Scoop, de Woody Allen

I just had my annual dose of black screen and white letter titles: 'Casting Juliet Taylor', 'Executive producers Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe'. Long story short, I just saw the latest Woody Allen. Some years ago the Woody Allen Day was most loved annual ritual, and I always managed to see it on the release day. But then I was disappointed lately. Anything Else was his worst film ever, and Match Point was worse. At least Anything Else was weak in a Woody Allen way; Match Point had almost nothing of the things I love in his work, and was simply boring.

So after several successive disappointments in recent years, I was not too keen on a new London-based film, with watch-my-tits what-s-her-name in the starring role. I was even contemplating boycot, can you imagine.

But finally I saw it and pheww! I enjoyed it. Good old uncle Woody is back with a vengeance in this smart funny crime comedy with lots of silly Jewish one-liners in it ('I was raised in the Hebraic religion and then I converted to Narcissism').

Magic is back and I love this theme in Allen's films and plays (The floating light bulb). Woody is visibly having a lot of fun playing a magician again. Actually you may know that being a movie director was only Woody's third favourite career choice. He became a director because he was not good enough as a magician and too clumsy for base ball.

What about little Scarlett? Well she is not as good and funny as Diane Keaton (or Mira Sorvino or Judy Davis or Diane Wiest), but she does the trick being super cute (and more convincing at it than in the femme fatale role of Match Play). Take a gorgeous young women and put glasses on her nose, and you get an adorable blonde kid; Woody just applied the Marylin recipe.

So how does this film rank in Allen's filmography (I don't like this word but cannot find another one right now)? OF COURSE it is far from being one of his great films and in fact it is increasingly unlikely he'll do one masterpiece again before he dies, but I am happy enough if he can give us a smart entertaining comedy like that every year.

At the same time, I feel a bit sad at the idea of a 70-year-old migrant worker. It is a pity that the Brooklyn-born had to leave Manhattan and go to Kensington to beg for new financing and pay his new baby star - maybe he is doing her - the old fool. The lonely grumpy greying magician lost in translation in Kensington and driving on the wrong side, is uncle Woody.