Amazon.com

The Lion King 1½ is an ingenious sequel that retells the original film's story from the perspective of best pals Timon the meerkat (voiced by Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa the warthog (Ernie Sabella). Anyone who has wondered how this odd couple met will find out here, beginning with Timon's flight from home following disgrace and his chance encounter with the sweet but lonely Pumbaa. With the arrival of young Simba (Shaun Flemming), The Lion King'sfamiliar tale is reborn via a fresh angle, fleshed out by returning characters Rafiki the wise monkey (Robert Guillaume), Shenzi (Whoopi Goldberg), and Simba's love interest, Nala (Moira Kelly). While the retooled narrative proves a novel experience, The Lion King 1½ is really a vehicle for voice actors Lane and Sabella, whose comic performances are shamelessly, broadly funny. Matthew Broderick, Julie Kavner, and Jerry Stiller are also in the vocal cast. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (101)

Surprisingly good direct-to-video release from Disney
We're all aware that not much can compare to the original Lion King film. The animation, songs, voices...everything just perfection. However, as an ardent fan of the film, and in particular Timon and Pumbaa, this was snapped up as soon it went on sale - and boy, what a nice surprise! A direct to video release that's actually decent!

This film is much of an improvement on the first "sequel". Simba's Pride just didn't hold any of the magic of the original story - and barely held my attention for one showing before being put onto the shelf to get dusty. I was immediately more interested in this film as I thought it's premise held much more entertainment quality. "Yeah, I'd like to see how everything was through Timon and Pumbaa's eyes" I thought, and I wasn't to be disappointed.

We're originally transported back to Timon's younger days to see why he came to team up with Pumbaa. It's dealt with very wittily, yet with enough warmth that you actually do care what happens to all involved. We're shown how Timon and Pumbaa meet, and how they embark on their quest for "Hakuna Matata". Much comedy ensues, with a revealing insight into the original film's events. Why do the animals bow at Simba's presentation at Pride Rock? Why does everyone fall over at the end of "I Just Can't Wait To Be King?" Watch to find out. Having eventually found their perfect home, their meeting with Simba is retold and we get to see some of Simba's teenage years - missed out in the original film. (Timon has a wonderful line during a particularly restless night looking after a young Simba - "we're gonna get old walking across this thing". As soon as you hear it you'll know exactly what it's getting at). Next to be dealt with is Simba's reunion with Nala and his trip home to Pride Rock to avenge his father's death. All seen in a new perspective it's all very watchable, even if you are seeing duplicated scenes that occurred in the original movie. The climax again adds more breadth to the original. With Scar and his minions vanquished and order restored in the Pridelands, Timon and Pumbaa settle into their new home with his original meerkat colony who are surprised and impressed with the new "all-action" Timon. This is very much Timon's film, we get to know a lot more about him than Pumbaa and it is Timon that saves the day right at the very end. That's no complaint I would add, after all we heard about some of Pumbaa's woes in the original film 10 years ago.

Disney have done a lot of things right with this film. The original cast (with the exception of Rowan Atkinson as Zazu which consistantly grates with me - he's much missed on the interactive section of the original movie's special edition too) return, and Julie Kavner and Jerry Stiller lend their vocies as Timon's nearest and dearest. Two new, annoyingly catchy songs appear within the first 15 minutes and several songs from the original make welcome returns. This isn't a big long song-fest though, I'm pleased to say. Much as I like the songs Disney movies are famed for, it is nice to give the characters time to speak and flesh themselves out in-between. Lots of scenes from the original appear again, and are interworked with the new animation reasonably well. An interesting twist is that the film is presented as if being viewed by Timon and Pumbaa in a cinema. I have seen a few reviews saying how annoying this is, but I actually find it very funny. The fact that they take shots at scenes which otherwise would be excessively cheesy is very endearing, and of course completely in character.

