As a holding pattern until Allen gets a new, better movie together, this works for now.
Comment
06/19/09
Whatever Works (2009)
47
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:124
Fresh:58
Rotten:66
Average Rating:5.3/10
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
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for Whatever Works
Top CriticWoody Allen and Larry David! What could be better than this dream team?
06/19/09
Except for brief moments, Whatever Works does not involve.
06/19/09
Top CriticA belabored trifle that's occasionally amusing but often just bewildering, beginning with the movie's intentionally outlandish setup.
06/19/09
Top CriticAn unappealing drama about an obnoxious, cynical, and bitter old man.
06/19/09
The idea of wedding Woody Allen's comic persona (the introverted nebbish) to Larry David's (the entitled jerk) sounds promising on paper, but as Boris portentously observes just before his unsuccessful suicide attempt, life doesn't take place on paper.
06/19/09
My problem with Whatever Works is not that the premise is a wee bit familiar. Rather, it’s that the delivery is off.
06/19/09
Top CriticSome may observe that two of every three jokes fall flat, but I'm a little bit amazed that Allen would toss that one good third into such a sloppy story, like a fistful of prized truffles whisked quickly into a pan of Tuna Helper.
06/19/09
"Whatever Works" isn't a good Woody Allen movie, even by latter-day standards. It is, however, a surprisingly offensive Woody Allen movie.
06/19/09
I know it is not as fashionable to say this as it once was, but I love Woody Allen.
06/19/09
Despite the negative tenor of the dialogue, the film itself has a sweet quality.
06/18/09
Powered by Larry David as Woody Allen's most successful avatar; if you can suspend your disbelief to go with the absurd geriatric male fantasy plot, the rest of the film is your oyster.
06/18/09
Minor, to be sure, but Woody Allen's most unabashedly sunny movie in years.
06/18/09
A superficial bit of cultural warfare that pits New York as the epitome of all things grand and cultured and those from the South as simple minded, impressionable bumpkins.
06/18/09
One would think Allen had worked though his on-screen fascination with the older man-young girl scenario by now. This latest exploration just feels derivative and musty.
06/18/09
Whatever Works feels like something out of time and, worse, out of step.
06/18/09
Top CriticThough this is lesser Allen, it contains enough laugh-out-loud moments in Woody's old vein to make it an enjoyable trifle.
06/18/09
Dusting off an ancient script intended for Zero Mostel three decades ago, Allen tweaks the material enough to supply David with bilious rants about the stupidity and meaninglessness of man and the universe.
06/18/09
a more successful variation on Allen's shoulder-shrugging philosophy
06/18/09
I prefer my Woody and my Larry in separate doses. Perhaps it's sometimes best to choose just the peanut butter or the chocolate.
06/18/09
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...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
Moviefone's Year End Poll
What were your favorites? Least favorites? The funniest and scariest? Moviefone wants to know!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds