Review of Whatever Works (2009) by Ma?A N — 28 Sep 2010

CONTAINS ONE SMALL SPOILER.

I loved this movie, BUT, watching Whatever Works for the first time, you might be forgiven for often getting a feeling of déjà vue: the movie is a textbook Woody Allen rom com.

A pessimistic, death-obsessed, misanthropic, intellectual hypocondriac (Boris, played by Larry David) meets a beautiful but somewhat naive woman that is much younger than he is (Melody, played by Evan Rachel Wood). Melody forces herself into Boris' life, ignoring his protests. Boris loudly and constantly proclaims his contempt for what he considers to be Melody's inferior intellect, and sets out to "educate" her, à la Henry Higgins. She develops a crush on him, mistaking his pessimism for wisdom. At first, Boris tries to talk Melodie out of her infatuation, but after a while he starts to reciprocate. After this, despite a couple of surprises (for example, Melodie's mother showing up at Boris' doorstep), the plot continues to procede fairly predictably.

But that's not it. Bits and pieces here and there are strikingly similar to bits and pieces from other Woody Allen movies: for example, the scene(s) in which Boris runs out of his bedroom and down a flight of stairs in the middle of the night, covered in sweat and panicking about death, is basically lifted from Hannah and Her Sisters. Or, just as in Hannah and Her Sisters Woody Allen's death-fearing character finds solace from Marx Brothers movies, Boris is soothed by watching Fred Astaire on the tv. Boris' monologues on the state of the universe are a re-hash of other monologues in Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah and Her Sisters. And, of course, the music throughout is mainly jazz, by turns upbeat and sweet.

Another problem with this movie is that, whatever emotion Boris is supposed to feel, there is always a little smirk waiting to manifest itself on David's face, which obviously isn't a sign of great acting.

AND YET, and yet, Whatever Works deserves an 80% rating. It is often very funny, with exchanges like.

Melody: He caught the biggest catfish in Plaquemin County.

Boris: I was wondering who'd caught that catfish...

Or.

Boris: I'M DYING! I'M DYING!

Jessica: Should I call an ambulance?

Boris: No, not now! No, not tonight, I mean eventually!

Patricia Clarkson is great fun as Melodie's mother, and Evan Rachel Wood is luminous. Woody Allen was also probably aware of the fact that he'd done it all before, and the script has the characters baldly saying stuff like "The shrink says that the guns were a manifestation of my sexual inadequacy" and "I'm very romantic by nature".

Most importantly, however, Whatever Works is heartwarming. Towards the end, Boris goes on a hilarious rant against It's a Wonderful Life, and it occurred to me that Whatever Works has a similar inspirational quality. Or, at least, at the end of it, I was (still am) in a wonderful mood, and, as corny as it sounds, filled with a renewed enthusiasm for life. So what if we've seen it all before? The movie does its job well, and in the end that is all that matters.