All Critics (26)
|
Top Critics (5)
|
Fresh (26)
|
Rotten (0)
|
DVD (11)
Woody Allen attends to his neglected lovability factor in this tiny, anecdotal comedy.
Allen's perfect as a small-time, good-hearted Broadway talent agent, giving his all for a roster of hopeless clients.
All of this is accomplished with wonderfully off-the-wall characterizations.
Even the swamps of New Jersey look beautiful.
Woody Allen received well deserved Oscar nods as writer and director of this original b/w comedy about a talent agent down on his luck.
It's a lovable Woody at the top of his game.
Warm, funny and steeped in affectionate characterizations -- this is Allen at his most sprightly.
Although the film contains many of the great verbal jokes that are Allen's forte, the visual wit and the sentimental drama fall a bit short.
Like Hannah and Her Sisters it strikes a perfect balance between structure, pathos, and sheer laughs.
The jokes are firmly embedded in plot and characterisation, and the film, shot by Gordon Willis in harsh black-and-white, looks terrific; but what makes it work so well is the unsentimental warmth pervading every frame.
A paean to the loveable losers in show biz who give it all they've got but still cup up short.
A modest but often side-splitting effort from the neurotic comic.
More Critic Reviews
Top Critic
