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What looks at Woody Allen's SMALL TIME CROOKS

Published at:  May 03, 2000 4:50:12 AM CDT

Hey folks, Harry here with What's review of SMALL TIME CROOKS, the Dreamworks produced Woody Allen film... the first in what looks like a long term partnership with Dreamworks. Woody and the Huckfinn Moon Folks recently signed a film deal to produce a number of future Untitled Fall Projects, hehhehehe... This screening took place at NYU, and there were questions afterwards.. there's slight spoilers so tread carefully...




Harry-

I've been a long time visitor to AICN, but this is the first time I've had
anything interesting to write about. Today I caught an afternoon screening of
Woody Allen's next film, Small Time Crooks, set up through the NYU Film
School (of which I am not a student). It even included an answer and question
session with Mr. Allen after the film. There might be some spoilers in
this...who knows for sure?

First off, I've always been a huge Woody Allen fan. I love a lot of his
movies, 70's, 80's, 90's; doesn't matter...a huge fan. Crimes and
Misdemeanors, Annie Hall, Bullets Over Broadway, Manhattan Murder Mystery,
Purple Rose of Cairo...I think I own all of them. I didn't care much for
Sweet and Lowdown, Celebrity, or Deconstructing Harry, but, I mean, every
Woody Allen film has some great parts and performances in it.

Small Time Crooks has a huge and meandering story that starts with a poor,
trashy, married couple, living somewhere close to New York City (Allen and
Tracey Ulman). But he's got a plan to make them rich: They rent out an vacant
store next to a bank, put up a makeshift cookie bakery as a front, and dig a
tunnel from the basement of the bakery into the vault of the bank. The plan
fails, they wind up rich anyway (good cookies), and most of the movie
examines what happens when the lower class become upper class. She wants to
become cultured and dignified, he longs for the days when they could eat
Cheeseburgers and Turkey Meatballs. Etc, etc.

The marriage of Allen and Ulman's characters is obviously inspired by
'The Honeymooners'. In his interview after the film, Allen said that The
Honeymooners is one of the few TV shows that could make him genuinley laugh.
Broad, broad comedy. The energy in the movie is huge. I mean, it's quick,
it's colorful, it's nonstop. It was interesting to see Allen trying to do
this from a lower class' point of view - a nice change of pace from the usual
Upper East Side settings. A lot of the acting was really great: Tracey Ulman
was perfect, she reminded me why I like her so much, and Elaine May steals
every scene she's in. Allen even finally has a (breif, breif) love affair
with someone his own age.The film made me laugh, hard, in several places
throughout the whole thing. It's not too lopsided or uneven - lots of good
scenes and great jokes and one liners in beginning, middle, and end. The
people I saw it with said that it was the best Woody Allen movie they'd scene
in a long time.

But doesn't seem like every new movie is supposed to be the best Woody Allen
movie in a long time?

I was lukewarm about it. Believe me, I wanted to like it. I was thinking
about it for a while, and I think, in my own humble opinion, this is the
first time I can remember the acting in a Woody Allen movie being...bad. Oh,
wait, what the hell am I saying? Paul Simon, Kenneth Brannah, Uma Thurman.
Hm. Okay, well, this time (I hate writing this) it's Woody! What the hell is
he doing? It was like Jar Jar Binks, no, wait...you know what it was like?
Did you see Celebrity? It was like Kenneth Brannah. Just like that, but this
time it was Woody doing 'The Honeymooners'. So, so forced. He doesn't seem to
be listening to or working off of any other characters. Lots of scenes and
dialogue didn't seem like acting at all; more like obviously deliberate
setups for punchlines that just weren't working. But, I mean, whatever, you
get used to it. You adapt. A lot of the supporting roles aren't horrendous,
they don't derail the thing, but it's just awkward. Even with the extras in
the film, I was wondering what world it was supposed to take place in. Which
is a good segway into the real issue.

