Friday, July 03, 2009

Whatever Works: Woody Allen's Fortieth Film


Have gotten to see Whatever Works twice now, and loved it both times: first time for the story line, second time for everything else. Larry David's Boris Yelnikoff (or is it Yellnikoff?) launches into several well-timed well-placed dark and comic jeremiads throughout the movie. The tale itself feels something close to magical realism, with luck playing a major role -- as is often the case in Woody's world.

If you like the style and outlook of Woody Allen, Larry David and Jon Stewart, this one's for you. For anybody else, it's a roll of the dice. A big fan of all three dudes (Jon Stewart is not in the film, but Daily Show correspondent Samantha Bee makes a cameo as a "chess Mom"), I dig not only the film, but the digs in the film.

Today's Rune: Wholeness.

6 comments:

Johnny Yen said...

Thanks for the review.

A few years ago, I stayed up late and caught "Another Woman" on cable and and realized that there are a bunch of Woody Allen films I still haven't seen-- Broadway Danny Rose, Zelig, Purple Rose of Cairo. I've got them all lined up soon on my Netflix queue

Erik Donald France said...

Breaking news: Sarah Palin stepping down as Alaska's governor.

Why? No idea yet. She is a fool, but I'm glad she's quitting for whatever reason. Whatever worked.

dmarks said...

"Zelig" was the last one I'd seen, and it was great Johnny.

Charles Gramlich said...

A chess mom? that might be worth seeing.

JR's Thumbprints said...

I believe Sarah Palin had a 70% approval rating in her state. I wonder what kind of leverage, or should I say "dirt," someone had on her.

Adorably Dead said...

Oh my gosh, it's out! Woot! I have to find out what time it's playing near me, so glad I have money to spend this week.