Review of Café Society (2016) by Mark C — 15 May 2016

We dreamt that Woody could come back home and fly to the stars.That he could finally succeed in his psychoanalysis on stage with us as spectators. We knew he could take off in Paris Rome,Venice, and Barcelona.

And make a wonderful match point and scoop around a labyrinth in England. But we wanted him to not just dream but flourish back home. His flying now is between New York and Los Angeles. And his first flight with Blue Jasmine is gripping, intense and strong.

But this time we get stuck in banality after this marvelous opening where he refuses sex for love. His Nebraska lovely is better than anything since Dorothy from Kansas. But then....we're plunged down into the mundane world that extends from one Hollywood swimming pool to a New York night club with stops in one bronx apartment.

What's sad is that his sad Jewish family is presented with each character talking like Woody, not just Bobby Doorman, but without humor; Four ok jokes and that's it. Family, dad and mom, brother and sister, real bad brother, all are at the same cadence, no nuance and not fun.

Ok, have a baby while you're not having fun. So...where does this add up. That Bobby and Vonnie can't be together. The great consolation is shots of a sunset in Manhattan and a New Year's party, where the two can dream and be sad that they they're just ok when they dream.

I'm sad trhat Woody's come to this. I wish he could have really been the man back home to love and be loved after having been forced to have Vickie Barcelona fall into the arms of the most anti Woody character ever.