I was dying to ask Woody about the old problem of the artist who struggles
and toils to create his art, then becomes hugely successful, and finds out
that the people and situations his success puts him in doesn't feed his
humanity, or his grass roots sense of reality. In other words, is it possible
for Woody Allen, at this point in his life, to write a story that would have
any personal resonance for little old me, who lives back here on planet
earth? I think it is possible. The movie said things about success, about
money, and about love...but it was all stuff that might be interesting to a
thirteen year old. Generic, maybe, is a better word? And it's not like it was
an all-out homage to The Honeymooners, or a vacation from Woody's cerebral
side. This was not Manhattan Murder Mystery, I would have loved it if it
were. You could see him trying to make you think about things, but, I
mean...there seemed to be less truth, less attention paid to reality, or just
to the basic humanity that all art has to be hooked in to, you know? Hm.
After Small Time Crooks they showed outakes of Woody Allen movies through the
years. It took three seconds of Annie Hall footage to feel the heart in that
movie. You see Dianne Keaton say three words and flash a nervous smile and
you know that, yeah, this is what love is like. You know what he's talking
about, and you care about what's happening. You're involved. Maybe that's
what was up with Small Time Crooks. When everything was said and done, you
just didn't care. But let me stick up for my man Woody; I think he can still
do it. He's too talented to write off.


Anyway, this was my take on the film. It's beautiful, it's funny, it's
empty...I think any true Woody Allen fan is going to see it anyway, so what
the hell?

You need to call me something? Is that what happens here? Call me...What



    + Expand All

    Readers Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 5:10:01 AM CDT

    I love Woody!

    by larry_talbot

    This is Toy Story 3, right?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 5:53:32 AM CDT

    insert your own `woody' pun here..........

    by jon l. ander

    its been all downhill since mighty aphrodite....

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 6:16:46 AM CDT

    Woody Rules

    by smilin'jack ruby

    I actually like seeing the new Woody film every year. He's the best screenwriter alive today and no one can add dimension to even the smallest characters like Allen. With that - let the flames begin.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 6:59:26 AM CDT

    Everyone Says I Love You

    by hotspur

    To me that is his best ever. I saw it very early and was amazed when it came out and nobody saw it. It's a movie that just does something. It makes you happy. In my book it's one of the most underrated movies of 96' and one of Woody's most underrated films. I mean he was nominated for an academy award for Deconstructing Harry but not for Everyone... That doesn't make sense. What was that Harry all about anyway? It was weird. Everyone Says I Love You is brilliant. I can't say that enough. And I do believe that the only actor who wasn't singing was Drew Barrymore. Maybe her voice is terrible. I don't know. But she has so many other talents....

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 7:21:10 AM CDT

    "Bring Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Underage Asian Girls".....

    by rightwing dude

    Or how about "Hickory Dickory Dock, Come Suck Daddy's Cock?" Why anybody would want to go see a movie made by that SICKASS is beyond me!!! Quote from Mia Farrow: "Woody, I told you to babysit the children, not fuck them!"

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 7:42:14 AM CDT

    I really don't care what he does in his spare time

    by the tasty leper

    Personally, I could really care less about the personal life of actors. They don't concern me in the least. If I found out that Harrison Ford was pedophile it wouldn't make me toss out my Star Wars and Indiana Jones Trilogies. I'm sure there are a great number of actors and directors that I would dislike greatly if I met them in person. (btw, I LOVE Everone Says I Love You.)

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 7:54:57 AM CDT

    Seen this before?

    by cloud9

    The plot to Woody's new movie sounds like an old episode of "Car 54, Where Are You?" only the crooks set up a diner instead of a cookie store.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 8:26:13 AM CDT

    Say what you will...

    by loki trickster

    But "Deconstructing Harry" is the best Woody Allen movie of all time (followed closely by "Annie Hall" and "Sleeper"), and it was robbed of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar (but of course, so were a bunch of other scripts recently, so I don't complain about it too much). -Loki

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 8:55:22 AM CDT

    it's spelled "brief", not "brief"

    by lance rock

    i before e!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 9:02:16 AM CDT

    C. BUTLER

    by happydude

    An inability to separate life from art is the hallmark of an unregenerate mind.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 9:06:03 AM CDT

