Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer), an architect and mother of Sammy, and Jack Taylor (George Clooney), a newspaper columnist and father of Maggie, are both divorced. They meet one morning when overwhelmed Jack is left unexpectedly with Maggie and forgets that Melanie was to take her to school. As a result, both children miss their school field trip and are stuck with the parents. The two adults project their negative stereotypes of ex-spouses on each other, but end up needing to rely on each other to watch the children as each must save his job. Humor is added by Sammy's propensity for lodging objects in his nose and Maggie's tendency to wander.

Broadway and West 73rd Street, Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The school that was used for the scene where Jack and Melanie find their children's class had already left is a private college called the New York School of Interior Design or NYSID. The red front doors were added for the filming.

School, 170 East 70th Street (btw 3rd & Lexington Avenue) Manhattan.

Circle Line Pier 83, 12th Avenue and West 42nd Street, Manhattan.

Mel's Workplace, 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 5th Avenue (btw East 50th & 51st Streets) Manhattan.

Grand Central Restaurant, 89 East 42nd Street and Park Avenue, Manhattan.

Park Avenue and East 41st Street, Manhattan.

Jack's Workplace, 60 East 42nd Street and Vanderbilt Avenue, Manhattan.

Downing Street Playground, Downing Street and Carmine Street, Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: This West Village playground, located on Downing Street and Avenue of the Americas, is named for the street that runs to its south. Downing Street was laid out in 1799 and named no later than 1803, when it first appeared on a New York City map. The origin of its name is unclear. Some credit it to Thomas Downing (1791-1866), an African-American freeman who moved to New York from Virginia in 1819 and made a career selling oysters. Located at 5 Broad Street, Downing’s Oyster House was popular with leading politicians, businessmen, and celebrities. Intriguing as this association is, however, it appears to be no more than a coincidence, for Thomas Downing arrived in New York City about twenty years after the street was named.

Broadway (btw West 73rd & 74th Streets) Manhattan.

1 Centre Street and Chambers Street, Manhattan.

Park Avenue and East 41st Street, Manhattan.   This area is also known as Pershing Square.

6th Avenue and Bleecker Street, Manhattan.

Central Park (Near Central Park West) Manhattan.

Natural History Museum, Central Park West and West 79th Street, Manhattan.

West 50th Street (btw 5th and 6th Avenues) Manhattan.

Serendipity III, 225 East 60th Street (btw 2nd and 3rd Avenues) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: Serendipity 3, often written Serendipity III, is a popular restaurant in the Upper East Side of Manhattan founded by Stephen Bruce in 1954. While the restaurant is known for its foot-long hot dogs and frozen drinks, particularly its trademark "Frozen Hot chocolate", it offers a full menu. The restaurant has constantly been ranked as a favourite among Manhattanites, tourists, and celebrities. The gift shop is known for its kitschy novelty gifts.

The Elizabeth Arden Building, 689-691 5th Avenue and East 54th Street, Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: In more recent times, the sign on the building changed from Elizabeth Arden to 689 Fifth Avenue.

Shop, 219 East 60th Street (btw 2nd & 3rd Avenues) Manhattan.

East 60th Street (btw 2nd & 3rd Avenues) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The press conference scene where Jack confronts the NYC Mayor is supposed to be in City Hall in Manhattan but was actually filmed inside Brooklyn Borough Hall which is the office of the Brooklyn Borough President.

Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street and Court Street, Brooklyn.

(Near Brooklyn Municipal Building) 210 Joralemon Street and Court Street, Brooklyn.

21 Club, 21 West 52nd Street (btw 5th and 6th Avenues) Manhattan.   Several films have featured the club including One Fine Day when Michelle Pfeiffer's character has drinks with clients in the lounge. Sex and the City when Sarah Jessica Parker and Chris Noth dine in the Bar Room, and in Two for the Money with Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey discuss business on their way inside.

6th Avenue and West 54th Street, Manhattan.

6th Avenue (btw West 54th & 55th Streets) Manhattan.

Carnegie Deli, 854 7th Avenue and West 55th Street, Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: The Carnegie Deli is located in midtown Manhattan on 7th Avenue btw 54th and 55th Streets and was opened in 1937 adjacent to Carnegie Hall. Now in the third generation of owners, the Parker family's delicatessen is among the most visited restaurants of its type in the city, according to the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Mall, Central Park, Manhattan.   A walkway leading to the beautiful Bethesda Terrace, the Central Park Mall runs through the middle of the Park from 66th to 72nd street. It remains the sole formal feature of Olmsted and Vaux's naturalistic creation.

otsoNY Comments: While the film was in production, Entertainment Tonight did a segment on the film during filming which was the scene at Bethesada Gardens in Central Park in March 1996 which was one of the earliest scenes filmed.

Bethesda Terrace (Mid-Park at 72nd Street) Central Park, Manhattan.   Bethesda Terrace has two levels. The upper terrace flanks the 72nd Street Cross Drive and the lower terrace provides a podium for viewing the Lake. The fountain is the central feature on the lower level of the terrace.

East Meadow, Central Park (btw East 97th & 102nd Streets) Manhattan.

otsoNY Comments: Although this looks like midtown Manhattan, and for most, if not all of the film was shot in New York City, there were some scenes, particularly the apartmemt interior scenes that were in fact shot on Stage 15 at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California. It is unclear as to why this scene was shot in Los Angeles, but as it stands, it was filmed on South Broadway between West 7th and 8th Streets. Special thanks for Bob Egan.