Woody Allen

The Woody Allen Collection, Sets 1-3
$239.94
whats the deal with this deal? possibly some kind of loss leader packaging, like with those Bond sets where they bundle 'goldfinger' with 'a view to a kill'...

Manhattan
$14.98
So, Woody (here known as Isaac) was married to a younger woman, played by Meryl Streep, who decides she is a lesbian after having a son with Woody. The Streep character is writing a book about her marriage to Woody, who works as a writer on a TV comedy show. That's the backstory. Obviously, written to put the Woody character in a sympathetic light since Woody, as always, plays the loveable loser who the Universe is out to get via "death by paper cuts".

The actual story, however, is not nearly as interesting as the backstory. It revolves around Woody hanging out with his best friend and complaining about women and the fact that their romanticized view of life as young adults does not "hold water" to the reality which is life.

As an extension of this malaise, the best friend is having an affair with a woman played by Diane Keaton even though the best friend is happily married. Why he finds the Keaton character so attractive that he is willing to put his twenty year marriage at risk is impossible to fathom since she is portrayed as self-satisfied and assured to the point where she is absolutely convinced she is always right. Apparently, if you have a mature relationship, brashness is refreshing.

The Keaton character's one "endearing" affectation is that, while being a paragon of New York self-love, she continually tries to claim sensibility by declaring she is originally from Philadelphia. Apparently, Keaton's character believes that New Yorkers are given to sensationalizing themselves. The irony, of course, is that the Keaton character is a common lady, albeit bright, living a common life. Consequently, her own self-importance is not sensible but sensationalized.

Meanwhile, Woody is screwing Tracy, a seventeen year old played by Mariel Hemingway. The Tracy character is basically a two-dimensional ideal who has nothing meaningful to say within the film but "lives" to act as an apparent contrast to the "adults" played by Woody, Keaton, and the best friend. Whereas, they are "sophisticated", "jaded", and "selfish" due to the dog-eat-dog world of the big city, Tracy is "simple", "pure", and "selfless" - a ripe seventeen year old with the wisdom of a seventy year old.

And so, we enter Woody's fantasyland: a world in which adults act like self-involved teenagers and teenagers act like selfless grandparents.

When the best friend decides he should not be cheating on his wife, he suggests Woody date the Diane Keaton character. Woody, in a rare show of morality, decides a 40 year old man screwing a high school senior may be wrong. Consequently, he accepts his friend's suggestion and, after tossing Tracy aside, he and Keaton begin seeing each other.

Only to have her dump him when the best friend decides to throw his marriage away because he can't do without Diane Keaton and, as it would be, Diane Keaton's character cannot do without the friend.

So, does Woody get angry at the friend or Keaton as would any normal person? Of course not, he does his "sad sack" routine, playing up how unfair the Universe is to him. Instead of the expected anger, Woody has an "epiphany" during which he realizes he loves Tracy (Hemingway) - even though he dumped her months before. Apparently, her simple devotion and their uncomplicated carnal couplings are suddenly seen to be abiding love.

So, Woody runs over to her apartment building - apparently, running conveys he really likes her and, therefore, it must be love rather than self-pity since New Yorkers don't run, they take taxis.

Only to find she is leaving for school in London.

Never one to be anything other than selfish, Woody tries to convince Tracy that shacking up with a 40+ year old man is "way cooler" than getting a real life by going to London. In the first glimmer of sensibility in her life, Tracy sweetly but firmly tells Woody she is going.

Woody wanly smiles and the film fades out.

This bare review of the plot shows the main problem with this film. There is little to it and what there is, is tripe dressed up as more.

First, the whole backstory and most of the events during the actual story, such as Woody quitting his job and moving into a new apartment, don't serve any other purpose than to portray Woody as, you got it, a "lovable loser".

Why the Streep character becomes a lesbian or why a book about her marriage to Woody is in demand is never explained. As such, these are simple plot devices to imply Woody's character continually gets the "short straw" in life.

Second, it is de facto in Woodyland that this seventeen year old "loves" the Woody character. Why is never explained. How they got to together or what attracted each to the other is never developed. Ignoring the statutory rape issue, it remains that they don't seem to talk about anything nor to be "in love". They're two friendly people simply having sex. Yes, he's kind to her, but is that enough to support the "love" Woody expects the audience to believe by the end of the film? For that matter, why is an attractive, fairly emotionally healthy seventeen year old in a relationship with this older man?

Third, it is de facto in Woodyworld that middle age adults are indifferent to the presence of a teenager hanging out with them. Woody, Tracy, his best friend, and the best friend's wife continually have couple dates. The three adults are all in their forties. They are all "sophisticated" persons who love spewing their views and opinions. Tracy just sits there nodding her head sweetly. Despite this lack of commonality, all the adults accept Tracy as their equal, even though she basically acts as would a seventeen year old daughter amongst her father and his friends.
Similarly in Woodyworld, his friend and the friend's wife have no opinion, let alone concern that Woody is screwing a high schooler.

