Awhile back, Woody Allen said what men really want in women is a beautiful female version of themselves. You can kind of see that in his relationship with his new muse, Scarlett Johansson. One can almost envision them cuddling together in some out of the way restaurant, the gorgeous Scarlett looking up admiringly at Woody and nodding her complete agreement to every single opinion he expresses. At least, that's his fantasy.
"Scoop," the second of their collaborations, is a paper thin murder mystery of the old fashioned variety, clever, mildly amusing, but decidedly light weight.
It has the depth of an old Charlie Chan movie, although Woody was probably hoping more for the feel of the Nick and Nora Charles series launched in the early thirties with "The Thin Man." Woody portrays a tired night club magician who finds himself playing second banana to an aspiring girl journalist who is trying to solve a string of Jack the Ripper style murders of prostitutes in London.
Its not a bad premise, at least on paper, but it is hard to pull off on the screen, because Woody is used to being the center of attention, not the comic relief. Its as if Charlie Chan and his "colored" chauffeur were on equal terms and bantering at each other, rather than the chauffeur appearing on the tail end of scenes to lighten the mood a little.
This movie features numerous scenes in which the two of them, although recent acquaintances, bicker like an old Jewish married couple. And the irony is, sometimes you can hear what are clearly Woody Allen lines coming out of Scarlett's mouth -- lines Woody would have given himself in his younger days. Now, they're split between Woody and his young, sexy female surrogate. Its as if Woody was reborn in Scarlett's body, which in someways would seem to be what he has been hoping for in real life all along.
Anyway, the plot sees Scarlett meet and then begin romancing the prime suspect in the murder cases, a wealthy aristocrat played by Hugh Jackman. And, in a decided un-Nancy Drew fashion, winds up sleeping with him, all the while suspecting him of being a serial killer. Woody, meanwhile, wanders around uttering cautionary notes like Charlie Chan's chauffeur warning that they shouldn't go into that dark attic or cellar, or in the case of this film, a vault.
In some ways the film is fun, and its nice to find a murder mystery where nobody's throat is going to get slit on camera. Hopefully, there will always be a place for films not soaked in blood, reeling from special effects and drowning in loud rock music.
But there are times when the movie seems very thin, where Woody and Scarlett's bickering scenes seem forced and more importantly, devoid of really clever dialogue. And the ending seems almost rushed through, as if Woody wanted to wrap this one up to get the camera off Scarlett and on to himself in his coda scene which in many ways is Woody's tribute to Woody. He sails off into the after life, but is just as entertaining dead as he was alive.
"Scoop," the second of their collaborations, is a paper thin murder mystery of the old fashioned variety, clever, mildly amusing, but decidedly light weight.
It has the depth of an old Charlie Chan movie, although Woody was probably hoping more for the feel of the Nick and Nora Charles series launched in the early thirties with "The Thin Man." Woody portrays a tired night club magician who finds himself playing second banana to an aspiring girl journalist who is trying to solve a string of Jack the Ripper style murders of prostitutes in London.
Its not a bad premise, at least on paper, but it is hard to pull off on the screen, because Woody is used to being the center of attention, not the comic relief. Its as if Charlie Chan and his "colored" chauffeur were on equal terms and bantering at each other, rather than the chauffeur appearing on the tail end of scenes to lighten the mood a little.
This movie features numerous scenes in which the two of them, although recent acquaintances, bicker like an old Jewish married couple. And the irony is, sometimes you can hear what are clearly Woody Allen lines coming out of Scarlett's mouth -- lines Woody would have given himself in his younger days. Now, they're split between Woody and his young, sexy female surrogate. Its as if Woody was reborn in Scarlett's body, which in someways would seem to be what he has been hoping for in real life all along.
Anyway, the plot sees Scarlett meet and then begin romancing the prime suspect in the murder cases, a wealthy aristocrat played by Hugh Jackman. And, in a decided un-Nancy Drew fashion, winds up sleeping with him, all the while suspecting him of being a serial killer. Woody, meanwhile, wanders around uttering cautionary notes like Charlie Chan's chauffeur warning that they shouldn't go into that dark attic or cellar, or in the case of this film, a vault.
In some ways the film is fun, and its nice to find a murder mystery where nobody's throat is going to get slit on camera. Hopefully, there will always be a place for films not soaked in blood, reeling from special effects and drowning in loud rock music.
But there are times when the movie seems very thin, where Woody and Scarlett's bickering scenes seem forced and more importantly, devoid of really clever dialogue. And the ending seems almost rushed through, as if Woody wanted to wrap this one up to get the camera off Scarlett and on to himself in his coda scene which in many ways is Woody's tribute to Woody. He sails off into the after life, but is just as entertaining dead as he was alive.