    Celebrity is fantastic

    by mooch

    I'd just like to stick up for Celebrity, I think it's an absolutely brilliant film. It isn't really all that funny, but it is beautiful, moving, thought-provoking and it works fantastically. I'd also like to stick up for Kenneth Branagh's performance which I thought was very good. Yes, it was largely a Woody Allen imitation, but no it wasn't irritating. I especially love the bit in Elaine's at the end, where he is completely deflated and the agent is trying to get him interested in his new stand-up act, and Branagh does a really half-hearted version of the whole nervous-stammering act and no-one notices any difference. It was a superb fucking movie AND WHY IS IT NOT OUT ON VIDEO IN BRITAIN YET???!!! IT CAME OUT A FUCKING YEAR AGO!!! Celebrity isn't out on video, Sweet And Lowdown hasn't come out at the cinema here and already he's made another one! Quick guys, there's a fucking backlog. I thought Europe was meant to be Woody's saviour.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 9:56:57 AM CDT

    Drew Barrymore's singing voice

    by marsyas

    It was dubbed for good reason...
    I heard her trying to sing
    on Saturday Night Live a while
    back, and it was painful.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 10:16:11 AM CDT

    Isn't he dead?

    by iamdeadfish

    Ick... old people humor!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 10:17:29 AM CDT

    How do Woody Allen Films Make Money?

    by agentcooper

    ...Seriously. I mean, nothing against him. I have enjoyed quite a few of his films (Annie Hall, Purple Rose of Cairo, Sleeper, Mighty Aprodite)and thought quite a few a complete waste of time (Everyone Says I Love You, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose). But they all must cost between $3-5 million at least, then get a very limited release where they gross about $2 million. He pumps out one each year, so he's the Stephen King of cinema, but doesn't move the product like King. Why do studios insist on financing these things? Do they do incredibly well in the foreign markets? Any of you Wood-fans know?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 10:18:30 AM CDT

    How do Woody Allen movies make money?

    by agentcooper

    ...Seriously. I mean, nothing against him. I have enjoyed quite a few of his films (Annie Hall, Purple Rose of Cairo, Sleeper, Mighty Aprodite)and thought quite a few a complete waste of time (Everyone Says I Love You, Stardust Memories, Broadway Danny Rose). But they all must cost between $3-5 million at least, then get a very limited release where they gross about $2 million. He pumps out one each year, so he's the Stephen King of cinema, but doesn't move the product like King. Why do studios insist on financing these things? Do they do incredibly well in the foreign markets? Any of you Wood-fans know?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 10:19:16 AM CDT

    "Me love you long time, Wood-yee!"

    by uncapie

    I'll stick with his old stuff. Still, he plays a mean clarinet.



    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 10:40:51 AM CDT

    life IS art. I think?

    by moby134

    Oh no, I must be very unregenerated....:(

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 11:16:31 AM CDT

    setting the record straight

    by lazarus long

    Let's get a few things clear here: Soon-Yi was never underage while Woody was with her. (Unless 19 is your idea of underage; it isn't in any state in this country). Secondly, Soon-Yi wasn't his kid, but Mia Farrow's adopted daughter. It may be an odd situation and a shitty thing to do, but love is love. They obviously had a connection. Or haven't you noticed that they are STILL together some 7 years later? After Farrow's humiliation, she has the gall to accuse Woody of molesting their own children. 3 psychologists analyzed those kids and NONE of them found any evidence of sexual abuse. Of course, no one bothered to print that on the front page of the newspaper, only the accusations. Sad country. *** In France, Roman Polanski is regarded as an esteemed member of society. Not to excuse what he did (and the severity of those actions are still open to debate), but Woody didn't do anything even REMOTELY illegal and he's still thought of as a sicko by many people in this country. Jerry Seinfeld is more of a sicko in that department; his ex-girlfriend was younger than Soon-Yi when they started seeing each other. Regardless, if you can't enjoy art unless you agree with every action in that artist's personal life, you're a fucking idiot.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 11:38:32 AM CDT

    yes, Woody's films make all their money in Europe.

    by fatal discharge

    and by the way, they cost about $20 million not $3. No one can make a Hollywood feature for $3 million. I love his screenplays and agree that even in his films that don't totally work, there are hilarious lines. Also, all the best actors work with Woody so there is always something to gain from seeing his films.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 11:38:33 AM CDT

    I saw the same screening, pal!!

    by fordo

    Yeah, I was at the NYU sponsered event (which was supposed to be for NYU students, by the way, how the hell did you get in?).

