| |
|
This
time writer-director Woody Allen takes on the musical genre
and fashions it to his own unique vision. The result is
one of the most charming films in recent years, as Allen
assembles a typically sterling ensemble cast to evoke the
romanticism of years past. The plot centers on an extended
family in New York and their various romantic entanglements,
including Allen’s pursuit of Julia Roberts through
the streets of Paris and the canals of Venice. The musical
numbers are the film’s high point, displaying wonderful
choreography ranging from a room full of dancing Groucho
Marxes to a dancing couple in flight at the banks of the
Seine. ... a witty and entertaining fantasy, and a truly
romantic escape.
“
...A movie that remembers the innocence of the old Hollywood
musicals and combines it with one of Allen’s funniest
and most labyrinthine plots, in which complicated New Yorkers
try to recapture the simplicity of first love. It would take
a heart of stone to resist this movie.
Allen’s most inspired decision was to allow all of his
actors to sing for themselves, in their own voices (all of
them except for Drew Barrymore, who just plain can’t
sing). Some of them are accomplished (Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn,
Edward Norton). The rest could hold their own at a piano bar.
Allen knows that the musical numbers are not about performance
or technical quality or vocal range; they’re about feeling.” —Roger
Ebert
101 minutes. Rated R (for some language, adult themes). MORE
FILM INFO
BACK
TO THE SCHEDULE
|
|
|
|