Whatever Works (2009)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

1 July 2009 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Attempting to impress his ideologies on religion, relationships, and the randomness (and worthlessness) of existence...

Plot Keywords:

Religion | Runaway | Dog Walker | Older Man Younger Woman Relationship | Photography

Cast

Larry David	...	Boris Yellnikoff
Adam Brooks	...	Boris' Friend #1
Lyle Kanouse	...	Boris' Friend #2
Michael McKean	...	Joe - Boris' Friend #3
Clifford Lee Dickson	...	Boy on Street
Yolonda Ross	...	Boy's Mother
Carolyn McCormick	...	Jessica
Samantha Bee	...	Chess Mother
Conleth Hill	...	Leo Brockman
Marcia DeBonis	...	Lady at Chinese Restaurant
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Melodie St. Ann Celestine
John Gallagher Jr.	...	Perry
Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman	...	Chess Girl
Nicole Patrick	...	Perry's Friend
Patricia Clarkson	...	Marietta

Also Known As:

Untitled Woody Allen Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, brief nude images and thematic material.

Runtime:

USA:92 min (Tribeca Film Festival)

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44832) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Norway:A | Singapore:M18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Sony Pictures Classics

Trivia:

The role of Boris Yellnikoff was original written for Zero Mostel. After Mostel's death in 1977, Woody Allen set the screenplay aside. However, with a potential actor's strike during 2008-9, Allen chose this old screenplay to be his next film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Randy bumps into Melodie at the clothing store, she has pink nail polish. In the next scene at the boat, she does not.

Quotes:

Boris Yellnikoff: That's why I can't say enough times, whatever love you can get and give, whatever happiness you can filch or provide, every temporary measure of grace, whatever works.

Movie Connections:

Features Touch of Evil (1958)

Totally agree... vintage Woody Allen

First, just so you know, I'm writing this review from France... but I'm from the U.S. That, so you don't disregard this as yet another Franco-Allen fan (they've exchanged their Jerry Lewis passion for Woody over here, and sanction everything he does).

Also, disclaimer: I really like and respect Woody Allen's work and I'm also an ex New Yorker. With a Jewish wife, no less. So no, okay, I'm not unbiased.

All that said... I fully agree with "boyden" in that this movie is far better than the reviews it gets from critics. On rottentomatoes.com, for instance, this garnered a 45% rating. That's on par with non-hits like "Gigli" etc.

Yet, the dialogue was great... Larry David was as close to a Woody Allen substitute as anyone has come in a long time (Allen always casts people he can direct to sound like him, it seems)... and it made me crave that old New York, before the money of the recent pre-bust boom turned it into a homogenized has-been of a city.

Evan Rachel Wood, by the way, was overwhelmingly charming. And I thought all the other acting was excellent too, in the way people act in Woody Allen movies... which is ALWAYS different from what it is in other films (you occasionally get those moments where the lines are crafted or improvised rather than somewhere in the middle).

At any rate, it's amazing the size of the disconnect between fan response and the response of the critics... who, in my opinion, should go watch Annie Hall and Sleeper and the like so they can remember again.