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(Actually, it's more of those things than New York sometimes is. Take the best parts of the spirit of New York and distill it. This is that film.)
The main characters in question are Malcolm and Sofia, best friends and partners in graffiti who, just as they are on the cusp of adulthood, are on the cusp of their platonic relationship turning into something more. The pair's graffiti is itself graffiti'd (can you tell I know nothing about graffiti?) by a crew from Queens, so in retaliation they decide to tag the prime target in their rivals' home turf: The New York Mets' Home Run Apple, which pops up a
The strength of the movie lies in its two main characters, excellently acted by Ty Hickson and Tashiana Washington. For Sofia, tagging the Apple is a way to get respect. She's a girl living in a boy's world (most of the characters she interacts with are male, and at least two of them hit on her, if memory serves). She knows the way they see her, and they know that isn't the way she actually is. Pulling off this epic graffiti achievement is her way to prove that.
Malcolm, meanwhile, isn't so mature and confident as his best friend. Over the course of the movie he tries to pull one over on his boss, experiences a (brief) infatuation with a girl whose life couldn't be more different at his, and entertains notions of being a jewel thief. Sofia knows who she is, and no one but Malcolm respects that. Malcolm doesn't know who he is, and Sofia's the only one who respects that. At a Q&A following the screening I attended, writer/director Adam Leon explained that he wanted to show a relationship between a boy and a girl, both teens, where romance had yet to enter into the equation but was just starting to rear its hormonal head. In a more "Hollywood" movie, Malcolm and Sofia might've shared a kiss or had a conversation about ~feelings~ by the end. It's a credit to Leon's original vision, and his willingness to stick to it, that that didn't happen.
There are a few points in the movie where you think things might start to veer into that traditional Hollywood narrative. You know the one. Our characters have only 48 hours to do [insert thing]! And it starts out normal but then [crazy shit happens]! Then there's a third act where things get really nuts, but it all works out and there's a nice conclusion where the loose ends—those relating to plot and romance—all get wrapped up.
Not to spoil things for you, but neither Malcolm nor Sofia get exactly what they want, and all the loose ends don't get wrapped up. This is New York, after all. Every day is a story—and one day's story leads to the next day's, and the next. Things don't conclude nicely in time for the credits, and Leon doesn't pretend they do. And yet Gimme the Loot never left me scratching my head with a feeling of "Well, why the hell am I watching this if none of it freaking matters, then?!" (Something more than one slice-of-life film has left me feeling, I have to admit.)
In large part that's due to the acting from Washington and Hickson. Leon mentioned at my screening that there was very little improv, just extensive rehearsals and workshopping, which floored me, because the often rapid-fire dialogue was delivered so naturally. But no. No improv. The actors are just that damn good.
Lest I've made the film sound somewhat stodgy and serious: It's not. It's authentic New York, and by that I mean it's in-your-face honest and energetic as hell. And hilarious. There's a scene about condoms and yarmulkes. Indie film has a (sometimes fair, I'll admit) reputation for being inaccessible and artsy-fartsy, but Gimme the Loot film is neither of those. It's a film for people who love life or, as in the case of cynical bastards like me, want to love life a little more for 81 minutes or so.
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