Sweet and Lowdown (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

26 January 2000 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Plot:

In the 1930s, fictional jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute.

Plot Keywords:

Jazz | Train | 1930s | Gangster | Rat

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 11 nominations

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Himself
Ben Duncan	...	Himself
Daniel Okrent	...	A.J. Pickman
Dan Moran	...	Boss
Tony Darrow	...	Ben
Chris Bauer	...	Ace - Pool Player
Sean Penn	...	Emmet Ray
Constance Shulman	...	Hazel - Hooker #1
Kellie Overbey	...	Iris - Hooker #2
Darryl Alan Reed	...	Don
Marc Damon Johnson	...	Omer
Ron C. Jones	...	Alvin (as Ron Cephas Jones)
Steve Bargonetti	...	Musician Friend
Benjamin Franklin Brown	...	Musician Friend
James Urbaniak	...	Harry

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Fall Project 1998 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some substance abuse.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Fresh Pond Rail Yards, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Magnolia Productions

Trivia:

In the scene where Emmet Ray sees Django Reinhardt for the first time at the gas station and faints, right behind the trees is the Nyack High School Football team. They were asked to be quiet during the filming of the scene and had a stop their practice a number of times.

Goofs:

Continuity: The food on Emmett's fork disappears.

Quotes:

Emmet Ray: Wanna go to the dump and shoot some rats?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 76th Annual Academy Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Just A Gigolo

The type of film Woody Allen does very well

In my opinion, there is more than one type of Woody Allen film. There is the antic lunacy of films like Bananas and Sleeper, the serio-comic "serious" film with "meaning", like Annie Hall, Husbands and Wives and Deconstructing Harry and then there are what I think are Woody Allen's "love notes", if you'll bear with the expression, films like The Purple Rose of Cairo, Bullets Over Broadway and Sweet and Lowdown, films as a general rule that are period pieces (generally the '30's or thereabouts) that are basically mash notes from Allen to something Allen particularly cares about, such as jazz in Sweet and Lowdown (specifically jazz guitar and Django Reinhardt). The score is great, which is typical for a Woody Allen film. Allen does these little films vey well and they are almost always worth watching. Sean Penn plays a self-centered, egotistical creep with talent. I will leave any further interpretations regarding the preceding statement to the Gentle Reader. Why he was nominated for an Oscar escapes me. Samantha Morton, on the other hand, gives a sweet, if almost one-note, performance, which basically sums up the movie: worth the time and effort to watch, but a one-note film. If you like this side of Woody (and I do), this is worth seeing.