Movie Review: Whatever Works (2009)
Cynical, neurotic and funny, but also slightly tiresome
Photo: Sony Pictures Classics
Whatever Works feels like it's Woody Allen's "Shut Up and Leave Me Alone" film. I can only assume Allen didn't play the role of lead character Boris Yellnikoff himself because it would have seemed too on the nose. Whatever Works is something of a mish-mash of Annie Hall and Manhattan — yet by no means living up to the standards of those two classics — and had Allen decided to play the lead role it would have felt like a rehash, but instead he found the next best thing. It's just too bad the film didn't come together as well as the casting appeared to.
Allen delivered what I felt was the best film of 2008 with Vicky Cristina Barcelona and when word reached my ears he was tapping Larry David to star in his next film the combination seemed like a match made in heaven. In Whatever Works David plays Boris, a retired quantum physics professor who was once "almost nominated for a Nobel Prize" and now spends his time teaching "inchworms" (kids) how to play chess all while berating them for every false move they make. When Boris isn't raining chess pieces on the heads of youngsters he is yucking it up with his friends at a neighborhood coffee shop, which is where the film opens up as Boris is urged into telling his story.
The cast includes Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Larry David, Henry Cavill, Adam Brooks and Michael McKean. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Whatever Works" is a Sony Pictures Classics release, directed by Woody Allen and is rated PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, brief nude images and thematic material.
Along with carrying the traits of all of Woody Allen's very own memorable appearances in such films as Annie Hall and Hannah and Her Sisters, David also tries to carry off the mannerisms. What I can best describe as night terrors send Boris babbling and squirming down his staircase in a style that seems like an Allen impression more than an actual character performance. Where real originality comes in is with Evan Rachel Wood and her performance as Melody St. Ann Celestine, a runaway from Mississippi that lands on Boris's doorstep in the middle of the night after crawling out from under a pile of trash.
Melody is everything Boris sees wrong with the world, but her ignorance serves to inflate his ego as any young and impressionable youth would a grouchy ol' neurotic know-it-all. When Melody asks Boris if she can stay with him for a while following an act of unprecedented kindness, he reluctantly agrees even though we as an audience know nothing we have learned about Boris to this point supports such a decision. Therein lies the film's weakness as it lacks the courage to stand by its protagonist's convictions, which alleviates all hope for surprise.
I may sound like I am coming down on the film for being too cheerful, but this isn't the case. In fact the film dwells in Boris's negativity only to have it either ignored or misunderstood by Melody, which pretty much cancels it out sending us through the motions. As a matter of fact, everyone seems to ignore Boris to the point he almost becomes insignificant and only useful in terms of giving the audience a laugh every once in a while as well as serving as the glue to tell the story of those that remain interesting.
Where the film manages to keep its footing is with Melody. Wood gives a performance worthy of attention and praise as a character brimming with such positivity is not exactly what Wood is known for, but she carries it off with such exuberance it makes Melody's ignorance eternally lovable.
Adding to the madcap drama is Melody's family as they come searching for her with their own problems and small town attitudes only to be changed within hours of their arrival in New York City. Patricia Clarkson plays her church-going mother and Ed Begley Jr. plays her father. The two have divorced since Melody's departure and their staggered arrivals in New York keep things moving just as boredom began to set in from listening to Boris's belly-aching.
Whatever Works is a perfectly fine movie, but at just over an hour into its 92-minute running time I took a peek at my watch to see how much more was left. With Larry David reading lines that came off so obviously scripted I began to lose interest, but the introduction of Melody's family brought the spark the film needed to bring it home. While David's style of acting may not be best suited for reading lines as much as speaking more off-the-cuff, it was fun to see him teaming with the talent of Allen for this one time. I'm not sure the lines would have been as believable from anyone other than Allen himself.
Links from Other Sites You May Like
Showing 6 Comments
~ PLEASE NOTE ~
If, in any way, your comment is an attack on the author of this post or a previous commenter, your comment will be deleted without question.
Add a New Comment |
Click to Read Our Commenting Rules & Guidelines
I would love to see "whatever works" but I have to wait. Even if it´s not one of Allens best works, I´m interest in it.
Should I see this or Cheri??? I would like to see The Hurt Locker, but that isn't playing in Chicago yet.
Did you like Public Enemies???
@BeautifulM: That's a tough call since they are both relatively similar on the entertainment front, but one is obviously more of a drama whereas the other a comedy. Blind I would say Cheri, but if you are a traditional Woody Allen fan Whatever Works certainly has its moments.
You're right about Evan Rachel Wood being good in this movie. I was convinced that the mousy blonde girl wasn't her until she admitted that she had a crush on him.
As a Woody Allen fan and a Larry David fan, I loved "Whatever Works". I was particularly impressed with Evan Rachel Wood. The rest of the audience seemed mature and laughed at the same things I did — it was a good experience.
I have also seen Public Enemies — what a letdown! Dizzying camera shots, couldn't tell the good guys from the bad, and at some points I couldn't make out what was being said. I just couldn't find any emotion to get involved. I've learned since that although it was BASED on the true story, some things were not true and some timelines had been changed. His last words were schmalty and UNTRUE. His actual injuries from the gunshots would not have allowed him to form any words. As much as I was looking forward to seeing it, I was not impressed with the movie at all.
I liked the movie. It was nothing great, but I did laugh. Not as good as Mighty Aphrodite (9/10) but better than say… Scoop. I'd rather watch this 100 times in a row rather than Transformers 2 ever again.