Whatever Works

After making films in London and Barcelona Woody Allen's latest film Whatever Works is a return to his beloved NYC. And as a New Yorker it was great to see places that I have been to many times.

The protagonist of the film is Boris (Larry David), a cranky 60 something genius. He was almost nominated for a Nobel Prize. When we meet him his marriage is failing. He decides to teach chess to kids for a living. The only problem is that he doesn't like kids and believes that everyone is inferior to him. He doesn't like many things. One day he comes upon the uneducated Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood) from the South. She is his complete opposite but she eventually wins him over.

I won't say more about the plot but the film is very Woody Allen. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and laughed a lot. All of the performances are very good - including Patricia Clarkson as Melodie's mother Marietta, Ed Begley, Jr. as Melodie's father John and Conleth Hill as Boris's friend Leo.

Some of the critics didn't like this film. They must be jaded. In this day and age even minor Woody Allen is better than most of the films out there and this is especially true of the stupid comedies that Hollywood keeps churning out. So if you want to spend some time laughing at some eccentric characters take yourself to see Whatever Works. You will be happy that you did.