Woody Allen marks his return to New York with a worthy welcome that recalls back to his earlier films. Whatever Works certainly won’t go down as a great Woody Allen film, but some of its charm is too irresistible to ignore.
The film revolves around a sharp-witted New Yorker named Boris Yellnikoff, played by Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm). Boris prefers a life of isolation and despises mostly everyone he meets. One day on his way home Boris finds a young beautiful southern girl named Melodie laying by his apartment. Boris decides to take the young girl in and they soon become friends. Boris becomes infatuated with Melodie and the odd couple decide to get married. Later on they discover they must suffer the burden of Melodie’s dysfunctional parents-who seem to despise Boris.
Read the rest of this review below > ” />
It is a typical, average Woody Allen story: a neurotic smug elderly man falling in love and having to deal with the burden of people. And while he may be pulling out old tricks, they all still work effortlessly here. The first two acts are set up well with the story centered on Boris and Melodie, which is the film’s most engaging aspect. Their relationship doesn’t feel rushed and they are a well-developed, fun couple. The transformations of each character’s personalities and feelings are perfectly shown and conveyed to the viewer. The third act, unfortunately, is where the film spirals down. The focus shifts more to Melodie’s less intriguing parents, who are played comically by Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr. Despite their good performances they are not as appealing as Melodie and Boris.
The film hinges on the perfectly cast leads, with David as an old whiner and Evan Rachel Wood as a fresh-faced optimist. In essence, David is playing the exact same character Woody Allen played back in the seventies, but David suits the role splendidly. He plays Boris as a smug grumpy elderly man and still remains highly likable. No matter how mean he acts, he still comes off as involving and funny. It also helps that he was paired with Wood, who is astronomically charming. You see her character become similar to Boris, and Wood portrays the character change just right. Their relationship could have come off awkward easily, but is natural and comfortable, thanks to these two fun performances.
A surprisingly disappointing factor is how conventional New York City is shot. There was a sense of excitement in hearing of Allen’s return to his beloved city, which he captured so perfectly in previous works such as Manhattan or Annie Hall. He just doesn’t have that scope and depth here, and at times the setting does not even feel like New York. On the upside Allen has once again delivered delightful dialogue to craft his wonderful characters. Like most of his films, the character interactions are snappy and a joy to listen to. Many people may not believe that characters would actually talk like this, but that is part of what makes this film so satisfying. Allen gives Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood plenty to work with, providing them with good dialogue and well rounded character arcs.
Woody Allen provides his audience with engaging characters and enough laughs. Although Whatever Works certainly does have its fair share of problems with its sluggish third act, the film works thanks to some fun performances and fun banter.