    Well, if your criticism is that Woody Allen didn't do a good job in the role, I'd have to say that that is your personal taste. For example, I thought Allen was just like my Grandpa and couldn't get enough of his great performance.

    Also, you say the movie is "empty". I think that it is a small story with interesting characters that goes somewhere in an entertaining way. Why does every movie have to be some unbelievable mind-bender?

    -Fordo

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 11:48:49 AM CDT

    STC will be screening here at Berkeley on Friday...

    by leonardthelizard

    I can't wait to see it! The SWEET AND LOWDOWN definitely was Woody's best work in years, although I have to give the honor of BEST WOODY ALLEN FILM OF ALL TIME to HANNAH AND HER SISTERS. Or maybe it's ANNIE HALL...Or MANHATTAN...oh well...those three movies are his best work. I look forward to seeing Woody this week (if he shows up), and I'll try to post my own reviews.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 11:54:49 AM CDT

    Everyone Says I Love You

    by smilin'jack ruby

    I feel I should come out of the closet on this one - I love that movie. I love every single thing about it. I love how it presents the world as this place where only rich people live, everyone gets laid, everyone is happy, only old people die, and EVERYONE lives happily ever after. Also, everyone sings and dances whenever they feel like it. Yes, 'tis an odd Fantasia, but I saw that movie twice in one weekend (took one girl on Friday and a different girl on Sunday) and quietly consider it one of the best things Allen ever did, though NO ONE will agree with me. Oh, well. Guess I felt like I should stick up for him. If you think Allen's one movie a year is a big deal, think about Bergman back in the day when he did three a year and John Ford who cranked out about 20 two-reelers a year from 1919 to 1921. I'm glad Allen is at Dreamworks where he can make movies however the hell he wants to. I will be, as usual, first in line for "Small Time Crooks." Haven't missed opening weekend for an Allen movie since I saw "Manhattan Murder Mystery" on opening day back in Houston a few years back.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 12:03:50 PM CDT

    Small Time Guzman

    by vegas

    I'll see Small Time Crooks, if only on video. Woody's movies are not for everyone and are often not for me, but the man is an artist and it's great that even in this modern box office gross obsessed age that an idiosyncratic virtuoso like the woodman can still do what he wants as often as he wants. Can't argue with that, people.

    Reply to Talkback

  • It's true. The man has been making films for 35 years now, and with the exception of the very early stuff, nearly none of them have been awful - a few were a bit pants, agreed, but they were definitely no worse than some of the crap of the time. If you want a handle on watching Woody films, think of them in terms of a learning curve from "Take the Money and Run" onwards - "Annie Hall" was the peak of the straight "Woody" comedies after 10 years of making them, "Hannah and Her Sisters" was the peak of the multi-character, multi-plot films, and ever since then, he's been trying to find a happy medium between the two, succesfully experimenting on the whole with the form as much/more than the content. That said, Woody should continue working for years as IMHO learning never stop, and people still enjoy his work.


    Kefrif

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 12:48:38 PM CDT

    It's sad but I believe you.

    by aguadilu

    I don't know what's going on with Woody lately.
    Unfortunately, for what I've seen in his last picks, I understand what you say about 'Small Time...', and I'm afraid it'll be true. 'Sweet and Lowdown', premiered recently here, in Spain was a totla dissapointment, maybe his worst film of the 90's.

    Now you reer to this as 'empty', buffff, shit, Woody should take a couple of years rest to make am equal to his last veritable masterpiece, 'Husbands and Wives'.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 1:59:01 PM CDT

    Lowering the tone of this talkback

    by mephisto666

    His best film in my opinion has to be 'Everything you Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask)'. It has it's faults, but its still the funniest. Who can forget classics like 'Picolo? Like french bread...Picolo!' Gene Wilder drinking Woolite, the control room with low moral (was it NYU the lady in question went to?), and, of course, the wonderfully ingenious way of defeating the killer breast ravaging the countryside. You can get intellectual if you like; you can even question how he likes to 'keep it in the family', but me, I got to go with maurauding bosoms!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 2:07:54 PM CDT

    while we are talking about sex...

    by loadie_34

    Does Woody have sex with any of his kids in this one? I was just wondering...

