DIANE KEATON (1946 - 2025)

I am shocked and sadden about the passing of Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning actress who dazzled audiences with her many screen performances. It was announced that the Los Angeles born and raised actor had died on October 11th at the age of seventy-nine with no cause disclosed to date. With a charming quirkiness, self-deprecating wit and an eccentric, spontaneous spirit, Keaton brought to mind the classic screwball movie comedian while still capturing a unique modern sensibility. And the distinctive wardrobe she wore off screen which usually consisted of tailored menswear, extra wide belts and a bowler hat made Keaton become a style icon. 

Born Diane Hall, she had gotten into theater during high school which sparked her interest in pursuing acting as a career. She briefly attended college in Santa Ana before dropping out and heading to New York. Discovering there was already a "Diane Hall" in the Actors' Equity Association, she took her mother's maiden name of "Keaton" as her stage name. Her first stage opportunity came when she was cast as part of the ensemble in the original Broadway production of "Hair" with Keaton famously declining to appear nude on stage even with the offer of a fifty dollar bonus. But Keaton's career would take off in 1969 after meeting Woody Allen and being cast in his play, "Play it Again, Sam". The comedy would earn Keaton a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Heading back to Los Angeles, she would appear in several television sitcoms, dramas and commercials.

Keaton's first significant film role was as Kay Adams-Corleone in "The Godfather" with director, Francis Ford Coppola casting her after noticing the actress in her 1970 film debut, "Lovers and Other Strangers". The film was a critical and box-office success, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture. Keaton would appear in the film's sequel two years later (also winning Best Picture) with her role far more substantial.

In 1972, Keaton co-starred with Allen in the film version of "Play it Again, Sam", directed by Herbert Ross. Once Allen decided to begin to direct his screenplays, he cast Keaton (who had a brief romantic relationship with him and remained life-long friends) in many of his features beginning with "Sleeper" in 1973 and "Love and Death" two years later. Allen has said that the character of "Annie Hall" was inspired by Keaton and the film would become a big box-office hit and received wide critical acclaim, winning four Academy Awards including Best Actress for Keaton and Best Picture. She would appear in his other films, "Interiors", "Manhattan" and "Manhattan Murder Mystery".

Other notable films that starred Keaton include the dramas, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (where she played against type as a schoolteacher for deaf children who at night hung out at bars to pick-up men), "Reds" (receiving a Best Actress Oscar nomination), "Shoot the Moon" and comedies, "Crimes of the Heart", "Baby Boom", a remake of "Father of the Bride" and the sequel. Keaton soon turned her attention to directing, first music videos, episodes of drama series and two films for television before making a documentary feature, "Heaven" in 1987 about the possibility of an afterlife. Her first feature film as a director was in 1995 with "Unstrung Heroes", a '60's set comedy-drama about a boy dealing with his mother struggling with cancer with Andie MacDowell and John Turturro. She would also direct and co-star in the 2000 comedy (featuring a screenplay by Nora and Delia Ephron), "Hanging Up" with Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow.

Keaton continued to perform as an actor appearing in "The Godfather Part III", "Marvin's Room" (where she received another Best Actress Oscar nomination), "The Family Stone", "Mad Money", "Book Club", "Something's Got to Give" (receiving her final Best Actress Oscar nomination) and "The First Wives Club", the popular box-office smash with Goldie Hawn and Bette Midler which has developed a cult following. Keaton's final screen appearance was last year in the comedy, "Summer Camp" which she co-starred with Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard.

Keaton was actively involved in the art scene in Los Angeles, particularly photography, and restoring then selling landmark homes throughout the area. And while she was involved in several high profile romances which included Allen, Al Pacino and Warren Beatty, Keaton was never married. She is survived by her two children, Dexter and Duke Keaton who were adapted when she was in her 50's.

Not all of the movies that Keaton appeared in were well received or memorable but the actress was consistently pointed as the highlight of any given film, praising her gift for an offbeat approach to her characters while remaining emotionally authentic with every performance. Diane Keaton was a true original and her remarkable artistry will absolutely be missed.

