Let's Talk About Woody Allen's 'Scoop'

Just got back from my local artfagboner theater from seeing this and really enjoyed it. It's a solid light viewing that is enjoyable and funny with a plot that's pretty engaging if not slightly predictable. Based on the 5 or 6 late period Allen movies (Let's say the ones made in the last ten years) I've seen this is probably one of the better ones. Even for people who don't really like Allen as a character could probably enjoy this despite Allen being in it and playing his typical anxious eccentric. But I would definitely recommend it for Allen fans. (Edit: You know what, I take that back. This movie doesn't rank with his early great movies, and that seems to overly-bother the film geeks/critics)

It's not a great movie in really any sense, which is why I think it's getting fairly stagnent reviews, but it's fun and enjoyable, and that's fine by me.

How much work does Scarlett Johansen's breasts get? Because that's the most important thing.

There's one scene in which she wears a tight one piece bathing suit which raised "eyebrows"

I haven't seen Scoop, but since Match Point was solid and he hasn't made a great comedy since Deconstructing Harry, he should probably stick to drama. But I'll watch whatever he puts out and will try to catch Scoop this week.

I really love Woody Allen, and I'm definitely going to see this, but it doesn't look very interesting to me. I think I would probably have to view any film featuring Scarlett Johanson in a wet swim suit, so hopefully the bonus will be that it is a decent Woody Allen flick.

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Originally Posted by Kinopio

I haven't seen Scoop, but since Match Point was solid and he hasn't made a great comedy since Deconstructing Harry, he should probably stick to drama. But I'll watch whatever he puts out and will try to catch Scoop this week.

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I agree with this.

I was pretty jazzed considering how good Match Point was and that Scoop's billed as a murder mystery/romantic comedy (Manhattan Murder Mystery's my favorite WA film). I might see it tomorrow, though after seeing the trailers I lowered my expectations.

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Originally Posted by Kinopio

I haven't seen Scoop, but since Match Point was solid and he hasn't made a great comedy since Deconstructing Harry, he should probably stick to drama. But I'll watch whatever he puts out and will try to catch Scoop this week.

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He's in a weird limbo. He hasn't sustained a comedy for its entire length in years (last movie that really wowed me was Bullets Over Broadway) but he also has a pretty bad track record with straight dramas.

I was interested in this film, but most critics are saying that he's already done much better with this same concept in the past. I guess Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansen are the big draws on this one for people unfamiliar with Woody's work.

The critics seem to be overly film-snobish on this movie and comparing it to Allen's more successful comedies and marking this movie down because of it, which is really just bad critiquing imo. Just look at this movie by itself and it's an enjoyable, funny, light movie. Comparing it to previous work belongs in a film paper, not a movie review.

I'm still going to see it -- I'd rather be the judge of it for myself. I see a lot of the Allenites criticizing it based on old movies as a fundamental flaw in their review system too. I'm not a huge Woody Allen buff so I doubt any of their hang ups will matter much to me anyway, even if they were valid arguements.

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Originally Posted by Sqoon

He's in a weird limbo. He hasn't sustained a comedy for its entire length in years (last movie that really wowed me was Bullets Over Broadway) but he also has a pretty bad track record with straight dramas.

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I think he has made some great straight dramas. Of the 6 or so I'd classify as such, I'd say only September isn't good. he is at his best when its mostly drama with a bit of comedy, such as Stardust Memories (hit best film), Manhattan, or Crimes and Misdemeanors. For the remainder of his career I'd like to see him stay mostly with this style.