There are, inevitably bad points. This isn't going straight to video for nothing after all. You certainly need to have watched the original movie and know it well - and you also have to be willing to deconstruct it quite violently too. A lot of those scenes you held dear are made fun of mercilessly. They've generally interworked the timelines between the films very well, but there are a few moments when I thought "that doesn't go". The film is quite short - 72 minutes with lengthy end credits, but it is so fast passed that it seems even shorter to me. It doesn't quite know what age range it is heading for either, there are lots of "kiddie jokes", but also quite witty points that younger children won't necessarily get (I always used to wonder why my Mum insisted on watching Dangermouse with me, it's only now at 24 that I watch it and realise now). Lots of film references too. This isn't too bad in a way, it keeps everyone occupied throughout for different reasons. I'd rent it first if your not sure, but if your a Lion King fan you'll probably end up buying it anyway (you perhaps already have!)

The DVD features I actually find quite disappointing. This is a 2 disc release, and if they'd not put over 10 minutes worth of trailers on the first disc, probably could have been condensed onto one. There are several games for the youngsters including a virtual Safari, Rafiki's Challenge and a "hidden Mickey" hunt throughout the film. There's a supposedly funny "mockumentary" about Timon which I watched in total silence and a 1 minutes "making of..." featurette which I had to turn off half way through out of sheer irritation (not very much info about the film at all - but everyone involved is all certain how great it is). There are some storyboarded deleted scenes, with commentary from the directors as to why they were cut.

Overall, very enjoyable which surprised me greatly and made it even more fun. Don't start comparing to the original as that is pointless. I also don't think this sort of production should be carried on to other Disney films, I don't think it would work. However, the way these particular characters cry out for attention every time they're on screen, it seems fitting to let us find out more about them.

I would have rated this 5 stars but for the DVD "extra's" as the film I cannot fault, both for the entertainment value and the way it tells an unexpectedly heartwarming story without being too cringeworthy

Laugh Out Loud!
I am a semi-serious 7th. But even I had to laugh when I watched this movie!

Basically, the story is about our meerkat friend-Timon! He tells about his story, and also about what he was doing during Simba's adventures. It also explains how Timon and pumbaa met. Brilliant.

Very funny. Timon's reference to, "I see dead people!" was genius, along with the antics of Timon's Ma and Uncle, Max, who nare voiced by Julie Kavner, voice of Marge, I believe, from the Simpsons, and Jerry Stiller, King O' Queens. They both play their parts perfectly, (well, ALMOST) which is refreshing.

Now, about the songs. They are almost as good as the ones from The Lion King I, and better than Lion King II. Hey! 1 1/2!(almost..) Errr... ANYWAY, two songs, Digga Tunnah, and That's All I Need, (written by Sir Elton John) are incredibly catchy. I love 'em all. And ,old timers, you may recognize a couple of songs...

This bathroom humor I've been hearing about, is ... TAME!!! What I mean is, it's a little gross, but not majorly, but is STILL funny!

My only complaints are about the timing of some parts. How could the Hyenas hear Scar betray them if they were busy with Timon and Pumbaa? How could the "Just Can't Wait To Be King" scene happen one day after Simba was born??? Growth spurt? I think not.

Bottom line, watch #1 before 1 1/2. Also, we get to see "teenage" Simba, and an ironic playing of "Sunrise, Sunset..." LOL. I love the Lion King, and I hope you do to. Thanks for reading my review! Peace Out.

Quite a Good Cartoon Movie - for an addon!
OK, let me start off with saying that I love most Disney cartoon movies. The Lion King is one of them... I even memorized almost all Disney cartoon songs...

With that said, I personally find sequels sucky, or decent at most. Pocahontas 2, Cinderella 2, Hunchback 2 - like most movie sequels, they just didnt pull it off...

Surprisingly, Lion King 1 1/2 is much better than most add ons or sequels. Though not part 2(part 2 was released already) is considered a tie-in to the original movie. And it is more of a prequel, which brings you back to the time how Timon left home and how he manage to meet Pumbaa and beyond. The movie got the original casts and the songs were made by Elton John and Tim Rice, which is good to know. Julie Kavner who plays Marge Simpson, plays Timon's mum, and on some moments, she almost sound the same as Marge! The songs are pretty decent, but few.

The story itself got lots of funny moments as well as some dragging parts(for adults). Some of it happens during the Lion King scenes, though in Timon and Pumbaa's perspectives, you can see same scenes(some at different angles) and hear the original parts of songs. And it also adds the missing pieces and loose threads on some parts - with pretty funny moments like why the animals bowed down when Rafiki showed baby Simba to the world; and why the animals fell during the closing of the "I Just Cant Wait To Be King" song.