MY VIEWING DIARY: PART FIFTEEN

"Camille" (1936)

The latest movie I've seen starring Greta Garbo is "Camille", considered one of her greatest screen performances and helping the actress earn the second of her three Academy Award nominations. This elegantly grand, period romance about a doomed lady of pleasure and the man who loves her unconditionally until the end was inspired by 1848 novel, "La Dame aux Camélias" by Alexandre Dumas. George Cukor directs Garbo for the first time here, helping to draw out her buried levity, before working with the Swedish actress again in the comedy, "Two-Faced Woman" which would be her final film before retiring in 1941.

Set in 19th century Paris, Garbo plays Marguerite Gautier, a lovely courtesan with expensive tastes. Yet she lacks financial savvy, requiring her to rely on the kindness of wealthy gentlemen to help pay her mounting debts. One night at the theater, Marguerite's confidant, Prudence Duvernoy (Laura Hope Crews) arranges for her to get acquainted with Baron de Varville (Henry Daniell), a man of wealth and prestige who could help Marguerite with her money woes. But she briefly mistakes the handsome, Armand Duval (Robert Taylor) for the Baron. Sparks fly between these two and while the young man is from a financially comfortable family, Armand lacks the serious funds needed to keep Marguerite comfortable. But over time, he falls hard for the enchanting beauty, something she has never experienced before from a man. This conflict causes Marguerite, who is seriously ill with consumption, to struggle between fiscal comfort from the Baron and romantic passion from Armand.

The Garbo in "Camille" is far removed from the early Garbo in the silent film era. After years in Hollywood, the usually somber actress appears effortlessly relaxed on screen, more warm and carefree than many of her previous appearances. The producer, Irving Thalberg (who died at thirty-seven shortly after filming was completed) had the writers re-work the script to cater to the strengths of the actress after seeing rushes of a radiant Garbo. He was also responsible for insisting on giving this stunning, period-costume drama a contemporary feel with Cukor using his reliable skills to make a lively and captivating spectacle despite the dark undercurrents of the story.



"Walk on the Wild Side" (1962)

Opening with a sensational credit sequence directed by Saul Bass featuring a black tom cat prowling the city streets before starting a fight a with a sleek white cat, "Walk on the Wild Side", Edward Dmytryk's demented, Southern-fried soap-opera, is about all-consuming obsession and long-simmering desires. Set during the Depression era, Laurence Harvey plays Dove Linkhorn, a handsome drifter traveling around in search of Hallie Gerard (Capucine), a French woman he had a brief, passionate affair. When he last heard from her, she was in New Orleans yet has no real idea where she might be. While stopping in Texas, he comes across Kitty Twist (Jane Fonda), an attractive fellow drifter who uses what she has to survive. They decide to head to Louisiana together and while Kitty has eyes for Dove, his focus remains on finding Hallie. He discovers that she's working at the Doll House, a brothel in the French Quarter run by the tough madam, Jo (Barbara Stanwyck). Dove is determined to save Hallie from this depraved life but Jo is also determined to keep her, equally obsessed with this Gallic beauty and willing to destroy anyone who stands in her way. 

One of the more distracting problems with "Walk on the Wild Side" (based on a 1956 novel by Nelson Algren) is that it's unable to be clear and direct on the more salacious moments going on in the story due to the self-censorship imposed by the Hays Code. While films coming out of Europe at this time had begun dealing with adult themes with honesty and realism, American movies were still trapped doing a sanitized version of real life. In this film, prostitution is never mentioned, making one wonder what these ladies were really doing in this house and the relationship between Hallie and Jo is left purposely vague even though it's quite clear they are more than "just close friends'.

With the help of a dazzling cast of actors, this swampy melodrama is made a little more interesting. Harvey is just adequate in the role of Dove yet fails to generate much of a real connection with any of his female co-stars. This was Fonda's second film role and already displaying a great screen presence but still had some work to do being fully convincing as a character down-on-their-luck and desperate. The great Anne Baxter makes a problematic appearance as Teresina Vidaverri, the owner of New Orleans café that helps Dove with a job and shelter, a character who is clearly supposed to Mexican and the actress uses an accent to drive it home. And the screen legend Stanwyck is always a wonderful addition to any film, able to make even silly dialogue crackle with intensity. On the other end, Capucine, with the skills of a classic model-turned-actress, struggles to deliver a competent performance, far too stiff to make us believe that Hallie is an alluring and irresistible siren. Restrained by the times, "Walk on the Wild Side" can't really let loose to tell a story that actually feels wild and dangerous.

