Whatever Works

Woody Allen.  You always know what to expect, but you never know what you’re going to get.  Here we have the septuagenarian auteur at it again, this time with Larry David (creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Evan Rachel Wood, among others, all of whom are fantastic.  The writing is so self-aware as to be narcissistic, but it works.  It is also very audience-aware, in a kind of comically tragic way, but this works too.  Woody knows what he’s doing.  And in this movie, we get to see that he probably knows what he’s talking about, too.

In Whatever Works, Yellnikoff, a stereotypical, cynical, soi-disant misunderstood genius, who “sees the big picture,” meets Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a country-fried, stereotypical, Louisiana Southerner.  These two stereotypes live together for what Yellnikoff foresees as a short amount of time…like days.  But Melody ends up staying for a bit longer…like years.  They each learn something from one another, and despite their difference, it does seem to, well, work.  After a time, however, Melody’s Mom shows up.  Who changes.  A lot.  Then her Dad shows up.  And he does too.  These minor characters are important, but only as a means to an end.

Yellnikoff’s cynicism is typical of Woody Allen’s writing: his anti-religious humor, existentialist banter, and world-is-meaningless hullabaloo.  But: it works.  Yellnikoff is, indeed, a caricature.  So is Melody.  So is everyone else in the film, all things considered.  But it works.  Woody Allen is, I think, trying to show the truth in stereotypes.  There is profound meaning in cliches, which, according to Yellnikoff are both wretched and sometimes “the best way to make one’s point.”  Stereotypes and cliches: each has been so true for so long that we forget they really exist, that they really do speak a kind of language we all understand and even enjoy.  A cliche is, after all, just another pejorative for “truism.”

In the midst of all of Woody’s lifelong existential crisis which pervades so many of his films, we discover something new.  We meet an old friend for the very first time.  Woody Allen is, I think, a genius.  His films are pictures of the world we live in, seen from the angle of someone who probably does see the “big picture,” and is trying to show the rest of us a glimpse of it.  There is beauty in the world, but there is finitude; there is joy, but sometimes it seems like nothing matters; there is love, but sometimes we just don’t know where to find it.  In yet another great movie, Woody Allen shows us these things and more.

It’s at turns hilarious, insightful, and classic Woody.  It isn’t his best, but you should see it if you get the chance.  Because it works.  It most definitely works.

Rating: 3/4 Stars