I will not spoil the movie for you, but do remember that the movie is more based on Timon and Pumbaa than Simba and the rest. So dont expect to see a lot of lions. Also, there is not much of a plot, and as I said, morely to add missing blocks in the original story. This movie's own plot is more based on Timon and how he wanted to find a place where he fits in(just like Hercules, A Bug's Life - Disney seems to encourage unwanted misfits who go famous and heroic). So all in all, DO NOT expect a solid plot or even take this movie in an epic type of way, its more of a comedy version of the Lion King.

The DVD features is not that bad, and it even got lots of deleted scenes and a Hidden Mickey Hunt game(if you have Disney channel, you know that every Disney cartoon movie has one or two) - 10 of them throughout the movie...

I say that this movie is good for Lion King fans, as well as for family viewing. But I recommend you rent this first and see if its worth the collection. Though if you have extra cash, its good to buy this to entertain guests, especially during parties, since this movie is made for home viewing and wasnt released on theatres; and I think kids will love to watch this again and again as adults do chores(the Hidden Mickey Hunt is a reason to watch it many times!).

I give this movie with its DVD contents a 7.5/10.

A Sharp, Clever Follow-up Worthy of the Original
Having had a bad experience with made-for-video Disney sequels before (102 Dalmatians, anyone? Yikes!) I was expecting the worst from this, but my son's such a big Lion King fan that I got it for him anyway. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

The backstory of Timon and Pumba, while a little convoluted, provides the perfect backdrop and explanation of how their paths ended up intersecting with Simba's in the original. As a result, all the "important" events in the original film are cleverly winked at as mere background noise to the oblivious Timon and Pumba. I was reminded of Tom Stoppard's brilliant comedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstein Are Dead, where the 2 least important people in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" take center stage and the tale of the Danish Prince is shoved to the background. In the Lion King 1 1/2, the presenting of the baby Simba is literally stumbled upon by Timon and Pumba, and they have no idea what's going on and shrug off the big crowds and commotion as a total annoyance. It was very funny.

I agree that the ad-libbing was a bit distracting and the songs weren't entirely necessary, especially the meerkat song which is catchy anyway. But the story itself is very smart, and the animation has the nuanced look of the original film, not the technicolor overkill of "Simba's Pride" and the terrible "Timon and Pumba" Saturday morning series. In addition, the DVD itself is chock full of excellent extras, including a few music videos and a "Virtual Safari" that entertained my son for nearly an hour. And the Mickey Hunt is tons of fun as well.

In conclusion, though it's not a masterful effort like the original was, it's probably one of the best, if not the best, straight-to-video sequel Disney's ever put out. You won't regret this one, and it's guaranteed to not collect any dust in your video collection!

Answering the questions you didn't ask.
First of all let me say I love the first Lion King. Its probably my second favorite animated movie after Finding Nemo. That being said I hated this movie. The first Lion King is mostly appropiate for children but has a mature storyline adults can enjoy. The Lion King 1 1/2 is just for kids. Anyone over the age of puberty will find something seriously wrong with this movie. I was also dissipointed with The Lion King 2 Simbas Pride. But at least the movie was decent. At least they tried to make it good. Its like the makers of The Lion King 1 1/2 were trying to make a bad movie. It is the first movie told from the point of view of Timon and Pumba. It tells there story. Is there anyone who cared about there story? Anyone who wondered what they were doing? Not me. I never was at any loss not knowing where they were. Whats next a remake of Tarzan from Terks point of view. It could have been decent if it was done right. It is done horribly. Its really just taking classic moments and loading them with unfunny jokes. It shows that Timon and Pumba were there in all scene of the first Lion King offscreen. Most of these scenes they really don't belong. For example in Simbas birth sequence Pumba farts causing the animals to bow down. Thats right they weren't bowing out of respect for there king is was just farts. Then they walk one day later to the "Can't wait to be king song" that makes no sense. Several dramatic sequences like the "Be Prepared", wildbeast stampeed, "can you feel the love tonight", Simbas fight, all are completly ruined by Timon and Pumba. They don't belong there. It also has annoying silowets of them constant stoping the movie. Movies this bad in a way help you appreciate the greatness of the original masterpeice. My advice to Disney is to stop those darn direct to video sequels. Just leave the classics alone. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