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 2:17:26 PM CDT

    Wood is thicker than water

    by heir

    I'm afraid Woody's last few films have been awful. they certainly weren't funny- Sweet and Lowdown was okay, but it was a drama! Not one laugh in it- Celebrity was the worst- I saw it three times just to make sure- the third time I even got stoned hoping that would make me see something I missed before- and nothing. The reason woody's films are financed? One reason- do you know any video store that DOESN'T carry all of his films? I can't think of one. Ever since Mia left, his films have been pretty bad- exept Murder Mystery which he wrote while they were still together- "Bullets"- which he co-wrote- and Deconstructing Harry- which if you know anything about his personal life- the entire film was about Mia- sly digs all the way through-and if you think he's so great personally- read the court's verdict on Allen when he tried to take away Mia's kids-it's not pretty. I just wish he would make a good movie again- a really good movie- I always go to the theatre to see his films but if "Crooks" is bad- I'll wait for the rest to hit my video store. that, at least, is a certainty.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 2:22:44 PM CDT

    Everyone Says I Love You

    by buckinator x

    By far the best film Woody ever made! I'm so glad I found other people who agree with me. And for those people bitching about this film or that film, blah, blah, blah...the man makes a film a year. Some will be great, some will be good, some will be not so good. I have found something enjoyable about nearly every film he has made. Woody was right when he called out directors like James Cameron and others who sit around for years without making anything. I know that Pre-production and production and post-production for something like Titanic takes about two years, but Cameron has been sitting on his ass polishing his Oscars, and he has nothing to show for it. No new movie on the horizon. I think he is scared to make anything else. At least with Woody, I get a fix once a year. And Spike Lee. Spike turns out a movie almost every year. One last thing...are you sure this film is under his Dreamworks contract? Didn't he just sign that deal a month ago. I think this is his last movie with his old producing partner, then he'll start making movies for Dreamworks. I think that is right. I bet his first film for Dreamworks will be marketed a hell of a lot better than his other films have been. Alright, I'm done.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 4:23:26 PM CDT

    Woody-what's in a name?

    by guyuuk!

    I don't care about his personal life vs. his movies, I'm still wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes after reading Jerky Mcjerk's first post. Your moniker suits you(and that's meant as a compliment you turd-handler).

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 4:46:08 PM CDT

    Saint right.

    by shrevie

    I can't watch anyone's work unless I respect them morally. I mean we all know Chaplin was a saint. And Hemingway was a saint. And Andy Kaufman was a saint. And Disney was a saint. And Kubrick was a saint. And Salinger was a saint. And Griffith was a saint. And Shakespeare at least knew how to handle the press.
    I think we should all make sure we use the reliability of the media to determine more celebrities' moral fibre before we subject our perfect characters to more of their damaging and insulting work. The only reason I enjoyed the hilarious and moving Sweet And Lowdown is because of the wonderful Sean Penn. Not only is he a great actor...but he's such a nice guy!
    p.s. Jimmy Stewart knocked up Ginger Rogers.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 7:51:19 PM CDT

    OH F@#K not another Woody Film

    by seagull

    Please god for the sake of all things holy, take him now you must have a place for him up there by now ?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 03, 2000 9:27:51 PM CDT

    Call me crazy but I think HUSBAND AND WIVES is The best

    by lostoptimist

    There is not a joy quite like seeing Judy Davis in a Woody Allen movie. Oh, yeah, as for balls out Allen comedy, I'd have to say, for my money, it's a toss up between SLEEPER and BANANAS.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 4:45:34 AM CDT

