Although this film will not write anything new in the Woody Allen history book there is always room for one more feel good movie
“Whatever Works” is a feel good film about accepting oneself and accepting others by a man who has been there and done that, Woody Allen. The film might as well have been written specifically for the leading man, Larry David, who plays Boris Yellnikoff. His part is right out of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” his six season HBO box office bonanza. David plays (what else?) a hyper-cynical retiree who spends his time arguing with his cronies and making the most hilarious and belittling remarks to the most innocent and inoffensive child chess students you ever saw. The result is a great picture of the classic old fogy, the elderly persona we all dread.
But in spite of his cutting tongue and never-ending diatribes, Boris actually seems to feel OK about himself, although we soon learn he doesn’t know what he is missing. The first thing that happens is that runaway Melody (Evan Rachel Wood---the daughter in “The Wrestler”) moves in with him, falls in love and wants to got o bed. What to most 60-something men might seem like a gift from God catches Boris completely off guard. Is this too good to be true?
Next on the scene is melody’s mother, Marietta, played to the hilt by Patria Clarkson. Clarkson is a joy to behold in this film, at the top of her form. She is able to start off as a straight laced country woman and morph into a spinster Andy Warhol in less than sixty minutes. The amazing this is that one can actually believe such a transformation might happen. There is hope for us all.
The final piece is in play when Marietta’s super-straight country man ex-husband John (Ed Begley, Jr.) shows up on the scene to find out his daughter is married to a sourpuss old enough to be her grandfather. In the end, through a Shakespearian series of twists and turns, even John gets what he needs.
Whereas Allen’s earlier films tended to dwell on the funny side of being neurotic and in love this film emphasizes the peaceful side of letting the neurosis go, in favor of love. “Whatever Works” means exactly that. To paraphrase Frank Zappa, “Who cares if hair is long or short or partly grey, we know that hair ain’t where it’s at. There will be a time when you won’t even be afraid if you are fat.”
It’s not the personality that counts, it's what happens when two people join together who understand each other and fill in each other’s rough spots. The film is a gentle statement for intuition over dogma and emotion over politics.
Shot entirely in New York City, the cinematography is rich and creative. Some of the scenes are familiar but most are not. The shots take us to some of the lesser traveled places such as older lofts in Chinatown that are not exactly the most trendy addresses in Manhattan.
All-in-all a fun and easy to watch film. A good first date movie and appropriate for the whole family, although many teenagers and younger persons will not be able to appreciate what all the fuss is about. Do what you feel, what else in new?
Directed and Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood and Patricia Clarkson
Release: June 19, 2009
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