"A Rainy Day In New York" (2019)

After being unhappy with the film made from his screenplay for "What's New, Pussycat?", Woody Allen (who began his career writing for television in the '50's before moving to stand-up comedy and playwriting in the '60's) vowed to direct his own work. He directed his first feature, "What's Up, Tiger Lily?" in 1966, a strange comedy he made from an existing Japanese spy film by overdubbing the dialogue and rearranging the order of scenes. Allen made a series of popular slapstick comedies before he shifted to the dramatic romantic-comedy, "Annie Hall" in 1977, a box-office hit that won four Academy Awards including Best Picture. His subsequent work would vary wildly from sublime ("Manhattan"; "Hannah and Her Sisters"; "Bullets Over Broadway"; "Blue Jasmine") to substandard ("Shadows and Fog"; "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion"; "Anything Else"; "To Rome with Love"). "A Rainy Day In New York", Allen's forty-seventh feature film as a writer/director, fails as one of the filmmaker's weaker efforts. This poorly conceived romantic-comedy is supposed to contemporary yet Allen has the characters speak and behave in a manner that comes across as oddly dated, feeling far better suited for a story set eighty years ago.

Gatsby Welles (Timothée Chalamet), a college student from a wealthy New York family who loves '40's jazz, drinks at the Carlyle and quotes Cole Porter, is dating Ashleigh Enright (Elle Fanning) who attends school in Arizona to study journalism. When she is given an assignment to travel to New York to interview the acclaimed filmmaker, Roland Pollard (Liev Schreiber), Gatsby decides to surprise her with a romantic weekend in the city. But Pollard is so impressed by Ashleigh's skills and knowledge that he invites her to a private screening of his latest film, forcing Gatsby to rearrange his plans. With time on his hands, Gatsby wanders the streets and stumbles on to a movie set where the director happens to be a friend and the star, Chan Tyrell (Selena Gomez) is the younger sister of a former girlfriend. And due to an actor not showing up, Gatsby is asked to fill in for a romantic scene in the film with Chan. Meanwhile at the screening, Ashleigh meets the handsome, movie star, Francisco Vega (Diego Luna) who invites her out for dinner after being enchanted by the student reporter. What follows are a series of contrived mishaps and illogical decisions that puts a strain on this young couple's relationship, leading to a conclusion that's more dark and off-putting than charming and sweet.

"A Rainy Day In New York" seems like a old script that Allen found in the back of a drawer, blew some of the dust off and went to work filming. And while the actors manage to deliver some fine performances (with brief appearances by Jude Law, Rebecca Hall, Annaleigh Ashford and Cherry Jones) and the camerawork by Vittorio Storaro is quite captivating, the rest of this dreary film does not have a moment that hasn't been reconstructed or recycled from any number of Allen's previous (and far superior) comedies.

At this point in his career, the now eighty-five year old Allen is just viewed as a troublesome relic from the past. His reputation has been shattered by some disturbing allegations from almost thirty years ago even though he has never been charged with a crime. But even before the scandal, Allen was never known to be a warm or gregarious figure and let's not even get in to the story of how he meet his current wife. I have no intention on making any judgement on his character here but to share my thoughts on the filmmaker's latest feature film and "A Rainy Day In New York", with it's lame jokes and out-of-touch premise, is simply lazy and predictable. This is especially disheartening as Allen has proven he is a capable creator of thoughtful, funny and charming movies yet now just grinding out tired retreads from his glory days.

THE 100 BEST SCREENWRITERS OF ALL TIME

I have always believed that if you don't have a complete, well-written script, you will never have a watchable film. This has been proven more times than not yet you would be amazed how many times a movie begins production (mostly due to a pre-set release date), investing millions of dollars, with a script that is not in any condition to actually begin shooting a film.

I think part of the problem is the screenwriter gets no respect. There is this odd, long-held thought process that writing for the cinema is not that hard, pretty much anyone can do it and screenwriters are incredibly overpaid for what they contribute to the film. This is obviously far from the truth and all you have to do is re-watch one of your favorite films or recall a classic line from a movie to realize that not just anyone can create these special moments in cinema. It requires a certain talent and writers are just as important as the actors and directors to make a film memorable and entertaining.