If you love romantic comedies...run.
I am a connoisseur of romantic comedies, and I read and enjoyed the overdone fluff that was Animal Husbandry, so I must say that I was kind of looking forward to seeing Someone Like You. It stared the usually enjoyable Ashley Judd and The Delicious Hugh Jackman, so I couldn't pass it up, right?

The plot is fairly simple: Jane Goodale falls for Ray, Ray dumps Jane after telling her he loves her and wants to move in with here, leaving Jane brokenhearted and without an apartment. Desperate, Jane moves in with Eddie, a chain-smoking womanizer with a GREAT loft. Jane formulates a theory on why men leave women based on observed animal behaviors, called the New Cow Theory. Things with her theory get out of control, and Jane suddenly falls in love with Eddie.

And I do mean SUDDENLY. I'm going to rant a little about this movie's classification as romantic comedy. As anyone who is a fan of the romantic comedy knows, it's code for Modern Day Fairy Tale. It doesn't have to be something that would happen to real people. But if the characters in the movie believe it, it doesn't matter. Let's face it; romantic comedies are not about surprises. They are predictable. We know that the two main characters are going to fall in love and kiss at the end of the movie. This was a movie that was based on a non-romantic comedy, and it shows. Having two people kiss at the end doesn't automatically make it romantic. It's not about the kiss. It's about Everything That Leads to The Kiss. Getting there really is the fun. It's the First Commandment of the romantic comedy. Someone on this project forgot that.

Okay, I'm done.

That said, I should have passed it up. Someone Like You gets off to a bad start, featuring a voice over by Ms. Judd (I warn you, voice-overs are the main mode of plot movement in this flick). It was more than obvious that poor Ashley didn't believe a word she was saying, and that's pretty much what happened through the whole movie. No one was buying into the story, and the romantic leads were all wrong for each other. Judd and Greg Kinnear? Yuck. Of course, I don't like Greg anyway, but still, yuck.

Someone like you isn't ALL bad. It does have its moments. There was, of course, The Delicious Hugh Jackman.. While I am not a die-hard fan of Marisa Tomei (Jane's best friend), I must say that she was done up quite beautifully for her role, and she seems to have toned down her Rosie Perez-esque New Yorker attitude just a touch. There was also one particularly touching scene, following Jane's sister Alice's miscarriage, when Alice's husband came into the hospital room and told Alice that she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. The way they looked at each other...they bought it. And I got teary. To think, the one thing that got me teary was from a subplot that wasn't in the book at all.

So I'm giving Someone Like You three stars: one for The Delicious Hugh Jackman, who is always just plain fun to watch (on so many levels...X-men anyone?); one for Ms. Tomei's well done makeup and wardrobe; and one for the eternally romantic hospital scene. All in all, it's a skipper. I'm glad I rented it first. See Say Anything, When Harry Met Sally, or Notting Hill instead.

Great Movie !!
The film's fresh, funny dialogue packs enough power to keep things interesting. Ashley Judd plays a working woman (Jane Goodall) who falls for a co-worker Ray (Greg Kinnear). The story has been told before...he has a girlfriend and they're having problems. Jane and Ray date and decide to move in together but he starts to push her away and breaks her heart and gets back with his ex. After the devastating end to their relationship Jane begins to develop a thesis that male behavior is directly related to that of wildlife. She studies the tendency for animals to be noncommittal and compares men to bulls, dogs, and other creatures. To prove her theories, she enlists the help of her roommate Eddie (Hugh Jackman),a womanizer who falls into all of the patterns of her research, whom she moves in with after Ray and her breakup. Though the theories she comes up seem to make sense she finds there are real men out there who don't go for the "new cows" and that as Jackman says "Rays not the only man your ever going to love".

