WHATEVER WORKS
By: Joey Magidson
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It mostly "Works" for Woody's newest "Whatever"...
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Anyone who is a fan of vintage Woody Allen films will find something to like with Whatever Works, the director’s long awaited return to
New York. It looks and feels like a movie he might have made in the 70’s (it doesn’t hurt that the screenplay was written in the mid 70’s
for actor Zero Mostel to play the lead. When he died, Woody set the script aside, but picked it up when the potential actor’s strike was
looming). This is a good thing and makes it feel like a movie from another time. It’s not going to win over any new Allen fans, but
followers of the Woodman are going to enjoy themselves quite a bit.
Larry David plays Boris (another in a long line of Woody Allen stand-ins), a cranky genius who hates the world. His suicidal nature is
curtailed with the arrival of the voluptuous young Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood). What starts as pity turns into the closest thing to love
for Boris, but when Melodie’s religious nut parents hit the scene (Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr.), it might all be a bit too much for
the old coot.
David fits the Woody role pretty well, though it’s not an outright imitation. Wood gets to show a lighter side after breaking hearts with
The Wrestler, and Patricia Clarkson looks like she’s never had this much fun in a movie. These are the generic roles to almost any
New York set Woody Allen comedy, but just as they usually work in his films, they work just fine in this case.
Much of the territory that the screenplay covers is old hat to Allen (the tragic nature of the universe, the hopelessness of life, the
downside of love, etc), but it’s a credit to his talent that he’s able to repeat himself over and over again and not come off as being
completely out of ideas. This is definitely not one of his best scripts, but it’s not his worst either, so it doesn’t really hinder the film at
all. At its core, it’s simply familiar, nothing more, nothing less.
Whatever Works won’t be remembered as a classic Woody Allen film, but it’s a solid reminder that the filmmaker can still be funny.
There’s something wonderful about seeing him back in the Big Apple, and if shooting abroad his reignited his creative spark, then
mixing up the locations in future films is something I am all for in a big way. This is solid entertainment, and while this isn’t Annie Hall,
Manhattan, or Hannah and her Sisters, it’s the best Woody Allen comedy in years, and that’s decent praise indeed. If you like Woody,
you’ll like Whatever Works.
***/****
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