    Jerky McJerk, you're one funny f**ker

    by cereal killer

    "Close Encounters With the Third Grade" nearly made me piss myself. Never really been that into Woody Allen but I'm glad to read on here that I'm not alone in loving "Everyone Says I Love You." I rented that movie a few months ago mainly because it had Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman and I was surprised by how cool it was. It was filled with some of my fave old standard songs and was just funny and sweet. As for Woody's personal life I agree that he's a slime but I don't let any artists personal peccadilloes get in the way of my admiration for their art. I also gotta agree with the poster who said Jerry Seinfeld is just as slimy. Not only was Shoshanna too damn young for the perv but his current wife (Ho) was already married, and still a newlywed to boot, when Jerry hooked up with her. I thought the character he played on TV was just a character but it looks like Jerry is just as self-centered in real life. His show is still funny as hell though.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 7:56:11 AM CDT

    Any Of You Other Woody-Basher Get A Message From LEYE122@aol.co

    by rightwing dude

    This sick Woody-Fan wrote: " i hope the second day cum from woody's hard dick sits in your mouth for
    days
    as you lie in a ditch........see you in hell" in response to my earlier posting. I'm not saying that all Woody fans are weird (I believe that Woody is however), but this guy who wrote to me must be even weirder and creepier than Woody himself is.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 8:45:11 AM CDT

    Woody's funniest

    by rnotr2

    All the comments here, all the Woody movies mentioned - but still not one word about his funniest movie, play, screenplay - Play It Again, Sam. Woody gives his defining performance as Allan, the total nebbishe around women. I laugh just as hard now as I did when I first saw it. Timeless.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 10:04:08 AM CDT

    D. Harry

    by gravy boat capt.

    Deconstructing Harry was a total piece of shit. I am a big Woody fan, but that movie was awful. It was obnoxious, immoral, and crass. I know, I know, so are a lot of his other movies. But this one's different. In other movies, while the protagonist certainly had flaws, you at least understood his motivations and could relate to him. In DH, Woody was just flaunting the fact that his character was such an asshole. That said, I think that Woody's movies over the last few years have been disappointing with one exeption: EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU. It is one of my favorites. The movie contains what most of his have lacked the last few years: charm. Another of my favorites from the Woody file that no one has mentioned yet is LOVE AND DEATH. That movie was funny as hell. Any other fans of that one?

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 10:04:44 AM CDT

    All You Fellow Woody-Bashers Need To Visit The Following Site:

    by rightwing dude

    www.romp.com In it, Woody Allen is a pinauta, and you can bash any part of him that you wish. Woody also says some pretty hysterical things.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 12:07:09 PM CDT

    pathetic

    by lazarus long

    Jerky, your comments might be amusing, but what I've learned is that most of the people who bash Woody Allen and call him a child molester are those who never liked Woody in the first place, and now feel justified in spreading their hate for him around. As I PREVIOUSLY POSTED, 3 psychologists analyzed Woody & Mia's children (Satchel, Dylan, and...Rosemary's Baby), and NONE OF THEM FOUND ANY EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL ABUSE! The reason Farrow got the kids is because of the Soon-Yi mess, which might not have been immoral (depending on how much of a puritan you are), but it did break some rules of Common-Law marriage and not the nicest thing to do to the mother of your children. Again, Woody BROKE NO LAWS. If he had molested those kids, no Hollywood lawyer could have kept him from prison. Try focusing your attention on the real child molester, that freak of nature Michael Jackson, who paid off his accuser with tens of millions of dollars. As for Jerky and the rest of you who will ignore the facts and continue to bash the Woodman for your own amusement, grow up.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 12:15:23 PM CDT

    Mia was 21 when she married Sinatra at 51.

    by fatal discharge

    So don't talk about robbing the cradle. As for all the puritans who feel the need to criticize everyone on up to the president for their sexual misadventures, maybe if your sex lives weren't so dull you wouldn't be picking over every sordid sexual detail of someone else's life.

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 04, 2000 4:48:58 PM CDT

    Derek, proofread

    by owatonna

    Please. Oh, and it's spelt "segue". SEGUE!