Vulture has put together a list of the 100 best screenwriters throughout the history of cinema and have been ranked by forty of today's top working screenwriters. Some of the usual suspects are included (Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, Preston Sturges, Nora Ephron, Charlie Kaufman) but there are names that may not be as well-known (Guillermo Arriaga, Leigh Brackett, Burt Kennedy, Charles Lederer, Jay Presson Allen) but have contributed greatly to the art of screenwriting.

Click below to read:

The 100 Best Screenwriters of All-Time Ranked

CAFE SOCIETY (2016)

Written & Directed by Woody Allen


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. July 16, 2016  3:15 PM



"Café Society", the latest feature by Woody Allen, takes a wistful look back at romantic longing, deceptive behavior and missed opportunities in a story set in the glamorous world of 1930's Hollywood. It's no secret that the eighty year old director has a great affection for the past as he has covered the era of his adolescence numerous times throughout the years. Even when he takes on a contemporary setting, the tone still feels deeply rooted in days gone by. With this film, Allen knows how to expertly tell a story, filled with dramatic tension and bleak comedy yet he's unable to craft it in a way that seems unfamiliar or atypical.

Another one of Allen's favorite themes is New York versus Los Angeles and that occurs again here with Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg), a young man leaving behind his secure employment with the family jewelry business to take a chance on a new life in the city of continuous sunshine. His concerned mother, Rose (Jeannie Berlin) calls her brother, Phil (Steve Carell), who is a top Hollywood talent agent, to help her son out with a job.

Without anything to offer at the moment, Phil has his secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) keep him company and show Bobby around the city in the meantime. The two spend a lot of time together with Bobby becoming completely smitten with the lovely girl, admiring her lack of pretense and earnest ambition. And while she's attracted to him too, she's already in a committed relationship with a roving journalist who travels across the globe for work. When Vonnie's relationship suddenly comes to an unexpected end, a pleased Bobby offers his shoulder for the devastated young woman to cry on.

Even though his relationship with Phil has grown close, attending family functions and parties filled with Hollywood types, Bobby is still surprised when his uncle confides that he's been having a long-time affair and ready to leave his wife for this other woman. This bit of shocking news will create an unforeseen problem for Bobby, ultimately leaving him crushed and disappointed.

Bobby soon heads back to the east coast, with nothing more than unpleasant memories of his time in Los Angeles. He decides to join a new family business; running a nightclub with his brother, Ben (Corey Stoll), a mobster whose solution to any problem, big or small, is to bury it six feet under. The club becomes a popular destination for the rich and powerful which in turn makes Bobby one of them. One night, he meets Veronica (Blake Lively), a gorgeous divorcee, eventually marrying her and starting a family. Just when his life seemed to be going in a comfortable direction, the complicated past comes rushing back and takes a seat in his nightclub.

It's been said that writers write about what they know and that has paid off handsomely for Mr. Allen. He's managed to spin comedy gold, creating some cinematic gems throughout the years, fictionalizing his life experiences including his explorations in to less traveled themes like May/December romance, existential crisis and psychoanalysis. However, after all this time, it's gotten pretty stale and predictable. Allen's movies seem too stuck in the past, literally and figuratively, continuously filled with his beloved jazz and hardly any surprises. That's not to say "Café Society" isn't occasionally engaging, funny or charming but fresh is not a word that would be used to describe this or any recent Woody Allen film. One notable change from our movie-making Luddite is that this was the first time Allen shot digitally with Vittorio Storaro, the Oscar-winning cinematographer for "Apocalypse Now" and "Reds" and "The Last Emperor", handling the duties.

While our two leads have worked together before, allowing for a believable connection, neither Mr. Eisenberg or Ms Stewart seem fully comfortable in their roles. They fare better in their early youthful, puppy love stage than later when they reconnect slightly older and disenchanted. Playing insecure and neurotic guys are right in Eisenberg's comfort zone yet he has more difficulty convincing us that he has evolved in to this suave businessman. Same goes for the glum Stewart who would be no one's idea of a carefree, sophisticated lady. The natural charisma of Mr. Carell has been drained here, leaving us with a very dour performance which is a waste of his talent.

