Scoop (B- or 3/4 stars)
Woody Allen returns to his roots (his good 'ole murder/mystery comedy genre) with 'Scoop'. Allen, even in his elder years, can still churn out these subtle, yet very funny feature films. And he is actually a character in this film (he wasn't in last year's hit, Match Point). And his usual babbling style of dialogue is at full throttle here ... good! Before I give my full review, I'll say that this was a movie destined to be great, but fell a bit short. It fizzled instead of sizzled. And I'm sorry that it couldn't sustain itself 'til the end (the last 2 minutes or so is the only exception to this sentence).
Woody Allen is Sid Waterman, an American magician who lives in London and goes by the name 'Splendini' (I like how he has based his last 2 films in London). Scarlett Johansson is Sondra Pranksy, an atrocious up-&-coming journalist who doesn't quite know how to get the 'scoop' of any story. One night, during one of Sid's magic shows, Sondra is called up on stage as an assistant. Once inside his magic disappearing box, Sondra meets the ghost of recently deceased Joe Strombel (Ian McShane of Deadwood). He was heralded as one of London's finest journalists & one who always got the 'scoop'. In an opening scene, we meet Joe Strombel as he is crossing Charybdis' boat to the underworld; hysterical.
It is on this boat and after talking to a young secretary where he decides that her death was one of London's 'Tarot Card Murders'. Joe tells Sondra that it appears as if aristocrat, Lord Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), is the 'Tarot Card Killer' (a man believed to have murdered several prostitutes around London as of late). This would be a huge scandal and a scoop that Sondra can't resist. With the aid of Sid, Sondra is able to swoon Lord Lyman & try to find cryptic proof that he is indeed the killer. Problem is ... she's beginning to fall for him. Oy. Can Sondra & Sid pull off the daughter-father scenario? Will Peter realize that he's being played? Can he make her forget her initial intentions by treating her like a princess? Are her intentions unfounded because he's innocent?
You can imagine all that happens: Sondra convinces Sid that they must play along as daughter & father. Much bickering, tantalizing, snickering, & self-loathing occur btwn. them. And most of their on-screen chemistry is great. Only a few comedic moments in the film are a dud. Sid is old & imposes his cheap card tricks on anyone he meets. Sondra is gorgeous, but flighty. And she spends most of her time adjusting her glasses & scoffing at how Sid is fumbling his way through acting like her 'father'. Johansson is great at spewing Woody's lightning-fast dialogue (something we rarely saw from her in Match Point) ... she handles it very well. It's clear that Allen is now honing Johansson to be his next Diane Keaton and/or Mia Farrow. She has the celebrity & talent to pull these films off.
Hugh Jackman does well as Lord Peter Lyman because he is such a strong figure on screen. You can imagine him as a Lord. He handles every scene quite well. But the real star of the film would have to be Woody, of course; playing his usual neurotic self as well as ever. That's what we (of all ages) want to see from him anyway. Most of his jokes aren't that brilliant, but the way in which they are delivered is priceless; it works.
'Scoop' is a lot like Match Point, but on a far less scale emotionally, & a Hell of a lot funnier. But, it wasn't knocked out of the ballpark, either. The plot isn't perfect. And the film was on a roll when it inexplicably drizzled off. But overall, it's a good film that entertains & doesn't call for much intelligence or overbearing exposition. It is what it is; a fun little Woody Allen film that fell off the tracks for about 1/2 an hour near the end (but as mentioned earlier, redeemed itself in the end with a very humorous final scene). And watching the talented & beautiful Scarlett Johansson on screen is almost enough for an admission ticket, anyway ;-). This will not go down as one of Allen's best. But it was enjoyable in that kind of 'let's-pop-this-movie-into-the-dvd-player-on-a-random-Sunday-afternoon' way.
Woody Allen is Sid Waterman, an American magician who lives in London and goes by the name 'Splendini' (I like how he has based his last 2 films in London). Scarlett Johansson is Sondra Pranksy, an atrocious up-&-coming journalist who doesn't quite know how to get the 'scoop' of any story. One night, during one of Sid's magic shows, Sondra is called up on stage as an assistant. Once inside his magic disappearing box, Sondra meets the ghost of recently deceased Joe Strombel (Ian McShane of Deadwood). He was heralded as one of London's finest journalists & one who always got the 'scoop'. In an opening scene, we meet Joe Strombel as he is crossing Charybdis' boat to the underworld; hysterical.
It is on this boat and after talking to a young secretary where he decides that her death was one of London's 'Tarot Card Murders'. Joe tells Sondra that it appears as if aristocrat, Lord Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), is the 'Tarot Card Killer' (a man believed to have murdered several prostitutes around London as of late). This would be a huge scandal and a scoop that Sondra can't resist. With the aid of Sid, Sondra is able to swoon Lord Lyman & try to find cryptic proof that he is indeed the killer. Problem is ... she's beginning to fall for him. Oy. Can Sondra & Sid pull off the daughter-father scenario? Will Peter realize that he's being played? Can he make her forget her initial intentions by treating her like a princess? Are her intentions unfounded because he's innocent?
You can imagine all that happens: Sondra convinces Sid that they must play along as daughter & father. Much bickering, tantalizing, snickering, & self-loathing occur btwn. them. And most of their on-screen chemistry is great. Only a few comedic moments in the film are a dud. Sid is old & imposes his cheap card tricks on anyone he meets. Sondra is gorgeous, but flighty. And she spends most of her time adjusting her glasses & scoffing at how Sid is fumbling his way through acting like her 'father'. Johansson is great at spewing Woody's lightning-fast dialogue (something we rarely saw from her in Match Point) ... she handles it very well. It's clear that Allen is now honing Johansson to be his next Diane Keaton and/or Mia Farrow. She has the celebrity & talent to pull these films off.
Hugh Jackman does well as Lord Peter Lyman because he is such a strong figure on screen. You can imagine him as a Lord. He handles every scene quite well. But the real star of the film would have to be Woody, of course; playing his usual neurotic self as well as ever. That's what we (of all ages) want to see from him anyway. Most of his jokes aren't that brilliant, but the way in which they are delivered is priceless; it works.
'Scoop' is a lot like Match Point, but on a far less scale emotionally, & a Hell of a lot funnier. But, it wasn't knocked out of the ballpark, either. The plot isn't perfect. And the film was on a roll when it inexplicably drizzled off. But overall, it's a good film that entertains & doesn't call for much intelligence or overbearing exposition. It is what it is; a fun little Woody Allen film that fell off the tracks for about 1/2 an hour near the end (but as mentioned earlier, redeemed itself in the end with a very humorous final scene). And watching the talented & beautiful Scarlett Johansson on screen is almost enough for an admission ticket, anyway ;-). This will not go down as one of Allen's best. But it was enjoyable in that kind of 'let's-pop-this-movie-into-the-dvd-player-on-a-random-Sunday-afternoon' way.