And it never gets better for the Tracy character. She is given no breadth or human dimension. The character simply serves in the most obvious way as a counterpoint to the adults. She is the wise, self-centered and balanced Madonna amongst the childish, me-first, self-pitying forty year olds. Yes, I realize that Allen is jewish, yet the Tracy character is based on the Virgin Mary archetype, too good and unconditionally loving to actually exist other than in myth. As stated before, in Woodyland, it's the kids who are mature and the adults who are immature.

So, the movie's entertainment value is based upon finding it humorous to see a bunch of middle aged people mess up their lives and put their own interests in front of their loved ones, a grim worldview which is "happily" saved by Woody being redeemed when he rejects the petty selfishness of the adult world and accepts as ideal the unsophisticated "love" of a seventeen year old who has no life experience to distinguish between love and infatuation.

I am not as smart as Woody Allen. Consequently, I have to believe Woody Allen knew the Tracy character and her "noble love" was not realistic and that his ending was b.s. - he just couldn't come up with a better one.

For Woody Allen fans, there is the typical Woody character, a guy who continually whines at the Universe for always making him the victim since, even though he selfishly puts his own interests first, he is a "good guy" since the other characters are also putting their own interests first and, at least, Woody feels "guilty" for continually screwing over his loved ones.

In simpler terms, Allen's "humor" is based upon the argument that one does not have to follow the Golden Rule common to all of the world's moral systems, if one is willing to "feel guilt" and, thereby, "punish" oneself for gaining from greed and selfishness.

This argument is false for me since Allen is not actual "feeling guilt", since he does not change his ways, but is using self-deprecation to gain sympathy so he can continue in his selfish ways. Allen is masterful at using "character ticks" (namely, his continual whining tone), plot devices, and backstory to portray himself as the victim of life, however, his characters usually are winners at life once you take away all this affectation. It may be a clever act, however, it is more pathetic than profound. However, to each his tastes.

For New York fans, the cinematography is beautiful. The film is in black and white, which was probably chosen to make it otherworldy and, thereby, a fantasy. People don't question fantasies and, therefore, most reviewers blithely ignore the absurdity of the Isaac/Tracy relationship. Be that as it may, the black and white filming does make Manhattan look much prettier than it does in actuality.

As to Manhattan, you either see something "special" about NYC or you see it as another city. I don't tend to romanticize places and, therefore, it's just another city to me. However, if you like pretending a bunch of buildings have personality or enjoy that self-satisfied "moxy" which the typical New Yorker continually assures you that he and his brethren share, then the movie should give you a warm feeling since it is set in NYC and claims to show just how "sophisticated" a New Yorker can be.

Of course, "sophisticated" is relative. In this movie, it means a bunch of self-assured individuals saying clever and pithy things about ... nothing.

Ah yes, but it's sophisticated nothingness!

Whatever Works
$27.96
Why is Larry David playing Woody Allen? Why didn't Woody play himself. Although smartly written, this is very hard to watch. I blame Woody for attempting to have Larry David do this lame impersonation. I cringed the entire movie. It could have been great but ended unbelieveable and total junk. No wonder this crapped out at the theaters.

Scoop
$9.99
"Scoop" is a mystery/comedy/romance written and directed by Woody Allen and released in 2006. Scarlett Johansson stars as Sondra Pransky, a geeky college journalist vacationing in England. She gets a tip from the ghost of a dead newsman (Ian McShane) on the identity of a local serial killer and proceeds to team up with bumbling magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen); the tip leads them to the rich son of a prominent lord, Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), with whom Sondra unintentionally starts to fall in love. Is Lyman the murderer or isn't he?

Although fantastical and somewhat goofy, "Scoop" is first and foremost a mystery and I did enjoy trying to figure out if Peter Lyman is the "Tarot Card killer." In the story we perceive Peter Lyman largely through the lens of Sondra, who is falling in love with the guy; hence, the viewer warms up to him and doesn't want him to be a notorious killer.

"Scoop" is a comedy but not in the laugh-out-loud sense of, say, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"; it's mildly amusing, witty and fun but not laugh-out-loud funny, so if you're looking for the latter don't bother.

The three stars and their chemistry are a highlight. I enjoyed the team-up of Woody (Sid) & Scarlett (Sondra) and their surrogate father/daughter relationship. I knew when I saw "The Horse Whisperer" that Scarlett would grow up to be one of cinema's leading beauties, and so she is! Scarlett was 21 while filming "Scoop" and plays against type; and she does it quite well. The film is worth catching solely for her, just don't expect any raunch or t&a exploitation (although she does have a one-piece bathing suit scene and a nightie scene, which are both rather modest).

Hugh Jackman is a great modern masculine actor, of course, and he does fine here, although I couldn't help wondering if long metal claws would suddenly shoot out of his knuckles!

The London and English countryside locations are nice eyecandy.

The runtime is 96 minutes.

BOTTOM LINE: This is my first Woody Allen film so I'm not familiar with his r���pertoire and therefore can't compare "Scoop" with his other movies. With this in mind, "Scoop" may not be great or even really good, it is an enjoyable mystery/comedy highlighted by a good cast and locations. "Scoop" doesn't aspire or claim to be anything more and, on that level, I liked it. I enjoyed the characters, their story, the creative zany elements (e.g. crossing the River Styx with the Grim Reaper) and the mounting mystery.