I'm going to first of all assume that 90% of this board will not give two shits about the new Woody Allen movie; but I'm a lifelong fan and after Bernstein's high praise and other good reviews, I had to go catch it. I haven't really believed in Allen's work in a while; but I am so glad I checked this out.
Aside from an overly expositional scene in the third act that resolves things a little too easily, and a somewhat unbelievable setup in the relationship between Elizabeth Banks and Owen Wilson, this movie takes you back to when Woody Allen was making great films like it was a bodily function. You kinda see where this movie is going once it does; however, unlike most predictable summer movies, this journey is one worth taking.
If you ever wanted to hang out with Ernest Hemmingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Salvador Dali, this will entertain the hell out of you. Woody Allen has his heart in the right place and his nostalgia oozes throughout the film, and it reminded me of his earlier, admittedly better movie "Purple Rose in Cairo" in which we just want to melt away from the real world and escape into the past, or a fantasy. Or maybe both.
At 75, it amazes me that Allen can still conjure up this kind of boyish energy for a film like this, and it impresses me to the point where I'd say this is one of his finest modern works. If he had done this in his prime, I'd probably be harder on it. But at his age, the fact that he can still make something with so much joy and effortless wonder, you'll have as good a time watching it as you can tell he had making it. And that counts for something.
A very enjoyable movie.
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