Hola all. Massawyrm here.

You know, it’s been a very surprising week, one of those dream movie lover weeks. Not one in which all of the movies are astoundingly great – but rather one in which every film truly surprised me and had something to offer that I wasn’t expecting. Yes, like Communist Propaganda. But the film that took me most by surprise was Woody Allen’s Scoop. Why? Because I have never in my life truly enjoyed a Woody Allen film.

Now there’s a lot of things you can chalk this up to. Allen is a very specific kind of director with a very specific sense of humor (much like his modern day equivalent, Kevin Smith) making his films something that fans love and depend on but those that don’t tend to ignore completely – because they know what they’re in for. Also, many of his best films came to me years - if not decades - after their release, and the social relevance or originality had long since worn off, leaving only the humor. And really, I don’t find Allen all that funny.

But with Scoop, he’s crafted something different. He’s crafted something I actually quite enjoyed. What Allen’s done is taken an old, tried and true screwball comedy sub-genre and delivered it with a sense of indie panache. Scoop is the story of a college journalist (Scarlett Johannson) who is visited by the ghost of a recently deceased journalist (Ian McShane) who has just received what may be the greatest scoop of his life…in the afterlife. Desperate to investigate and file one last story, McShane passes on the scoop to the first reporter he can find. What unfolds is Johannson’s investigation of a charming aristocrat (Hugh Jackman) who she begins to fall in love with. Hi-jinks ensue.

The movie is extremely goofy, cute and some of the comedy really works – especially if you dig on the old school supernatural comedy angle. And of course Hugh Jackman owns this thing, with every last ounce of his charisma flooding the screen every time he takes to it. Ian McShane, while given fairly limited screentime, also manages to light it up every time he makes an appearance as the grizzled, dead muckraking reporter.

The films one glaring flaw, however, is that Woody Allen is in it. Now I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, as several of my Allen loving buddies all pretty much felt the same way. Every time he comes on screen, the movie drags. His character feels extremely superfluous and just gets annoying after a while. He plays to his usual shtick, but just comes across as tired, as if he said “Man, I hate doing this, but it wouldn’t be one of my comedies without it, so let me work up some puns.” Thankfully, he’s not on screen the entire film, and everything else works so much better than your average Allen detractor would expect.

And Johannson is Johansson. Look, I know she gets most of you guys stiffer than a thrice used gym sock, but come on. She’s one of THOSE actresses – one that gets by on her cuteness and the same character time and again. She’s like that high school actress that was so cute and sweet that no one had the balls to tell her how mediocre she was. Sure, she’s been good in a few films, but only because she is exactly what the character called for – but that doesn’t stop her from having the range of a busted potato gun. In Spoon it’s no different. But it actually works, despite also serving as the film that really shows you how far she’s stretched her one note.

But all in all its an entertaining film. It’s certainly not one that I can whole heartedly recommend, but if your friends want to drag you to this, or you’re looking for something on DVD in a few months, this is worth giving a look.

Until next time friends, smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.

Massawyrm