Review of What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966) by Jennifer D — 04 Oct 2009

Woody Allen's directorial debut (sort of), What's Up, Tiger Lily? is an actual Japanese spy movie re-edited and re-dubbed by Allen and friends (and then, to be fair, further reworked by the studio).

There's no way to watch the movie and not think of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and that doesn't help Tiger Lily, whose hit-to-miss gag ratio is decidedly lower than even weak episodes of MST3k.

There are moments of pure brilliance and silliness throughout, and while watching, I was actually pretty impressed with Allen's ability to essentially rewrite a story that accommodated all the footage.

The problem, though, is that the film just doesn't hold together well. Some funny gags here and there can't make up for some really flat scenes and a sense of pacing that makes an 80-minute film drag on and on.

It's not a complete waste of time, and I fully admit that there are some great bits here, but it's more interesting as a window into Allen or an inspiration for MST3k than as a film of its own.