Whatever Works Reviews
Uncut Magazine [UK]
Whatever Works is derived from a project Allen sketched out in the '70s, shelved due to quality concerns. First thought, best thought.
ViewLondon
Enjoyable, well written and frequently amusing Woody Allen comedy that doesn't exactly break any new ground but should at least bring in the Larry David fans.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Eye for Film
While you may well have heard this sort of thing before, the familiarity of the humour makes it all the more lovable.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
Cinema em Cena
Representa mais um esforço acima da média deste cineasta que, mesmo aos 74 anos, não dá sinais de pretender diminuir seu ritmo de produção.
Full Review
| Original Score: 4/5
Movies for the Masses
full review at Movies for the Masses
Full Review
| Original Score: 1/5
Examiner.com
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.
DVDTalk.com
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: C-
Top CriticAll rather mellow and predictable.
The Age (Australia)
Whatever Works is funnier than anything he's done in a long time -- funny in the robust vaudevillian manner of Groucho Marx.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
At the Movies (Australia)
I actually quite enjoyed this, except this sort of constant rant: the contempt he has for humanity and yadda yadda yadda.
| Original Score: 3.5/5
At the Movies (Australia)
In the end, Whatever Works just about does work, though there's an awkwardness about it that is never quite dispelled.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Herald Sun (Australia)
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?
Full Review
| Original Score: 1.5/5
Unknown2
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
FILMINK (Australia)
Woody Allen's supposedly undiscovered masterpiece is a complete failure, featuring a one-note performance from the usually hilarious Larry David.
Courier Mail (Australia)
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3.5/5
Empire Magazine Australasia
Vicious laughs and smart shots at our "enlightened" humanity abound, but a nasty current of misanthropy overpowers Woody' latest work.
Full Review
| Original Score: 3/5
Movie Metropolis
You come away from it wishing there were more laugh-out-loud moments, a little less contrivance, and more enthusiasm curbed.
Full Review
| Original Score: 6/10
Urban Cinefile
The result is a stew that is not as satisfying as the gumbo which Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) gets to enjoy
Urban Cinefile
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
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
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.
Full Review
| Original Score: B
