Review of Mighty Aphrodite (1995) by Harry W — 20 Apr 2014

As Mighty Aphrodite is one of the Academy Award winning films from Woody Allen for its performance from Mira Sorvino, it sounded promising.

Like pretty much all of Woody Allen's films, especially ones that feature him playing the lead role, Mighty Aphrodite doesn't break much new ground. It follows a rather formulaic story path and plays on some of the same basic jokes that audiences will have come to expect from him since he has been making them in films for so long. This proves to be both the positive and negative element of Mighty Aphrodite, because I found that the jokes weren't that new and lacked originality, yet some were still quite funny over the course of Mighty Aphrodite's 95 minute running time.

As a whole, Mighty Aphrodite is an inconsistent but effective comedy. The material doesn't touch upon all that much fresh territory for a Woody Allen film, and the way that it follows a storyline while randomly cutting to scenes featuring a Greek chorus which doesn't seem to really add much at all to the film. It certainly didn't make the experience much funnier or intelligent, it was just utterly random. I guess the randomness of the situation is what Woody Allen is all about, but this particular elements was one of the lesser qualities of his writing.

The story in Mighty Aphrodite follows the same kind of path that many Woody Allen films do in that it is very thin and that the importance comes more from the characters and the script than the plot dynamics. That proves to be a successful case in Mighty Aphrodite because the screenplay touches on its subject matter in a fairly effective manner which is lightly humourous enough to be a source of firm entertainment. Woody Allen writes in a lot of strong characters and fairly funny dialogue which allows Mighty Aphrodite to naturally develop, and at a gentle pace that is exactly what it does. It develops into a somewhat predictable yet thoughtful film, and above all it is entertaining.

So although facing a basic story, Mighty Aphrodite builds its success off a strong script, and the cast members manage to do the same which makes Mighty Aphrodite a memorable feature. And his role as director ensures that it gets the best treatment that it deserves.

Woody Allen's lead performance in Mighty Aphrodite is a fairly routine one, but he steps into the lead role with natural ease and manages to deliver his lines with a fairly well executed neurotic comedy charisma. His best quality in Mighty Aphrodite is the way that he interacts with the surrounding cast because while he isn't a new character, everybody else is and it ends up creating some fairly humourous situations which he manages to capitalise on. As he has written the role for himself, Woody Allen tackles the lead role fairly effectively in Mighty Aphrodite so that the material stays true to its roots and maintains his iconic style of humour, and it results in some fairly effective comic entertainment.

Mira Sorvino is undeniably the standout effort in Mighty Aphrodite. As her character Linda Ash is a prostitute and part-time porn star, it is easy to assume that she is going to be a sleazy character in a run down apartment. Instead, she is a charming and lovable yet ditzy woman facing challenges in her career and is just way too likable. She characterises Linda Ash in a manner similar to Marilyn Monroe's famous performance in The Seven Year Itch, and in that manner she manages to create an attractive and easily lovable character who isn't the brightest but creates a lot of charm thanks to Mira Sorvino's natural comedic charisma and voice articulation. She takes on the role with ease and creates a comedic chemistry with Woody Allen, and there isn't a second where her line delivery is the slightest bit ineffective. Mira Sorvino gives one of the best female performances in Woody Allen's many films, nad it is really not surprising that she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her effort because her naturally hilarious nature and genial presence is unforgettable. Mira Sorvino proves what being a hilarious actress is all about in her performance as the ditzy prostitute with a heart of gold, and the character is one of Woody Allen's finest creations.

Helena Bonham Carter is en excellent English actress who is known to tackle many high-profile character roles such as her work with Tim Burton, so to see her in a significantly more down to earth performance which simply requires her skills not as a character actress but simply as a good actress is refreshing. In a down to earth and simple film like Mighty Aphrodite, Helena Bonham Carter proves how well she works as an actress when facing simple material which proves to be entertaining. Seeing her so down to earth and taking on the archetype of a female character created by Woody Allen is refreshing since it reminds us of her versatility as an actress, so she makes a refreshing addition to the cast in Mighty Aphrodite and shares a realistic chemistry with Woody Allen which makes them thoroughly convincing as a married couple.

Peter Weller's small supporting performance was good as well simply because he was naturally able to work with the dramatic material of Mighty Aphrodite with ease and create an effective chemistry with Helena Bonham Carter.

Lastly, although I wasn't such a fan of the addition of the Greek Chorus to the story, I felt that F. Murray Abraham's performance as the lead of the Greek Chorus was a nice touch because seeing the Academy Award winning actor decked out in makeup and randomly shouting a narration that broke the fourth wall at audiences was a decent comedic touch to Mighty Aphrodite. He took on his part with ease and it paid off to have him casted.

So although it isn't Woody Allen's finest work, Mighty Aphrodite rides a decent script and talented cast, particularly the hilarious Academy Award winning performance of Mira Sorvino to a point where it becomes a mostly successful comedy.