Scenes from a Mall (1991)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Paul Mazursky

Writers (WGA):

Roger L. Simon (written by) &
Paul Mazursky (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

On their 16th wedding anniversary, Deborah and Nick decided to work out all their differences ...in public.

Plot:

On their 16. anniversary, during a shopping stroll, the lawyer Nick Fifer confesses his wife Deborah some affairs...

Plot Keywords:

Shopping | Kicked In The Crotch | Mariachi Band | Dance Scene | Wedding Anniversary

Cast

Bette Midler	...	Deborah Fifer
Woody Allen	...	Nick Fifer
Bill Irwin	...	Mime
Daren Firestone	...	Sam
Rebecca Nickels	...	Jennifer
Paul Mazursky	...	Doctor Hans Clava
Gregory Moore	...	Barber Shop Quartet
Michael Brown	...	Barber Shop Quartet
Jonathan Guss	...	Barber Shop Quartet
David Frye	...	Barber Shop Quartet
Joseph Warren	...	Joe Cool & the Coolers (Rap Group)
Brian Warren	...	Joe Cool & the Coolers (Rap Group)
Darrell Mason	...	Joe Cool & the Coolers (Rap Group)
Marc Shaiman	...	Pianist
Augustin Bustamante	...	El Mariachi Bustamente

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Center - 8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Silver Screen Partners IV

Trivia:

Before filming for this movie began, Woody Allen had never set foot in a mall.

Quotes:

Deborah Fifer: I betrayed you? You betrayed me! What about your seven month adventure with a girl named Ed?

Movie Connections:

References Salaam Bombay! (1988)

Soundtrack:

RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

How Do You Screw That Up?!

This is a "comedy" that pairs two of the funniest, fieriest Jewish comedians alive. It is about a bickering married couple that works out all their marital problems during a trip to the mall. Sounds great! Get to work. Wait. What is this? This is crap! Fix it! What? You can't? You already filmed it with a second-rate crew in just the past couple of days? What the hell is wrong with you?!

I can understand it if Paul Mazursky wasn't as successful as one would think with this film because he didn't want to make the screwball comedy that everyone would expect, but what is so pathetic about this is that there are many moments where the film truly does believe it is being funny, such as the scenes with the irritating mime.

Like most modern marriages, after about half an hour you might really want to reconsider your vows with this film, because although it starts blandly enough, you still feel that you can expect the laughs to start piling up, but they never ever do. Not once. Bette and Woody aren't even very good. What do they have with which to work? They can't spark off of one another in spite of generally giving as much as they can to these two-dimensional characters.

Overall, this is quite an unnecessary film, a contrived effort to cash in, but with no juices at all except the anticipation of having Bette and Woody in the same film. It's almost unbelievable how bad it is. I understand if one does not trust the almost unanimous bashing this film gets until one actually sees it, because I am guilty of this. Woody Allen, as a writer and director, has never made a bad film. Even his worst film is twice as good if not more than this waste of talent.