This looked like an attempt to do a slight but breezy Bob Hope comedy of the 1940s. In fact, it is set in 1940. A good idea for Woody who did do this well before. This one fails. Why? It was not crisp. Scenes were played with bad timing, incongruous acting styles and performers who seemed to have some difficulty in remembering their lines or recognizing their cues. Sloppy.
There is supposed to be a thread of eroticism in the film, but the only performance with any sexual juice was Elizabeth Berkley as a sweet virginal office worker. She had charisma, but her part was small and she had no real significance in the plot.
Woody Allen wasn't necessarily too old for his role; he was the wrong kind of old. The neurotic shtick that was so funny when he was young doesn't work for someone of his age. His character hasn't learned anything about life. He doesn't seem bumbling and cute; he seems old and dumb.
There is supposed to be a thread of eroticism in the film, but the only performance with any sexual juice was Elizabeth Berkley as a sweet virginal office worker. She had charisma, but her part was small and she had no real significance in the plot.
Woody Allen wasn't necessarily too old for his role; he was the wrong kind of old. The neurotic shtick that was so funny when he was young doesn't work for someone of his age. His character hasn't learned anything about life. He doesn't seem bumbling and cute; he seems old and dumb.