| SCOOP |
 2006 - USADirector: Woody Allen
- Reviewed by Vickie
Johansson channels Allen, both in mannerisms and speech cadence, to play college-paper reporter Sondra Pransky, a plucky scribe who finds herself with the scoop of a lifetime on her inexperienced hands. See, on a boat ride across the river Styx towards the afterlife, the ghost of recently deceased, renowned journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) comes upon possibly damning evidence linking high-profile aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman) to a series of London murders committed by someone nicknamed “The Tarot Card Killer.” What’s a dead guy to do with such juicy dirt? Seek out a receptacle for the information and hope that someone in the land of the living breaks the big story, that's what. That receptacle turns out to be Sondra, who “meets” Joe’s ghost when she’s selected for an otherwise uneventful disappearing-lady trick being performed by nebbish magician Splendini—aka Sid Waterman (Allen). Sondra steps in to the box, Joe’s ghost passes on the incriminating intel and Sondra emerges with a murder mystery to solve. She quickly teams with a very reluctant Sid to crack the case by getting close to, and eventually falling for, Lyman. Soon, the two bumbling would-be private eyes are getting mixed up in all sorts of hijinks, but is Lyman really a homicidal hunk? And, if he isn’t, who is? Scoop is light and breezy and fun enough, but not completely satisfying or remarkable. Johansson isn’t entirely convincing as a stammering, bespectacled co-ed, and some of the scenes between her character and Sid come off as almost mimicry. It was a bit like watching Woody Allen going toe-to-toe with a (female) Woody Allen impersonator, and I wasn’t sold. Allen, too, isn’t as good as he has been in past projects—Sid does have several moments of neurotic greatness in the film, but is overall kind of annoying with his repetitive dialogue (funny the first couple of times but then tiresome) and inexplicable interest in the case. Jackman is oddly wooden and uninteresting as the object of Sondra’s affection—especially since he may be a serial murderer—and the fact that the two of them look like father and daughter (instead of lovers) makes some of their scenes together kind of weird. The most interesting fellow in the entire story is Joe Strombel, but McShane is relegated to a handful of “appearances” sprinkled throughout and that’s that. Too bad. I can’t really bring myself to give this movie any more than five slices. It was okay, but not great and certainly not Allen’s best work. The story is halfway engaging but contrived, and the performances are uneven. But, if you’re trapped in a heat wave and looking for something light to pass the time, it’s a decent alternative to baking in the sun. |
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Scarlett Johansson once again teams with Woody Allen but, unlike their
first film together—last year’s moody thriller 