    Reply to Talkback

  • May 05, 2000 3:51:07 AM CDT

    Woody Rules

    by cyclopentadiene

    Well, I've seen every woody allen movie except for "September" and "What's up Pussycat", And I think that IMHO Woody has managed to make the following masterpieces of american cinema...MANHATTAN, ANNIE HALL, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, HANNAH AND HER SISTER, HUSBANDS AND WIVES, ZELIG...I think these movies are all nearly perfect...ZELIG, which I don't think anyone has mentioned yet, is a technical marvel and great comedy...ZELIG did the Forest Gump-put-the-character-in-historical-footage-thing, except for ten times better and ten years earlier...and say what you will about Woody's personal life, in HUSBANDS AND WIVES he managed to make the most insightful film about the inner workings of a marriage ever put to film...and then almost all the rest of his films go into the category of being very, very good...some people have dissed DECONSTRUCTING HARRY, but it was a brilliantly constructed intricate screenplay...the one woody movie I just don't like is A MIDSUMMER's NIGHT SEX COMEDY, which I found to be pretentious and unfunny...And CELEBRITY was a lackluster effort for woody, but still better than most stuff out there...In summation, I would say that woody allen is one of the GREATEST DIRECTORS ever...

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  • May 05, 2000 10:17:10 AM CDT

    perverts

    by kerstin

    Hi,
    I am pleased to see that apparent perverts such as McJerk and C. Butler, who have nothing else to do but express their own sick imagination by grossly twisting facts and doing it in a white trash, redneck, pedophile lingo that revelas they themselves are nothing but that... filthy minded, overly opinionated trash.

    Thanks, Lazarus, for your apparent wish to set records straight, but believe me, once a sicko finds an outlet such as the Woody-Mia case to unleash their own filthy minds, they won't listen to a rational argument or go by the wise "in dubio pro reo".

    Apparently both the butler and the jerk spend every minute with Allen during the alleged molestations, otherwise they would not be trating as a fact what actually has not been proven after extended and open investigations, to which, by the way, Allen was open from the very beginning.

    Anyway, I would wish that the beforementioned people would stick to their own internet forum, the porn site of their choice, and leave sites like this for serious and more interesting discussions.

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  • May 05, 2000 11:46:33 PM CDT

    Small Time Crooks/Big time ripoff

    by cplate

    Ripoff!!! A total ripoff of a great Edward G. Robinson movie, Larceny, Inc. Guys start luggage business next to bank to dig into safe. Their business becomes a success and help out other merchants with local gov't. Come on, Woody. Give the original writers credit. Maybe Time-Warner will sue.

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  • May 06, 2000 2:57:20 AM CDT

    Woody Will Be Around for a While

    by djskyler

    I'm happy to see so many Woody defenders here. He's really produced an amazing body of work. I guess it makes sense to find so many fans here at a movie-geek site since Woody is the ultimate movie-geek himself. Many of his films either involve films or are homages to other films. I saw "Love and Death" a while back and was ROTFLMAO with his Groucho Marx imitation in that one. "Sleeper" was of course a twist on "Buck Rogers". "Play It Again, Sam" had him interacting with Bogart. "Purple Rose of Cairo" invloved a movie in a movie. "Shadows and Fog" was his film noir. I really liked that cool "movie-geeks Xmas party" in "Everyone Says I Love You".
    Anyone remember his parents from "Wild Man Blues"? They are in their friggin 90's!! When I saw that, I realized that there are many Woody movies to come, since he obviously inherited some long-life genes.

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  • May 07, 2000 6:07:39 PM CDT

    Woody's still around, thank god.

    by frances

    Read you review and liked it; haven't seen the movie yet but you're right--I'll see it anyway. Maybe he needs to read this review though. Getting older doesn't mean leaving the truth in yourself. His best films give us this and this is what makes Woody a genius. He's not stingy with the truth and connects with us because of this (and because he knows how to create great stories with great actors who always come through). My personal favorite--hmm, that's tough. Maybe Hannah & Her Sisters, maybe Manhattan, maybe Sleeper, I don't know. I love them all. P.S. There's a lot of wasted space talking about Woody's morality or lack of. How do these people know what goes on in other peoples lives & minds. It's weird that they have to come into this Woody Allen thing to air their own inner unrest.

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  • May 12, 2000 2:44:24 AM CDT

    woody's best

    by nocturnl

    woody's best film is husbads and wives. i think it is still to new for some woody fans to consider because they have become so fond of his eariler stuff. deconstructing harry was great and very bold considering the opinion some have of him personally. i have also noticed that roger ebert has called 3 of woody's last 4 films te best he has done in a "long time".

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