Whatever Works (2009)

the audience applauded

Please don't spend money on this.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Blistering performances.

RELEASED IN 2009 and written & directed by Woody Allen, "Whatever Works" concerns an aging, misanthropic divorcée in New York City (Larry David) who develops a close relationship with a much younger, unsophisticated, but sprightly Southern belle (Evan Rachel Wood). Patricia Clarkson plays her mother and Henry Cavill a guy that's interested in her. Ed Begley Jr. is on hand as her father. The first 60-70 minutes are amusing as a romantic dramedy with the typical witty dialogues for which Allen is known. The odd relationship between the curmudgeon and the spry girl is actually kind of heartwarming as the bickering gimp starts to become human again. In addition, it's interesting to see Cavill when he was younger, before he donned Superman's cape. But, for me, everything's ruined by the last act, which pushes the typical degenerate "progressive" mindset: Christians should flee their "backwards" morality and their belief in God and come to the big city where they'll discover secular freedom (actually bondage) with its supposedly superior (im)morality. Get real. THE FILM RUNS 1 hours & 33 minutes and was shot in New York City. GRADE: D+

I always enjoy black comedies because they have flairs to tell the realities of our lives. This one practically delivered just that.I am a fan of Larry Davids since I fond out he very much likes the roles he played on screen. Of course, brilliant scripts had a lot to do with it. In my view, actors could play various roles would be talent because they have to study others than themselves in order to have convincing performances. But people like Larry they are natural performers in their own rights. We might easily suppose that should be effortless since they understand themselves well and play characters like themselves mostly. Actually, it might be the hardest thing to do. Self awareness is often vulnerable and most actors might feel uncomfortable to expose themselves in front of audiences. It's hilarious and even cruel sometimes in this movie. But the cynic and grumpiness suited Larry 's nature well. Rarely audiences want movies to deliver riveting messages. Our lives are full of consistent ridicules. Laughing at them might be a better way to deal with. Whatever works.

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.

Boris Yelnikoff (Larry David) is a misanthrope and former Columbia professor of string theory. He was married to rich Jessica but his debilitating night terrors drive him to jump out the window. It left him with a limp. His motto is "Whatever works as long as you don't hurt anyone". He reluctantly allows clueless Mississippi runaway Melodie St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood) to stay with him. Initially, he can't wait for her to leave. Eventually, her positivity makes his life better and they get married. Her mother Marietta (Patricia Clarkson) tracks her down after leaving her father and losing all their money. She hates Boris and sets up her married daughter with Randy James (Henry Cavill). Later, Melodie's father John (Ed Begley, Jr.) arrives.Larry David is playing Larry David and there is an appeal about that. Breaking down the 4th wall adds to that. On the other hand, Evan Rachel Wood is not that dumb. It's a very fake persona and it's very obvious. She's great at wearing skimpy clothing but isn't built to play dumb. That central relationship suffers for it. These are caricatures of southern religious hicks. Nevertheless, there are some funny bits. There is nothing wrong with a curmudgeon Larry David. He's made two successful TV shows with that character.