Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 158
Fresh: 79 | Rotten: 79
Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.
Average Rating: 4.8/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 26
Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.
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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 37,792
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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
Jun 19, 2009 Wide
Oct 27, 2009
$5.2M
Sony Pictures Classics
All Critics (159) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (81) | Rotten (82) | DVD (7)
All 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.
Whatever Works isn't deep, but with Grandpa Woody, you accept the warmed over, the recycled, just relieved he hasn't made a spectacle of himself.
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.
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.
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.
Larry David stars in this Woody Allen off beat comedy. Based in New York, an upper class guy leaves his wife for a more chilled out existence. He befriends and helps a homeless girl and his life changes again. Interesting characters.
June 15, 2009
Super Reviewer
While I don't believe ANY of the things in the movie would ever happen (other than because the script said so) I can't say I wasn't entertained, and I can't say I didn't laugh. I was and did on both counts.If you're in the mood for a giggle, check it out but only if you haven't seeSleeper, Annie Hall, Bananas, Love &
July 9, 2011Super Reviewer
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