There are a couple of bright spots to be found in far too brief appearances. Anna Camp hilariously plays a hooker on the first day on the job and Parker Posey, who was a highlight in Allen's last film, "Irrational Man", brings her effervescent spirit as a bleach-blond Hollywood socialite.

With a ending that merely fizzles out instead of delivering some more expected sizzle, "Café Society" is hardly Woody Allen at his finest. Yet if you do admire his clever wit and comedic gifts, then you will certainly find moments that are heartfelt, moving and amusing.

BLUE JASMINE (2013)

Written & Directed by Woody Allen



Where & When: AMC Livonia 20, Livonia, MI. August 25, 2013  11:30 AM



The films of Woody Allen have become well-known hit or miss affairs. His annual output tends to fall either as charming cinematic delights ("Hannah and Her Sisters", "Bullets Over Broadway", "The Purple Rose of Cairo") or routine underdeveloped clunkers ("Shadows and Fog", "The Curse of The Jade Scorpion", "Hollywood Ending"). Thankfully, even Mr. Allen's lesser works are at least somewhat watchable although last year's offering, "To Rome With Love" was just barely. With the disappointing memory of  "Rome" still relatively fresh in my mind, I didn't know what to expect of the latest production,  "Blue Jasmine". I am very happy to report that this dramatic comedy, with elements of "A Streetcar Named Desire" and the Bernie Madoff case, has the writer/director back on the right track. The magnificent Cate Blanchett plays the title character, an over privileged trophy wife whose cushy existence is pulled out from under her and becomes desperate to find a way back in to that world.

We first meet Jasmine rambling endlessly at her seatmate on a flight to San Francisco to live with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins). Broke and in disgrace, she has to put some distance from her former life in New York after her investor husband (Alec Baldwin) has been exposed as the ringleader of an elaborate Ponzi scheme. Jasmine's relationship with Ginger has been complicated over the years as she feels that her working-class sister is just too far beneath her social standing and Ginger's poor taste in men hardly helps matters. Another sticking point is that Ginger and her ex-husband (Andrew "Dice" Clay) lost their entire lottery winnings to the investment fraud due to Jasmine's encouragement.

Despite the less than five-star accommodations and facing the unpleasant task of having to seek employment, Jasmine continues to flaunt the trappings of her previous fortunes. First-class plane tickets, Chanel jackets and a Birkin handbag (that is held like a shield) are used as an attempt to save face and indicate that her unfortunate, tragic situation is only a temporary setback. Cracks in the armor soon reveal her fragile mental state as Jasmine drifts off, reliving her posh life before the scandal (seen through a series of flashbacks) that leaves her confused and loudly muttering to herself. She struggles to keep it together with alcohol and medication as her only true comfort from the stress.

After reluctantly working as a receptionist for a lusty dentist (Michael Stuhlbarg) until she can acquire a real job as an interior designer, Jasmine works on her sister to drop her brutish, auto-mechanic boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Cannavale) and find someone more worthy that will take proper care of her. Ginger meets a potential new man (Louis CK) at a party while Jasmine is introduced to a wealthy, aspiring politician (Peter Sarsgaard). She is swept off her feet and quickly engaged but Jasmine is haunted by her past which endangers her future happiness and return to a comfortable lifestyle.

"Blue Jasmine" is one of Mr. Allen's strongest scripts in years (including his recent Oscar-winner, "Midnight In Paris") and seems more engaged here than when attempting to do a wacky farce (like "To Rome") as the comedy feels dusted off and recycled. The director's wit works best now when it comes more organically from the plot filled with melodramatic situations. The film perfectly serves as a humorous reminder that greed and self-absorption has become shockingly more accepted in our society, to the point that when these white-collar criminals are caught, they behave like terribly, misunderstood victims while some of the actual casualties of their corruption feel empathy for them.

