Whatever Works

Welcome back, Woody Allen. Sort of. After an extended stay in Europe (where he toiled with a nonsensical suspense tale in Match Point and a flatlining mess of sexual adventures in Vicky Cristina Barcelona), the sometimes brilliant, lately lackadaisical filmmaker has returned to his roots with the New York-set movie Whatever Works. And while Allen's latest is not a masterpiece by any means, at least this light and fruitful flick boasts an engaging display of the usual Woody Allen wit. Playfully comical and acceptably silly, Whatever Works is an enjoyable return to form for a man who so recently seemed to have lost his ability to entertain.

At his best, Allen's most impressive talents lie in his usually sharp writing and the expert casts he collects to deliver his lines. But during his time in Europe, he picked up husky-voiced Scarlett Johansson and talk of a new onscreen Allen muse began to swirl. Except that Johansson possesses none of the big-screen talent that could be claimed by supposed past muses Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow. When coupled with Allen's newly designed narrative approach in Match Point, Johansson's presence began to eat up one of the main things that a Woody Allen movie offers: delicious acting. That new writing style and suddenly uninteresting cast (Match Point's Jonathon Rhys Meyers wasn't particularly good, either) made me fear that Allen was on an unstoppable tumble down a slippery slope.

But just when I've written off any hope of another watchable Woody Allen movie, along comes Whatever Works to remind me why Allen has been such an intriguing and exciting voice in American cinema for so long. Here, he has once again found his imaginative wit in the form of some memorable, humorous dialogue and he has once again gathered a promising cast to bring his words to life. The characters all feel like they've been borrowed from past Allen movies, but at the very least, Allen gives them room to move and grow in their temporary, fictional skins.

Almost all of Allen's movies need a Woody Allen character, who is often played by Allen himself. But every now and then, he finds an actor who can embody the traits and overall attitude that is required of such a neurotic being. Kenneth Branagh did a great Woody Allen impersonation in Celebrity and now Allen has found another man to unleash his onscreen persona upon a suspecting audience. Larry David (the star of Curb Your Enthusiasm and co-creator of Seinfeld, aka the Funniest Thing Ever) plays Boris Yellnikoff, a retired physicist who spends his days complaining about mankind to his few friends and angrily teaching children how to play chess.

Boris is just Allen without the glasses, a neurotic curmudgeon who insists on reminding everyone around him that he is the smartest person in the room. Early on in the movie, he remarks that he is not a likable guy, but in his own strange and quirky way, he kind of is. Boris's frustrations and mean jokes directed at everyone and everything feel entirely believable and the honesty with which he delivers each line prevents Boris from becoming an inhuman robot. So with David on board and Allen's fun and wacky dialogue pouring from Boris's lips, Whatever Works already has a few more things going for it than much of Allen's most recent work.

But the fun is only amplified when talented young actress Evan Rachel Wood shows up as a southern girl on the run from her deeply religious parents. Wood is just following in the footsteps of so many other young actresses who have been given the opportunity to shine in a Woody Allen movie. In fact, her character has far too much in common with the Mira Sorvino character in Allen's Mighty Aphrodite to be considered entirely original. But Wood makes the most of the role and appears to have a great time doing it, which translates to good fun on the big screen.

Joining Wood is the supremely talented Patricia Clarkson, who has far more to do here than she did in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Clarkson's character undergoes a transformation that recognizably belongs in the usual Woody Allen world and feels relatively stale in the grand scheme of Allen's plans. But while the change may fall flat on paper, Clarkson makes it sparkle with her glowing performance.

As is the case with so much of Allen's work, the plot is nearly nonexistent and the tone is a carbon copy of so many past efforts. The movie's joys come in the form of the dialogue and the solid performances and everything else is simply supporting those two elements. Allen plays a little with the narrative perspective by having Boris occasionally break the fourth wall and speak directly to the audience, which results in a few very funny moments. But for anyone who has seen a handful of Allen's work before, Whatever Works will feel entirely familiar and wholly unoriginal.

For me, the ease and simplicity with which this movie moves is not enough to get me up on my feet and cheering enthusiastically, but it is just enough to remind me what makes Woody Allen so special. Considering how much I have despised some of his recent work, that kind of praise will have to suffice. As for what seems to have reinvigorated his talent, I guess Woody Allen just missed New York. It's good to have him back.