I too used to be a big Woody Allen fan but gave up by the mid 1980s or so. I think the Boris part was meant for Zero Mostel, was written in the 70s and so seems very dated. I stayed in the cinema because it was a very warm evening and the aircon was nice. I also fail to find Curb funny and I have tried very hard with that. It's very nasty and everybody shouting meshuga meshuga at the same time is not farce on the level of Fawlty Towers at all.
Very very grim, chock full of outright hatred and intolerance, the potent nastiness then wrapped up in totally fake good feeling & shallow moralising. This film is not funny at all. I'm tired of the paedophile plot you see in a lot of WA films. LD is free to do whatever works for him in this film, but doesn't allow anybody the same freedom. You can hear the camera very loudly in several scenes and the yellow/green grading used in many WA films is like having a perceptual disorder.
I actually did think that it was funny and I really didnt mind having Larry David playing the "Woody Allen character", because he actually did it quite well along with a touch of the "Larry David character". Also, I didnt feel as though "Whatever Works" was some kind of "Hannah and her sisters, take 2". It has its own story, it is funny and most of the dialouge is quite brilliant.
She was funny in the role, but her character was far more annoying than anyone else in the movie (including Ed Begley who was playing the same character but had far less screen time)
One of about 6 Woody Allen movies I've seen. One of three thumbs up. I like your glasses ;)
Maybe I got into this movie because I haven't seen the truckload of Woody Allen movies that this is apparently ripping off. I think your review was well thought out, but I just plain disagree. The Patricia Clarkson character seemed far more of a stereotype than LD or ERW. The quick narrated life change from salt-of-the-earth southern baptist to wanna-be-bohemian-photography married to two fat professors just seemed ridiculous.
hi! i actually like your review, but i wanted to offer my take, because i thought a lot of what you were thinking.what if Woody is making a film that is in fact his own formula?what if this whole movie is a giant wink? what if its a call to arms for this kind of thinking? what if he never makes a movie like this again and we realize that hes happy not going back to Annie Hall?what if he's happy tapping into this cliche that is truly his own? and you have to admit, this is his big cartoon.
See Debra Messing, Patricia Clarkson, Morgan Spurlock, Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David and writer/director Woody Allen discuss Whatever Works at the Opening of the Tribeca Film Festival 2009! Youtube [dot] com/watch?v=HwdwyP4e5XQ
I too used to be a big Woody Allen fan but gave up by the mid 1980s or so. I think the Boris part was meant for Zero Mostel, was written in the 70s and so seems very dated. I stayed in the cinema because it was a very warm evening and the aircon was nice. I also fail to find Curb funny and I have tried very hard with that. It's very nasty and everybody shouting meshuga meshuga at the same time is not farce on the level of Fawlty Towers at all.
3replybiz 9 months ago
Very very grim, chock full of outright hatred and intolerance, the potent nastiness then wrapped up in totally fake good feeling & shallow moralising. This film is not funny at all. I'm tired of the paedophile plot you see in a lot of WA films. LD is free to do whatever works for him in this film, but doesn't allow anybody the same freedom. You can hear the camera very loudly in several scenes and the yellow/green grading used in many WA films is like having a perceptual disorder.
3replybiz 9 months ago
your kinda hot for a red head
DJLS1SS 1 year ago
I actually did think that it was funny and I really didnt mind having Larry David playing the "Woody Allen character", because he actually did it quite well along with a touch of the "Larry David character". Also, I didnt feel as though "Whatever Works" was some kind of "Hannah and her sisters, take 2". It has its own story, it is funny and most of the dialouge is quite brilliant.
svsimon 1 year ago
She was funny in the role, but her character was far more annoying than anyone else in the movie (including Ed Begley who was playing the same character but had far less screen time)
One of about 6 Woody Allen movies I've seen. One of three thumbs up. I like your glasses ;)
OLTJOE 2 years ago
Maybe I got into this movie because I haven't seen the truckload of Woody Allen movies that this is apparently ripping off. I think your review was well thought out, but I just plain disagree. The Patricia Clarkson character seemed far more of a stereotype than LD or ERW. The quick narrated life change from salt-of-the-earth southern baptist to wanna-be-bohemian-photography married to two fat professors just seemed ridiculous.
OLTJOE 2 years ago
hi! i actually like your review, but i wanted to offer my take, because i thought a lot of what you were thinking.what if Woody is making a film that is in fact his own formula?what if this whole movie is a giant wink? what if its a call to arms for this kind of thinking? what if he never makes a movie like this again and we realize that hes happy not going back to Annie Hall?what if he's happy tapping into this cliche that is truly his own? and you have to admit, this is his big cartoon.
YiddishBlues 2 years ago
Thanks... Great review with what you said . I just saw the trailer. I won't waste my time to see more.
lentilclock 2 years ago
See Debra Messing, Patricia Clarkson, Morgan Spurlock, Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David and writer/director Woody Allen discuss Whatever Works at the Opening of the Tribeca Film Festival 2009! Youtube [dot] com/watch?v=HwdwyP4e5XQ
tribecafilm 2 years ago