The other night, I saw Whatever Works. Let me start by saying that I love Woody Allen and I love Larry David.
So for what I appropriately anticipated, I think the film fell pretty flat. First of all, Larry David’s character is just too much of a misanthrope for me to have any sense of pity for him. His overt disgust with the human race becomes redundant and boring, and his thoughts are filled with the clichés of an edgy first year philosophy student. As for all the other characters, they were way too one dimensional, bending over with ease for the sake of the plot.
And while I agree, Evan Rachel Wood plays her character wonderfully, I just think the character herself is at times a bit too dumb to be real. The whole movie moves a little too fast in the scheme of the characters’ lives but moves too slowly in a couple redundant scenes where Larry David tells us how much he hates everyone and Evan Rachel Wood says something stupid.
It’s still enjoyable to an extent, and don’t get me wrong, you’ll still laugh a couple times. But it just didn’t meet my expectations. Sorry, Woody. I guess it’s hard coming off Vicky Cristina Barcelona—a much better film. But as it stands, this film is pretty much the same thing. Characters visit an unfamiliar geographical location and are changed through love.
