“These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty”
I guess this is a long time coming. In a way, it only seems natural. Back in the late ’80’s Larry David had two tiny bit-roles in a couple of Woody Allen movies (Radio Days and the “Oedipus Wrecks” segment of New York Stories); then there were the Allen influences in Seinfeld. Not to mention, at this point I think it’s safe to say that David and Allen are the two most famous New York-Jewish-neurotic comedians out there. So is the fact that Larry will be starring in Woody’s latest really any big surprise?
It’s called Whatever Works (premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival the end of this month, elsewhere on June 19), and right now the details for it are pretty slim. It’s marketed as a “romance comedy” but considering that, in one way or another, almost all of Woody’s movies are romance comedies, that doesn’t really mean much. It’s more just a matter of whether it will be a packed comedy, like a The Purple Rose of Cairo, or a fun but airy one, like a Scoop.
I won’t lie: Woody Allen’s among my top favorite directors, and I’ve seen every episode of Curb–but I’m hesitant to get too excited about this release. Something about it just seems weird, imagining Woody’s words coming out of Larry’s mouth, the possibility of Larry David being a romantic lead. But, that may just be me counteracting my enthusiasm so that I don’t get over-excited then feel let down. Becuase after all, Woody’s not exactly Cary Grant, either–but he knows how to make that work for him in his romantic roles. He knows what he’s doing. After making roughly 40 movies-most of which I do like–I’m more than willing to trust him.
Apparantly David’s going to be somewhat involved with the young Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler), but even better is the presence of Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent, Six Feet Under)–who Allen worked with in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, and who really does deserve to be more of a leading force.
What kills me is that Woody Allen’s movies are constantly only in limited release when they come out these days (available just in big cities and art house theaters), being snuffed out by bigger Hollywood flicks like Fast & Furious or Paul Blart: Mall Cop (which is still lingering around since Jan. 16). Woody Allen films used to be an event–now you’re lucky if you can catch one on the big screen. And in the past few years, with stylish and powerful releases like Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona, he’s more than proving he’s still got it. If you see this film on a theater’s marquee, don’t pass it up. It probably won’t be there for long.
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 5th, 2009 at 4:01 pm and is filed under film, trailers/news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
