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Delpy is an only child, but she and Landeau, who share the screenwriting credit, have established an all-too-realistic rapport as siblings whose fondness begins eroding about 30 seconds into any new encounter.

Tipping the balance to overload, Rose has unexpectedly brought along Manu (Alexandre Nahon), an old family friend now ostensibly her boyfriend, though he wants everyone to know that he was previously involved with Marion. “It was 100 years ago!” she protests to Mingus.

Thin to the point of skinniness, Landeau’s Rose nevertheless has difficulty staying within the confines of her clothing. Her public pop-outs mortify her sister, but at least some of her new acquaintances respond enthusiastically.

Although Jeannot eventually establishes connections, at least one drawn from Albert Delpy’s own life, he initially comes across as a salacious, sausage smuggler, encompassing all definitions of sausage.

All the little frictions create sparks at table, where in a suavely written bilingual babble, Marion and Rose steadily escalate from mild critique to physical attack, Mingus and his sister Elizabeth (Malinda Williams) puzzle over conversing with Jeannot, while Manu alternates between overly familiar remarks in English and mistranslations into French.

Meanwhile, Mingus is perturbed that every time Rose and Manu pronounce his name, “Ming-goose,” they struggle to suppress chuckles. There’s a lot going on, not the least an affectionate send-up of French enthusiasm for American culture, genuine if often wrong-headed.

“You’re so lucky to be black,” Manu wistfully tells Mingus. “That’s my one regret.”

Not all such episodes resonate later in the movie, but one that does pay off occurs when Manu invites a dealer to the apartment to buy grass in front of everyone. The hasty explanation offered the children is that it is “grass from Central Park” to take home as a souvenir.

But Delpy and Landeau have other targets, including the increasingly frazzled Marion’s efforts to get ahead professionally. With an exhibition of her photos coming up, she and her gallery owner come up with a novel bit of hype. Besides her photos, Marion will sell her soul.

“America is so cool!” Rose exclaims. “Can I sell my soul, too?”

“It’s a conceptual piece,” Marion replies.

“The fee, is that also conceptual?” Rose asks.

Their script is as interested in the sudden enthusiasms and underlying affections that unite these characters as it is in the minor differences that they inflate into avoidable crises. Unlike many movie projects, “2 Days in New York” is one where all involved escape with their souls intact.

Joe Tyrrell may be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or followed on Twitter @ jtyrrell87.