Can we say - Character & Relationship Development
I picked this because of Hugh and Ashley. Greg i figured would be the middle guy in this triangle. Ummmm ok next time more Hugh, less Greg and Ashley could be less shrewish. I hated seeing her like that. And how is she in love with Hugh all of a sudden? yes others have said that, glad to see I wasn't the only one thinking "hugh" where did that come from, even though we knew it would be there but come on! Even the obvious has some relationship development. And why did he get all mad at the end? Bizarre!

wasted talent on a wasted story
I thought this might be worth my time given the fact that it had Jackman, Judd, Kinnear and Tomei in the cast. I was wrong.
I found the story to be lame....just too dependable...I give them all credit for holding out for the entire film given the script that they were handed. I found it irritating to have to listen constantly to Judd's ranting about men.....She was involved with a married man HELLO!!!!!.....I find it extremely irritating that someone, like her character, who apparently cannot find someone who is unattached would call every man a waste because the one who she is currently sleeping with will not, for whatever reason, get a new life with her. She needs the reality check, not her dull and duller boyfriend.
Tomei was right when she tells Judd's character that it seems to be always about her. I would second that.
It became immediately apparent to me even before Tomei made the comment.
I am pleased that Jackman apparently has moved on to other things, e.g. SWORDFISH etc. where he can do some serious acting because this one, and KATE AND LEOPOLD, do not qualify in my book.....

Pleasant Romantic Comedy
I found this movie to be very pleasant to watch. I enjoyed the humour and romance that starts somewhere different than you would expect. The entire cast seemed to blend into a heart warming film. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone. ... Read more

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Considered by many to be Woody Allen's best film, even over Annie Hall. Hannah and Her Sisters follows a multitude of characters: Hannah (Mia Farrow), who plays den mother to her extended family; her sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), emotional and a bit of a flake, who's involved with a much older artist (Max Von Sydow), who treats her like a child; and Hannah's other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a neurotic who feels incapable of managing her life. Hannah's husband Elliot (Michael Caine) falls in love with Lee, which sets off a series of upheavals. Allen gives one of his best performances as Hannah's ex-husband Mickey, who--much like Allen himself--is obsessed with death and unhappiness. But a simple summary doesn't begin to capture the warmth and intimacy of this movie; though the story follows a capsizing family, the outcome is surprising, joyous, and richly human. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (53)

The finest film of Allen's notable career
Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters" is the finest of the neurotic writer-director-actor's pictures. His prowess in weaving together complete characters and compelling storylines is as intricate as Altman, as artful as Renoir. Yes, those are "big movie terms," but are warranted in describing this bitersweet marvel.

Allen's command of the medium results in some terrific photographic shots, including the classic "camera-revolving-around-the-table" sequence featuring Hannah (Mia Farrow) and her sisters (Barbara Hershey and dynamite Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest), whose lives all seem to be going through very adult mid-life crises with their husbands, ex-husbands, boyfriends, and families. Michael Caine's work in this film also shines, and Allen himself is in his prime. The ensemble cast in this film creates an atmosphere that has you really believing you're watching friends and family, and not simply actors acting, reciting lines, a problem even the better "ensemble films" often face.

All of the elements in this picture --- cinematography, classic jazz tunes, nearly-musical dialogue --- are on ample display in a film rich with human warmth and big laughs. Although Allen's films are not for all tastes, this is a film that should very easily be enjoyed by nonfans and especially film students who can get a chance to see a virtuoso talent at the top of his form, not conforming by traditional storytelling and filmic norms.

Woody Allen's best and one of my all-time favorite movies...
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS was recommended VERY, VERY highly by a fine arts teacher when it was first released in '86. He couldn't say enough good things about how wonderful the casting, the story and the humor made the movie a real treat. 15 years and at least a couple dozen viewings later, I couldn't agree more.

This movie is like comfort food. I have connected with the characters, Holly in particular (played wonderfully by Dianne Wiest, who won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role)so many times that they are literally like old friends. The themes are common to everyday life and family, which doesn't make them a cliche, but more meaningful every time I watch.

There are moments in the film you can replay in your memory time and again: my favorite is the taxi scene when Holly is ruminating over her awful "date" with her friend April (another great performance by Carrie Fisher) and the architect, David.

