A struggling playwright wants to direct his own play because he believes he's an artist, with a capital A, and is convinced that his previous plays didn't succeed because their directors have butchered his genius words. Unfortunately, the only way for him to get funded is to accept money from a mobster, who in turn demands that his empty-headed girlfriend gets a role in the play. The said girlfriend is of course shrill-voiced, opinionated, utterly talentless and kind of lazy. But then it turns out that the hapless gangster conscripted to guard the girlfriend has a way with words and play scenes. A talent even he didn't know he had.
It's an odd scenario for a movie, but director Woody Allen makes it work. I've always liked movies that are about making movies, or in this case theatre plays, because they're such fascinating windows into the business that gives us the stuff dreams are made of. This film being no exception. It's full of glamorous actors, empty stages, rehearsals, costumes, scripts and playwrights. But thrown into the mix are gangsters, which makes the film rather unique. It has a spin of its own.
It's also the best Woody Allen film I've seen so far. I have not seen many of them and certainly none of his classics, but so far his style has seemed a bit contrived. Like he's talking about something he doesn't quite understand, or understands incorrectly. But in this I totally buy that he's talking from his heart. He knows and breathes this world. All its upsides and downsides.
Definitely a film worth checking out for all those that find the premise interesting or are just interested in theatre as a way of life.
It's an odd scenario for a movie, but director Woody Allen makes it work. I've always liked movies that are about making movies, or in this case theatre plays, because they're such fascinating windows into the business that gives us the stuff dreams are made of. This film being no exception. It's full of glamorous actors, empty stages, rehearsals, costumes, scripts and playwrights. But thrown into the mix are gangsters, which makes the film rather unique. It has a spin of its own.
It's also the best Woody Allen film I've seen so far. I have not seen many of them and certainly none of his classics, but so far his style has seemed a bit contrived. Like he's talking about something he doesn't quite understand, or understands incorrectly. But in this I totally buy that he's talking from his heart. He knows and breathes this world. All its upsides and downsides.
Definitely a film worth checking out for all those that find the premise interesting or are just interested in theatre as a way of life.