Review of Blue Jasmine (2013) by Joel M — 24 Feb 2014

Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine" is more than a witty comedic diamond in the rough, it is one of his best films. Yep, that is True Blue! Cate Blanchett sparkles as Jasmine, a former New York wealthy socialite who hits "blue Jasmine" rock bottom when her conniving adulteress husband Hal is imprisoned for his Bernie Madoff-like white collar crimes. Without a dollar to her name, Jasmine reaches out to her working class sister Ginger in San Francisco to stay with while she gets herself back on her feet again. The problem is that Jasmine is dealing with some mental issues, most notably seen in her self-talk behaviors. Love him or hate him in his personal life, but one thing for sure is that Woody Allen can never be charged for lack of filmmaking ingenuity; as he has orchestrated and scribed another great movie embodied with authentic neurosis, anxiety, and personality in its magnetic narrative and character development. Blanchett's stirring starring performance as Jasmine is deserving of all the critical & award praise it has received. Sally Hawkins was no "white Hawk down" herself with her marvelous performance as Ginger. Hickory Hickory Dock, an 80's comedian's acting work was worth a million bucks. Yes, I am referring to Andrew Dice Clay who out of nowhere put up a great supporting show with his work here as Ginger's revenge-seeking ex-hubby Augie. The extremely underrated Bobby Cannavale was spectacular as Ginger's smothering boyfriend Chili; it was a travesty that he did not get more supporting actor recognition love during award season, yea I know I should just take a "chil pill" and deal with it. Other notable supporting performances were soundly delivered by Peter Sarsgaard as a Jasmine love interest, and Alec Baldwin as the pompous Hal. So go blue, and take your blues away with a "Blue Jasmine" screening.

**** Excellent.