Far from modern or liberated, Jasmine is a relic of the past; the pampered wife that never bothered her husband with silly questions involving business or finances in exchange for the occasional sparkly gift to show how much she's appreciated. Ms Blanchett is front and center throughout most of the film and deftly conveys Jasmine's manic energy and outrageous pathos. Her character is not particularly likable or sympathetic yet the actress is able to make you feel actual compassion for this narcissistic society matron. The British Ms Hawkins is another bright spot and convincingly delivers Ginger's Noo Yawk honk. You may expect the comedians on board to bring their expert skills here (and they do) but surprisingly Louis CK and Mr Clay are also quite effective in their dramatic moments.

With "Blue Jasmine". Woody Allen hasn't broken any new ground as he's reliably delivered what he's been doing for well over fifty years. What's here is what he does at his very best; a compelling mix of dramatic histrionics and robust hilarity.

TO ROME WITH LOVE (2012)

Written & Directed by Woody Allen


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA.  June 24, 2012  4:30PM


"To Rome With Love", the forty-sixth film written and directed by Woody Allen, is a manic farce set in the Eternal City with an all-star cast of American and Italian performers. Given that this film was highly anticipated, due to Mr. Allen's comeback smash comedy, "Midnight In Paris", "Rome" is sadly just as generic and uninspired as it's title. The film is surprisingly bland and unfocused as it manages to deliver only very brief moments of charm, wit or actual humor.

The film is played out in four unrelated vignettes; Hayley (Alison Pill), an American visiting Rome, asks a passing stranger for directions. The handsome Roman, Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti) is more than helpful and soon the two fall madly in love. Hayley's parents, Jerry (Allen) and Phyllis (Judy Davis) come to the city to visit their daughter and to meet this new man in her life. Jerry, who is a bored, retired music teacher, over hears Michelangelo's father, Giancarlo (Fabio Armiliato), singing opera in the shower and he has a spectacular voice. With dollar signs flashing before his eyes, Jerry is determined to get this man on the stage but Giancarlo declines as he is just a simple mortician, not a singer. After Jerry wears him down, Giancarlo finally auditions but discovers that he can only actually sing in the shower. Unfazed, Jerry is not about to let a little thing like that stop his plans.

John (Alec Baldwin) is an another American visiting Rome but he had been to the city many years ago as a younger man while studying to become an architect. Deciding to revisit his old neighborhood, he runs in to a another American, Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) who recognizes him. This young man is studying to become an architect and just happens to live in the same building that John used to live. His sweet girlfriend, Sally (Greta Gerwig) informs Jack that her broken-hearted friend, Monica (Ellen Page), a high-strung actress is coming to Italy to stay with them for a visit. She warns her boyfriend that she's a reluctant seductress but he's not concerned until he meets her. Despite John also warning him as he's been in a similar situation when he was his age, Jack still winds up being swept away by this actress. Are Jack and John the same person, looking back on his life or is John a figment of Jack's imagination? No idea.

Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni) is a simple, unasuming man who eats breakfast with his family every morning before going to work at his routine job. His life is turned upside down when one morning, he becomes a sought-after celebrity for no apparent reason. He's at first very annoyed by all this attention but soon learns to easily enjoy the perks of his new-found fame.

The best segment involves a newlywed couple from a small town who come to the big city for the opportunity to start a new life. Antonio (Alessandro Tiberi) is nervous about meeting his relatives who could help lead him to a better career but his wife, Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi) is only concerned about having her hair done before they arrive. As Milly becomes hopelessly lost trying to find the salon, there is a knock on their hotel door. Anna (Penelope Cruz), a comely, local working girl, pounces on Antonio, informing him that she has been paid for to fulfill his wildest dreams. Although a mistake has been made but his high-class relatives arrive early, so Antonio has no choice but introduce this lady as his wife. Meanwhile, Milly stumbles on to a film set where she becomes star-struck by meeting an Italian movie star (Antonio Albanese) as he becomes focused on seducing her.

"To Rome With Love" is a heavy handed affair, combining surreal fantasy with broad comedy but it all ends up feeling pretty stale. It seems like Mr. Allen whipped these dusty, random sketches out of the bottom of a drawer and tied them together to make this film. However, if Mr. Allen wasn't going to put any real effort to update or improve these wheezy stories, he really should have left them where he found them. I am a very big fan of the writer/director and what makes this latest film so disappointing is that I have seen what great work he is able to do when he puts a little effort such as "Crimes & Misdemeanors", "Bullets Over Broadway" or "Hannah and Her Sisters" to name just a few of my favorites.

