Misanthropic Thunder
There's a scene at the end of Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" in which Woody's character (a hypochondriacal nebbish, natch) finds a modicum of solace in a Marx Brothers movie. Over the course of that 1986 gem, his character has had a cancer scare, attempted suicide and contemplated the meaninglessness of existence. But for that brief moment, as Groucho plays the heads of tin-plated soldiers like a xylophone, he forgets about it and laughs. He's entertained. "Whatever Works", the writer-director's most serious comedy since 1997's brilliantly black "Deconstructing Harry", feels like an attempt to craft a film out of that simple principle: whatever makes you happy, no matter how ridiculous, is fine; whatever works.

As we're repeatedly reminded throughout the film, Mr. Allen's latest avatar, Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David), is a misanthrope who fancies himself a genius (he was once a candidate for the Noble Prize for quantum physics). Boris opens the film with a three-minute monologue about everything that's terrible in the world. Since this is a Woody Allen movie, it's a pretty funny three minutes. Boris is the kind of Allen character who sits at sidewalk cafes with his buddies denouncing organized religion. He also walks with a limp from a failed suicide attempt (he landed on his building's canopy) and has a penchant for breaking the fourth-wall and speaking directly to the audience.

One day, on the way home to his downtown apartment, Boris is approached by a vagrant begging for food. In a gigantic leap of logic, Boris invites the drifter up to his apartment for something to eat. This might have a bit to do with the fact that the beggar is a young blonde played by Evan Rachel Wood. But even still, it's hard to swallow. Once the two begin their smart-vs-dumb squabbling, a minor connection forms. He sees her as a twit he can lord over - she sees him as a provider. It's "Pygmalion" Woody Allen-style. Months pass, and where the relationship goes from there is best left to the film. Suffice to say that Mr. Allen hasn't lost his touch for writing vibrant characters and zippy dialogue.

For his return to Manhattan-based comedies, Mr. Allen dusted off a script he had initially written for Zero Mostel. The fact that the actor died in 1977 gives you an idea how long it's been sitting around. Still, with the exception of a few stale plot points, Mr. Allen manages to keep it fresh. This is largely due to the casting of the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star in the lead role. In Larry David, Mr. Allen may have finally found the perfect representative. This is the type of cast member Mr. Allen should be reusing, rather than wasting his time with Scarlett Johansson. Mr. David is completely comfortable spitting venomous dialogue (always with a smirk of recognition). And, of course, he's completely unselfconscious, happy to tromp around in a bathrobe and socks for much of the film. As a result, Boris becomes somewhat fascinating in an Archie Bunker kind of way. www.130q.com

Ms. Wood, clearly vying for a "Mighty Aphrodite"-era Mira Sorvino Oscar nod, does better-than-expected in a difficult role. Her Melodie St. Ann Celestine is a dim Mississippian bulb. She takes relentless verbal abuse from Boris, but her unwavering Southern warmth acts as a shield. Her character may be annoyingly slow, but she is definitely a character.

As you might expect, over the course of the film Boris and Melodie become an item. Seeing yet another May-December wish-fulfillment relationship in a Woody Allen movie is undeniably distracting. That it's treated with almost Disney-esque modesty (not even an on-screen hug is exchanged) makes it even more so - as if not addressing the uality of their relationship (aside from one throwaway Viagra joke) makes it any less troubling (this from a man who's been in psychoanalysis for 40 years).

Regardless of that awkwardness, there are still some moments of classic Allen in the film - as in a discussion around God's uality ("he's a decorator!"). And after spending some time overseas ("Match Point", "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"), it's good to have New York's most prolific director back in his hometown. Though "Whatever" doesn't stand up against his best, it's a reminder that Mr. Allen can still deliver laughs. They can't all be gems, but hey, whatever works.

《管用就好》让伍迪•艾伦离奥斯卡越来越远  
在电影《管用就好》中，事业失败，婚姻失败，甚至自杀也尾随的博耶斯•叶尼科夫是这个世界上最为古怪的人，没有人受得了他那没完没了的唠叨，总是喋喋不休的抱怨这抱怨那。而实际上作为一名物理学家他也曾接近过诺贝尔的高峰，不过现在他只有整天对着一些跟他学棋的孩子们撒气。然而，没想到如此性格古怪孤僻的老头有一天也交上了桃花运，和一个来自南方的女孩坠入情网。尽管这多少给他的生活中带来了乐趣，但同时那女孩的一对活宝父母却也让他头疼不已，这会古怪的老头总算是棋逢对手了……
 

纽约的话痨老愤青邂逅南部出身的少女及其父母，从而展开一连串情感波澜的《管用就好》（Whatever Works）媒体综评44分（Yahoo方面为C+，烂番茄网站新鲜度46%：22票支持∶26票反对），否定意见占据主流。“新鲜感、原创性皆无，伍迪•艾伦一次失败的自我克隆！”、“偶有愉快的场面跳出，但更多时候死气沉沉，整体的幽默水平在艾伦作品中也属于比较浅薄的一档”、“登场人物魅力不足，故事也缺乏冲击力和个性，很明显剧本要为此负全责——70年代的背景，仅仅起到了让作品化腐朽的作用，没有什么神奇可言！”、“好容易久违地回到了纽约，艾伦却没能捕捉到家乡父老应有的魅力”……。媒体对两位主演拉瑞•大卫、埃文•蕾切尔•伍德的表现鲜有言及；而尽管帕特雷西亚•克拉克森收获了一部分溢美之词，但征战奥斯卡最佳女配角奖的把握仍远远低于预期。
 

本片就算是以科学怪大叔为主角，却还是离不开爱情的主打，在采访中伍迪•艾伦本人说本片依旧是他非常经典的风格但是同时却又不同于任何他以往的作品——究竟作品怎样不同，老爷子倒是没有直说，意思就是要大家买票自己去看。这个关子卖的虽然很简单，但毕竟这是伍迪•艾伦他老人家的作品，总还是让人心里有些惦记。不过，就从外观来看本片应该不会与伍迪•艾伦以往风格有太多的改动，就算影片中有一个古怪大叔，依然隐藏不了影片爱情喜剧的本质。不过，也就像本片片名所透露出来的意思一样，伍迪•艾伦也许就是要告诉我们“招不在新，管用就好”，一种风格走到底也不是什么坏事。影片在纽约翠贝卡电影节上的亮相引来了媒体一致的好评，各方口碑都是不错，看来伍迪•艾伦这步棋走的还是不错。
 
本片的拍摄完全在纽约进行，似乎伍迪•艾伦在解构了巴塞罗那、伦敦，游历了欧洲之后已经开始怀念起了曼哈顿，意欲回归。不过，看上去这只是其欧洲行的一个小插曲，因为接下来伍迪•艾伦已经招来了尼克•基德曼，奈欧米•瓦茨，乔什•布罗林和安东尼•霍普金斯一干偶像实力派打算继续在伦敦展开他的爱情故事。关于该片的具体情况还没有太多曝光，不过从目前这个全明星阵容中也可以看出，他这次是准备大干一场了。如此一来，不禁让人联想难道在本片中伍迪•艾伦是醉翁之意不在酒，为下一部影片磨刀练才是其真正目的？

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