A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * · · · · )
Woody Allan does some really great stuff, but he usually does the SAME great stuff. A lot of the time you watch him play the same insecure fast talking new yorker you always were used to. Sometimes it is brilliant like in Annie Hall, other times it isnt so great. This is the first movie I have seen where the character is the same but the actor is different. This time around we have a fortysomething writer who cant seem to get the big break and as far as relationships are concerned, he is constantly looking at the greener grass on the other side. This leads him from woman to woman, sometimes cursing his luck and sometimes praising it all in the same evening. The story follows him and his ex wife as they both rebuild their lives again and again. Her story is a story of true luck, his is of self destruction. The movie has some pretty witty scenes to it. Watching David, our hero, try to sell a screenplay to Leonardo DiCaprio who trashes his hotel room, almost gets arrested, gets released in exchange for an autograph and takes his groupies to Atlantic City for the fights, craps and four way sex was quite a trip. The breakup scene with the movers in the way was also pretty funny. And how could I forget my favorite actress in hollywood, Winona Ryder, who for the first time we get to see kiss another girl. Wow. The DVD was a Mirimax beating with a non 16x9 enhanced 1.85 to 1 picture, 2.0 Dolby sound and no extras. Overall the movie was entertaining, had some good conversational scenes, and some great one liners ("I hate these arty directors that have to shoot in black and white"). I would recommend a rental if you like Woody Allen, but frankly if you havent seen it, go see Annie Hall.