dansview There's something endearing about Larry David, as there was about the young Woody Allen. OK, we get the elitist hatred for anyone who isn't Woody. I suppose we can only write about things we know. He knows a certain version of New York, his self-hatred, his hatred for conservatives, and the Marx Brothers.As for story line, this one is riddled with clichés. Southerners come to New York, and find out that their inner bohemian has been waiting to come out. I would have found it more interesting if they developed a certain tolerance for New York types, but ultimately rediscovered their conviction for the things they have always believed.Evan Rachel Wood is cute in this, Larry David is himself, which is lovable, and Clarkson and Begley deliver excellent performances. The time line of how things work out is fine, and to me, the idea that we may find unconventional scenarios actually work for us, is also fine and true. Allen does show that pessimism is unappealing, and that perhaps he is jealous of the sunny optimism of Southerners and others like them. But ultimately he makes all the characters embrace his worldview. So he doesn't really take chances.

Gideon24 Woody Allen goes the "romantic comedy for people who hate romantic comedies" route with 2009's Whatever Works, a quirky and challenging comedy that provides solid entertainment, thanks to an extremely likable leading character who is absolutely not written that way and some interesting supporting characters who provide constant surprises.Writer/comedian Larry David gets a shot at leading man status as Boris, the original grumpy old man, a former physicist and intellectual, who hates everyone and everything, angry at the world, and determined to inhabit it by himself...think Ebeneezer Scrooge without the money. Boris finds his life changed by Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a runaway from Mississippi who Boris takes in and what begins as a Pygmalion kind of relationship actually morphs into a marriage. Things get stickier with the arrival of Melody's mother (Patricia Clarkson), a contemporary reincarnation of Blanche DuBois, who tries to break up her daughter's marriage and discovers a new person inside of herself in the process.As always, the real star of this film is the Woodmeister's script, which is angry and no-holds barred, offering unpopular opinions on every aspect of pop culture and politics that you can imagine, but also offers a relationship at the center of the storm that is just really hard to swallow...Melody's attraction to Boris is a mystery because other than a razor sharp mind, Boris has no redeeming qualities and actually marrying the man almost threw me off the film altogether. I was also troubled by the character of Melody herself...the character appears to be a total hayseed when we first meet her, but she soaks up everything Boris teachers her and remembers every single word that he ever taught her, even if she doesn't always remember what it means.We've seen a lot of actors channel Woody over the years and some worked better than others (John Cusack in Bullets Over Broadway and Kenneth Branaugh in Celebrity were standouts), but no one did it better than Larry David does here...David is comfortable with this unappealing character and his performance alone makes this film worth investing in. He especially seems to enjoy when Woody allows him to break the fourth wall and talk to directly to the camera, a technique which is not groundbreaking but leave it to Woody to take it to another level and let us all in on the joke. Wood is a talented actress but the inconsistencies in her character made it difficult to invest in her performance, but I loved Patricia Clarkson as her mother, a character who goes through an entertaining transformation, another staple of Woody's writing, one character who goes through a significant change and Clarkson appears to be having a ball.Woody's attention to production values is flawless as always...special nod to the set designer (Boris' apartment is awesome) and cinematographer Harris Savides photographs Woody's beloved New York with loving care and of course the music is wonderful, have always loved Woody's ear for music, but this movie is worth checking out for Woody's challenging script and direction and for his choice of a very unconventional leading man that pays off in spades.

adi_2002 Boris is a depressed old man with an attempt of suicide. She mets a young attractive girl but she is homeless so he let's let live with him for a short period of time. Soon Melody begins to fall in love with him and they marry. Melody's mother comes into picture and convinces her daughter and a boy at the same age as her will be more proper. Of course argues are not avoided but the story has a happy ending somehow.This is just a drama of a old man sick with his life and what changes are happening when other peoples involves into his life. But the main flaw for me was Melody. She is presented as a homeless person who is sleeping covered in cardboard boxes but during the movie wears many different clothes and she always has make-up on her face. Pretty unusual for a poor girl right?But still the story manage to maintain you in front of the screen for the entire duration and that is the best aspect about this movie.

Anand Bhagat I thoroughly enjoyed watching this. i have watched a couple of Woody Allen movies but some how didn't relate to them too well. So, i went in to this movie with not many expectations. Some how watching a movie with low expectations has been more enjoyable in a relative manner. But, Larry David's quirky reverse psychological prologue got you hooked to the movie and the rest was, as the cliché goes. I am a bit surprised by the lower than expected user ratings for this movie. I guess its the caricatured nature of the characters in the movie probably were not well received. but i cracked up to the Pygmalion chemistry of Larry and Evan, especially to Larry's reactions. I just love the way the entire plot has been conceived and rolled out on screen. the sarcastic humor and the flashes of profound ideas conveyed through cynicism and cliché. its a fresh approach to the rotten side of us, humans.Thank you all and thank you Woody Allen.