The fact that the apartment set seems so stagebound, there's almost no pretense of pretending we're not on a set, makes the movie quite hollow and canned.
Comment
11/06/09
Whatever Works (2009)
47
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:123
Fresh:58
Rotten:65
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.
Theatrical Release:Jun 19, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $5,183,644
Synopsis: The New York-based humor of Woody Allen and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIAM’s Larry David seems like a natural match, and the pair unite for the first time in this comedy. WHATEVER WORKS follows a rich man... [More]
Starring: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley
Director: Woody Allen
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Reviews for Whatever Works
Finally catching the feature on Blu-ray after taking an absurdly stubborn stance of protest this summer, I have to say with all honesty, Sony Pictures Classics probably made the right choice to pull the picture away from further negative response.
10/30/09
All rather mellow and predictable.
10/15/09
Whatever Works is funnier than anything he's done in a long time -- funny in the robust vaudevillian manner of Groucho Marx.
10/15/09
I actually quite enjoyed this, except this sort of constant rant: the contempt he has for humanity and yadda yadda yadda.
10/14/09
In the end, Whatever Works just about does work, though there’s an awkwardness about it that is never quite dispelled.
10/14/09
Allen wrote the script almost 40 years ago, and then voluntarily shelved it because studios at the time expressed doubts about its quality. If it wasn’t good enough back then, why drag it out now?
10/14/09
Whatever Works, like its lead character, takes a long while to draw us in, but once it does it is enjoyable, thoughtful and decidedly Woody.
10/13/09
Woody Allen’s supposedly undiscovered masterpiece is a complete failure, featuring a one-note performance from the usually hilarious Larry David.
10/13/09
Fans of Allen's work should be happy to find him back in Manhattan, still exploring the meaning of his existence through some typically funny one-liners.
10/11/09
Vicious laughs and smart shots at our "enlightened" humanity abound, but a nasty current of misanthropy overpowers Woody' latest work.
10/11/09
You come away from it wishing there were more laugh-out-loud moments, a little less contrivance, and more enthusiasm curbed.
10/09/09
The result is a stew that is not as satisfying as the gumbo which Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) gets to enjoy
10/08/09
I really enjoyed the film. It's not Allen's best and there is a theatricality that keeps us at arm's length; despite the highly successful direct to camera confidences, which are surprisingly endearing. Allen has knitted together a sweater of angst
10/08/09
A more mean spirited but still very funny film aimed mainly at Woody'searly period devotees that includes a spirited turn by Evan Rachel Wood.
09/08/09
Woody Allen has a definite formula for his comedies, and his latest shows just how worn out, tired, and outdated it's become.
08/31/09
A sub-Don Rickles nuisance at 5 minutes and medieval torture at 92
08/25/09
Woody Allen is infuriating. He has created some of the most radical and important comedy of all time. But Woody Allen is old and he is lazy and he just doesn't care.
08/11/09
[T]he stiffness of David's performance gives one renewed appreciation for Allen's sometimes overlooked acting abilities.... But Allen continues to write the best jokes in the business.
07/31/09
Feels like it stepped in dog doo-doo but doesn't know it.
07/26/09
Latest News for Whatever Works
June 18, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Year One Fails To Beget Laughs
This week at the movies, we've got Biblical bloopers (Year One, starring Jack Black and Michael Cera) and an engagement of convenience (The Proposal, starring Sandra Bullock and... More...
May 10, 2009:
Trailer Bulletin: Whatever Works 
Larry David steps in as Woody Allen's latest on-screen surrogate in "Whatever Works," due out June 19. Watch the trailer now! More...
May 10, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
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