Movie Review - Whatever Works (2009)

Starring Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley, Jr., and Conleth Hill

Written and directed by Woody Allen

I can live with or without Woody Allen movies. I can also live with or without Seinfeld (of which star Larry David played a big role in its creation). I went into Whatever Works with both those possible issues in mind, so I wasn't expecting much.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

Larry David is Boris Yellnikoff, a crotchety curmudgeon who really doesn't like anyone or anything. In some ways, he's the stereotypical middle age-to-elderly Jewish guy that we've seen in many flicks. Somehow, though, David makes this thing work. It helps that Woody has him talk directly to the camera at points. That connection with the audience, to me, was the reason I immediately connected with the flick. But, it's also proved to be a detriment in that I longed for David to always be onscreen. When he wasn't I just wasn't laughing all that much.

Anyway, the story is pretty simple, and, once again, it's another May-December romance from Woody Allen. The December of the equation is David, and the May is Evan Rachel Wood's Melodie St. Ann Celestine, a southern girl who has run away from her home to try and make it in New York City. When Boris sees Melodie on the street, he reluctantly allows her to spend the night in his home to get off the street. One night turns into two, two nights turn into two weeks, and as his distrust and distaste for all mankind begins to rub off on the formerly sweet and naive Melodie, the two end becoming two peas in a pod and end up getting married.

Like I said above, when the film focused on Boris, I loved it. The humor here was super-intelligent...I will readily admit that I didn't understand some of it, but it never made me angry that I didn't get it, because there was always another joke coming right on its tail. The problem begins when Melody's ultra-Christian mother (Clarkson) shows up and the story shifts from nonstop Boris humor to supporting cast humor. Clarkson was great, too, don't get me wrong, and her character was quite funny...but I longed to get back to Boris.

It also didn't help that Melodie, realizing that Boris may not be "the one," begins to fall in love with, it seems, the most boring guy on the planet (Conleth Hill) who happens to be much closer to her age. This romance felt shockingly more forced than the love between Melodie and Boris -- obviously, Woody didn't feel like writing anything good for the young guy trying to steal away his (I mean, Boris's) girl. The only other minor fault is that I was wishy-washy on Evan Rachel Wood's character. When she first appeared onscreen I literally said to myself, "This is gonna be a long movie if I don't get used to that corny Southern accent." Well, I did get used to the accent, but I also never really fully felt like Wood wasn't acting...it's surprising to me because, really, all Larry David is doing here is playing himself, but I felt like he embodied Boris more than Wood embodied Melodie.

Still, definitely the funniest movie I've seen this year. It was oh-so-close to a B+, but the problems I mentioned in the last paragraph brought it down a notch.

The RyMickey Rating: B+
(EDIT: Slight change...this movie was just too funny to merit a 'B'. Despite its faults, I laughed a whole heck of a lot...and isn't that the point in a comedy?)