Pretend it was the pre-Covid New York City

In Pretend It’s a City, Netflix’s new seven-part series about famed New York raconteur and wit Fran Lebowitz (the first time I’ve binge watched a Netflix series) all I could think about was the irony of the subject matter. Lebowitz, for those who may not know, made a huge splash back, oh, some 40 years ago with books Metropolitan Life and Social Studies. A sort of modern-day Dorothy Parker and Oscar Wilde (she even looks like him) rolled into one, Lebowitz offered her observations on the mores and morals of contemporary society. With her acerbic wit it wasn’t always pleasant, at least for those she targeted. But in many ways, she was so right on. Now. finally, there is a video series about her, an enduring (though not endearing) character who still pops up on late night TV and the lecture circuit. Lebowitz is as wittily observant as ever. The problem is this series is meant to be a paean to New York. Unfortunately, it was recorded in 2019 on the verge of the Covid-19 pandemic. Releasing it now screams irony. In the series, Fran is both dissing on NY’s absurd idiosyncrasies and praising the city’s enduring characteristics, a place like no other. But Covid has now turned NYC into a ghost town, slaughtered thousands of people, decimated its storied restaurant and cultural scenes, and turned bustling streets into desolate alley ways. Despite this untimely incredible irony, the series is worth watching because it’s still, well, all about Fran, and Lebowitz is unceasingly interesting, no matter the context. The series' “Pretend” title? It's the scoffing remark Lebowitz, the diehard New Yorker, made to the scads of (then) tourists who stopped mid-sidewalk to admire buildings. “Pretend it’s a city!” she'll scold. Her buddy, acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who produced the series, interviews Fran at Manhattan’s The Players Club. Her bon mots are interspersed with scenes of Fran walking around the city, often stopping to look at the little-known bronze plaques embedded in sidewalks in front of major landmarks. Lebowitz has always come off as, er, politically incorrect. Though a political liberal she takes aim at a myriad of so-called progressive ideas: her abhorrence for turning streets into patios, and ubiquitous cyclists. “It’s an astonishment to me that everyday tens of thousands of people aren’t slaughtered in the streets of New York." On cellphone users (she doesn't own): “The only person looking where she’s going is me.” On her anger at NY spending millions on subway station art when the rickety subway itself is falling apart. Beyond her city observations, Lebowitz delves into culture, sports and other subjects. On smoking bans: “Do you know what artists sitting around in bars and restaurants talking and drinking and smoking is called? The history of art.” Fran also “hates” sports. She mocks fans who personify their teams. “’We Won!’...They won, you lay on the sofa drinking beer.” Watching the series is like having a pitcher of cold water splashed in your face as Lebowitz buzzsaws through contemporary fads and accepted wisdom. Pretend It’s a City is music for the ears and balm for the eyes of a – with Covid-19, possibly long gone? – New York City.