Mr. Allen returns to the screen for the first time since his last appearance in his 2006 film, "Scoop" and he, once again, plays a high-strung New Yorker. While he is still more than capable of selling a joke but his routine feels just as tired as the rest of the film. The actors don't seem to have been given much guidance so they just rely on their own instincts which leads to some wildly, varied performances that also throws the film out of whack. Ms Cruz is able to do much with very little as she effortlessly brings much needed warmth and charm as she is the true comic highlight of this misfire. Mr Benigni, also long absent from film, delivers delightful moments of hilarity with his rubbery face alone but since Mr Allen didn't rein the comedian in, his antics become overbearing, most especially during his segment's final act. Rising indie star, Greta Gerwig is completely wasted and no offense to the talented Ellen Page (who was perfect in her breakout film, "Juno") but she is never believable for one moment as an irresistible femme fatale, no matter how hard she tries.

While "Midnight In Paris" played like Allen's lovely valentine to that city, "Rome" feels more like an unnecessarily hostile assault on this ancient city. Rome deserves much better and so does the audience.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011)

Written & Directed by Woody Allen


Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA  May 22, 2011 6:40PM


"Midnight In Paris" opens with an three minute montage, set to a jazz score, of beautifully shot areas throughout this city of lights. While it was interesting to see yet it would seem more appropriate for a travel advertisement than for a film opening but like most of the films of Woody Allen, which seems to be set in a world that looks like a postcard where everything is bright, clean and picturesque and populated with only wealthy, well-educated, attractive and almost always Caucasian people who have conversations in a way that (if ever) is no longer actually spoken. This statement is not meant to be derogatory as I am a huge fan of his work but simply stating a fact that when you see one of Mr. Allen's films, it is clearly a very distinct and unique form of cinema and "Midnight In Paris" is no exception.

Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) is a frustrated but successful Hollywood writer who is on a dream trip to Paris with his fiance, Inez (Rachel McAdams) and her parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy). Gil is inspired by the city to finally leave films behind and finish writing the dream novel he has always wanted to do. Inez is less than supportive since she is not fully convinced that Gil is talented enough to actually write a book and thinks he should just stick with making money in movies.

While out to dinner one evening, they run in to Paul Bates (Michael Sheen), a former boyfriend of Inez and his girlfriend (Nina Arianda). Paul is an insufferable bore who thinks he's an expert on every subject and while Inez is impressed, Gil can't stand him. Paul invites the couple out to join them dancing but Gil begs off and prefers to just walk back to their hotel.

It's soon midnight and Gil has managed to get lost but a Rolls-Royce full of drunken revelers who stop to give him a lift. Once they arrive at a bar, the couple, F. Scott (Tom Hiddleston) and Zelda (Alison Pill) brings Gil inside and introduces him to their friend, Ernest (Corey Stoll). Gil soon realises that he has somehow gone back in time to the 1920's, an era that he greatly admires and the two men he has just met are his literary heroes, Fitzgerald and Hemingway.

Gil gets up the nerve to tell Hemingway that he is writing a novel and ask if he might read it to give him some advice. He declines but suggests that his friend, Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) might be a better choice. Gil is ecstatic by this news and will bring the manuscript the next day.

The following evening with his novel in hand, Gil insists that Inez go with him to the same spot to await Hemingway's arrival.  After a lengthy period, Inez has had enough of his craziness and heads back to the hotel but as soon as the clock strikes twelve, a car pulls up and off they go to meet Gertrude Stein.

Once they arrive, Gil soon meets other iconic artists and writers of the time such as Luis Bunuel, T.S. Eliot, Man Ray and Cole Porter but he is captivated by Adriana (Marion Cotillard) who is Pablo Picasso's current muse and mistress. He soon finds himself falling for her and confessing that he is from the future with wishes that he could stay in this time where he feels he belongs.

Will Gil be able to fulfill his dream of living in the past or will he have to return to the complicated and difficult present?

