Whatever is Written

Whatever Works

I feel like making a lot of puns about how thinly drawn this script is SO, this movie is as thin as:
-Evan Rachel Wood
-Woody Allen's stack of truly crappy movies
-Whatever is left of Larry David's hair
-The window that Boris jumps through
-Boris' willingness to live
-My patience for this movie's credibility

Ok. So this really was not as bad as it could have been. It's a very hit or miss movie. Some of the jokes had me laughing uproariously while others were really stupid. Larry David's asides to the camera were dreadful because it seemed like he was trying to make up for how silly the movie is with his go to line about whatever works (which is a myth, by the way). Be serious. There is no way you can make any overarching statement or theme about this film. It's basically around for cheap laughs.

And that's completely understandable. This was a 30-year-old script that Woody pulled out to beat the writer's strike deadline. I don't think he ever expected this film to be good so he doesn't try too hard to impress us in the movie. It's essentially a fable that takes things a bit too far. The second Patricia Clarkson shows up on screen, caution is thrown to the wind and everything starts falling apart for the movie. Threesomes. Predictable gay bar scenes. Lame attempts at a happy ending. Stupid romances between young people. In fact, when it was just Boris and Melodie married and exploring each other's psyches, I rather liked the movie. Introducing Patricia Clarkson basically transforms the movie from an exploration of marriage and love to a movie about New York's effect on outsiders (which is highly inaccurate I assume). Larry David generally endears himself to me and almost seems relatable until his marriage to Melodie. Evan Rachel Wood's accent didn't annoy me as much as I thought it would. Overall, if you cut out half the movie and change the direction that the couple goes in, I wouldn't have minded the movie.

Grade: C

2009 Marlon Welles Awards Nominee:

Best Comedic Performance: Larry David's misanthrope
Most Ridiculous Moment: So the dad is gay?