in front of her.
Living in New York in the 1970s meant that she got to know the likes of people like Robert Maplethorpe, owning a number of his artworks, also working for Andy Warhol means that she got to know him well and developing a strong dislike for him, but also ended up owning a couple of his artworks too.
Lebowitz became a local celebrity from her writing in the 1970s, even befriending photographer Peter Hujar, she ended up owning a number of his artworks too!
Being a bit of a celebrity in New York City in the 1970s also meant that she became a regular at Studio 54 and rubbed shoulders with many incredible individuals partying it up at the famed midtown club. All of these are openly discussed in Pretend It’s a City.
Pretend It’s a City is not your average series watching someone discuss aspects of their life. Those of you who know Fran’s work will understand that in no way is this going to be your typical discussion. It is frank, to the point and very opinionated as Fran Lebowitz is known and celebrated.
Pretend It’s a City is currently available on Netflix.
