Whatever Works (2009)
Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 160
Fresh: 80 | Rotten: 80
Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 44
Fresh: 14 | Rotten: 30
Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 38,772
Movie Info
Woody Allen writes and directs this "blackish comedy" about an eccentric upper-class New Yorker (Larry David) who abandons his comfortable lifestyle in favor of leading a more bohemian existence. After meeting a young Southern girl (Evan Rachel Wood) and her family, he discovers that life among the nonconformists isn't quite as carefree as he'd envisioned it to be. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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Cast
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Larry David
Boris Yellnikoff -
Evan Rachel Wood
Melody -
Ed Begley Jr
John -
Patricia Clarkson
Marietta -
Conleth Hill
Leo Brockman -
Michael McKean
Joe -
Jessica Hecht
Helena -
Christopher Evan Welch
Howard -
Henry Cavill
Randy James -
Carolyn McCormick
Jessica -
John Gallagher Jr.
Perry
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Whatever Works Trailer & Photos
All Critics (161) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (80) | Rotten (80) | DVD (7)
For all its wobbles, Whatever Works is rooted in an agreeable sensibility: life favours fate over luck more than we'd like to think, so grab whatever chances of happiness come your way.
Top CriticAll rather mellow and predictable.
Woody's latest shrewdly upends the filmmaker's own comic pessimisms
After the fiercely enjoyable Vicky Christina Barcelona, this return to New York City is a letdown, though not without a few charms.
The result is a witty, well-played work without an adequate center. If you can get past that, Whatever Works does.
Whatever Works isn't topnotch Woody Allen, but it's still immensely funny.
This gleefully ironic comic fable feels different in tone from the likes of Vicky Christina Barcelona and Match Point. Woody has dusted off an old screenplay from the early 1970s that he'd originally written for Zero Mostel, shelved when the star died.
Whatever works está llena de momentos geniales y divertidos, pero también de cierta humanidad en sus personajes que suele ser disfrazada de sarcasmo. Un verdadero show de Larry David, gentileza de Woody Allen.
Woody Allen's comedy doesn't work- on any level.
People cynically walk into so much expecting disappointment - auditoriums showing Woody Allen's annual crapshoot, for example. Sometimes, they get expected middling results. Sometimes, as with Allen's 30-year-old script, they get unanticipated surprises.
The heart of the film belongs to Wood, Clarkson and Begley Jr., and they provide the biggest laughs. Watching their Southern-charm slowly transformed (corrupted?) by the emotional/artistic/erotic flavours of New York City is a typical Allen-esque treat.
Even when delivering something of a regression, as this film is, (Allen) still packs more laughs and ideas into a film than most filmmakers do into a career.
Even diehard fans might find it a bit of a chore.
It won't win Allen new converts, but for those of faith, it offers consolation.
Whatever Works is a welcome return to Allen's New York roots and enjoyable insofar as it is far wittier than most modern comedies, but it lacks anything fresh to say.
David might be plugging a gap between Curb series, but Allen can do better.
Whatever Works works.
What's Woody Allen's worst film? Look no further.
Tragically making Vicky Cristina Barcelona look like a happy accident, Whatever Works is retro Allen that smacks of desperation.
It's not classic Woody Allen, despite him writing it 40 years ago, but you'll be fairly entertained.
The rhythm of comedy dialogue has changed, yet Allen executes his script in a manner that leaves the cast swimming in a piece that feels curiously dated, like it's a lost picture from yesteryear.
Allen showed us better than anyone what the good times really look like. We can't quite give up on that. We never will.
Great news! Woody Allen has extended his run of decent films! To two!
There's an abundance of incisive one-liners and embittered tirades, with David bringing a new caustic flavour to Allen's nebbish alter ego, and if the action is occasionally contrived and stagy, it's mostly amusing and assured.
It seems that Allen -- who hasn't needed to prove himself in an age -- is now happy to settle for, well, whatever works.
Audience Reviews for Whatever Works
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Boris Yellnikoff: See, I'm the only one who sees the whole picture. That's what they mean by genius.
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- Boris Yellnikoff: On paper we're ideal, but life isn't on paper.
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- Howard: Oh Lord, forgive me for I have committed the sin of self indulgence
- Boris Yellnikoff: Why do all the religious fanatics end up praying on my door step?
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- Boris Yellnikoff: [clutching his heart, complaining as usual from a night sweat panic induced attack, he gripes to Melody as she is trying to find a soothing TV channel] I have SEEN THE ABYSS!
- Melody: Well, that's alright, darlin, we can watch somethin' else!
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- Melody: What are you genius at?
- Boris Yellnikoff: Quantum mechanics.
- Melody: Yeah, but what field? Like, music?
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- Melody: What are you genius at?
- Boris Yellnikoff: Quantum mechanics.
- Melody: Yeah, but what field? Like, music?
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June 18, 2009:
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May 10, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Whatever WorksLarry David steps in as Woody Allen's latest on-screen surrogate in "Whatever Works," due out June...
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Featured
Movie: ID: 770805111 Title: Whatever Works Release Date: 2009-06-19 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Si la cosa funciona (ES)