This plot in any young film maker's hands would probably have come across as corny and cheesy but Mr. Allen is skillfully able to make this fantasy seem grounded and actually believable. For example, Gil never for one moment questions his sanity but simply thinks that he just made a wrong turn and is now very fortunate to meet his long dead idols which helps make the situation even  more funnier. Mr. Allen's script is full of the typical high-brow humor and the zany antics that has long become his trademark but this time it works in his favor as he has managed to make it all feel fresh, thoughtful and funny. "Midnight" also looks really good thanks to the brilliant work of noted cinematographer, Darius Khondji, which is his second Allen film after the forgettable 2003, "Anything Else".

Mr Wilson is much better than I thought he would be in the role of the aspiring novelist as he delivers his usual laid-back charm and comic timing but I still couldn't help wondering about other actors who still might have been a better fit in the part while Ms McAdams was surprisingly ineffective as she's never able to bring much humor to her character and only makes her just an unpleasant, self-centered nag. As with most of  Mr. Allen's films, the rest of the supporting roles are well chosen with special mention to be made of Oscar-winners, Ms Cotillard who is perfectly sexy and seductive and Adrien Brody's brief but hilarious turn as Salvador Dali.

While this is far from the high artistic level of Mr. Allen's best known and well-loved previous works but "Midnight In Paris" is still a delightful and charming little comedy that is a refreshing alternative to your typical summer fare.

WHATEVER WORKS (2009)

Written & Directed by Woody Allen


Where & When: Laemmle Playhouse 7, Pasadena, CA June 21, 2009, 8:00PM



I have to admit that I really didn't get Woody Allen. I had seen "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" and I didn't see what all the fuss was about. Of course, I was sixteen around the time those films came out and his films were too serious and too "adult" for me. I didn't understand what the characters were babbling on about. "Grease" and "Star Wars" were the type of movies that appealed to me at that time although I had sneak in to see "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex" when I was about eleven. I thought it was kinda funny... and weird. I didn't completely get that movie when I saw it at that time either.

I have since seen "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan" (and the "Sex" movie) as a more mature person and I really enjoyed them but the first film that I actually "got" and made me appreciate Mr. Allen's talent is "Hannah And Her Sisters". I loved his sense of humor and his vision as a filmmaker. I have seen almost everything he has made every since. Not all great but I still enjoyed seeing them. Today, my partner, Dean and I went to see Mr. Allen's fortieth film as a director, "Whatever Works". I really liked it although he doesn't stray from his usual themes: the meaning of life, the fear of death, and a questionable fascination with much younger women.

Larry David plays Boris Yelnikoff, a pessimistic, self proclaimed "genius" who has a very dark view of the world. Boris can also see the audience watching this film while no one else can. People think that he's crazy but he speaks to us and proceeds to tell us his story. One day, Boris was returning home when a young woman is living at the bottom of his stairs. Her name is Melodie St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood) and she begs Boris to give her a meal. Boris is obviously suspicious but he gives in and let's her into his home.

Melodie has runaway from home in a small town in Mississippi to start a new life in the big city. She has not experienced much in life and is impressed by Boris and his apparent wisdom. Against his better judgement, he lets Melodie stay with him until she gets settled and finds a job. Over time, Boris fills Melodie's impressionable mind with his point of view of the world and she appreciatively soaks it all in. Boris has fought his feelings for Melodie but he finds himself in love with her. So despite an at least a forty year age difference, Boris asks Melodie to marry him and she accepts.

A year later, Melodie's mother, Marietta (Patricia Clarkson), a devout woman, is knocking on their door. The sight of her long lost daughter in the arms of a man too old for even herself is too much for her to bear. We find out that Melodie's father has left her mother for her best friend. Marietta is appalled by Boris and New York but she eventually warms up to the city... but not to Boris. She turns her back on her religion. She decides to stay and she starts an unconventional new love life and new career as an artist. She also wants to find a nice, young man for her daughter. Melodie's father (Ed Begley, jr.) shows up and wants to make amends with his wife. He's a little late but he also discovers a new side of himself he has been suppressing while in the city. Melodie reluctantly finds herself getting involved with a man her mother has set up her with which leads her to be torn between her new love and Boris.

"Whatever Works" is a typical Woody Allen film, so you can expect a well written, well acted and kinda funny sort of film. Although this is certainly not his best but if you are a fan, you won't be disappointed. And to be honest even if you aren't a huge fan, you will be entertained.