I think this is one of the most well-cast films made by anyone, American or foreign directors included. Michael Caine, Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Max von Sydow form a perfectly blended ensemble.

The DVD transfer is of average quality. The picture is crisp enough, but it doesn't look enhanced in the DVD format. It would be nice if the studio had included more than a skimpy essay on the film's production that is included as a two-page liner/note on the inside cover.

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS will make a great holiday gift for everyone, friends and family included this season!

Richly Human
This is a great story about how confusing human relationships can be and how people try to deal with the cards they are dealt in life. It's creative and witty, and don't forget smart!

One of WA's best films ever!

Also recommended: "Take the Money and Run"

Woody At His Best
Both Manhattan and Annie Hall are better movies but nothing beats Hannah for sheer excellence in exploring the mess that is the human heart and mind. Poignant, funny, quirky, and smart as hell. Caine, Farrow, Wiest and all the others deliver perfect performances. This is vintage Allen.

Vintage Allen
Woody Allen has never made a movie appreciably better than 'Hannah.' It may not be his single best (an honor I reserve for 'Manhattan'), but it's on the shortest of short lists.

My favorite moment in the movie, and maybe Allen's most insightful ever, is when neurotic Mickey (played by Allen) bursts out of the hospital, having just learned that he is cancer-free. He leaps and bounds down the street, joy overflowing, until, suddenly, he stops, paralyzed with a newly imagined anxiety. Yes, Mickey was delievered from cancer, but he wasn't delivered from himself. You could look long and hard and never discover another ten seconds of filmmaking that better capture what it means to be human. Life's vicissitudes alternately beat us down and lift us up, but in the end, we always revert to ourselves.

When Woody Allen is at his best, you can't help but feel he's writing about *your* life, or something very close to it. Who hasn't experienced Holly's rejection in romance, Frederick's anguish and regret over squandering a relationship, Elliot's clumsy giddiness as he falls in love, Mickey's obsessive anxiety about death? There's a recognizable moment from my experience in almost every scene.

'Hannah and Her Sisters' also boasts Allen's single-best-ever soundtrack. I dare you to watch this movie and not tap your foot. The soundtrack is not available on CD, so that's one more reason to crack open the DVD for the dozenth time.

If you haven't seen 'Hannah and Her Sisters,' now's the time. If you have, it can't hurt to revisit a bona-fide classic. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Although its tale of marital crisis unfolds a bit too cleanly, A Walkon the Moon--which was coproduced by Dustin Hoffman--offers a welcome relief from the juvenile assault of skull-throbbing blockbusters. The story is gently involving, the characters are authentic, and, best of all, Diane Lane is given a chance to show why she's one of the most genuine and underrated actresses of her generation. Here she plays Pearl Kantrowitz, a devoted housewife on a routine vacation in the Catskills with her TV repairman husband Marty (Liev Schreiber), 14-year-old daughter (Anna Paquin), and rambunctious younger son (TovahFeldshuh).

It's the summer of 1969. Neil Armstrong has made his "one small step for man," Woodstock is about to happen nearby (leading to a barely plausible dramatic coincidence), and while her husband is away on business, Pearl is cautiously receptive to the seductions of "the blouse man" (Viggo Mortensen), a hippie salesman who offers the adventure and passion that Pearl sacrificed to young pregnancy and marriage. Once the stage for infidelity is set, A Walk on the Moon progresses predictably, but first-time screenwriter Pamela Gray stays true to the emotions of her characters, and actor Tony Goldwyn (making a smooth directorial debut) maintains precisely the right tone to downplay most of the movie's dramatic clichés. Add to this a sharp dynamic between Lane and Paquin, whose performances create a substantial mother-daughter relationship. Graced by stolen moments and fleeting expressions that speak volumes, this unassuming little film is eminently worthwhile. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

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A sweet and clever combination of anecdotes and autobiography, Radio Days draws heavily on Woody Allen's childhood. Fittingly, the unfolding episodes are woven together by music--lovely hits of the 1940s like "In the Mood" and "That Old Feeling." Some episodes are built around radio itself (like the burglars who answer the phone in a house they're burgling and win a radio contest), and others center on the life of a young Jewish boy (Seth Green, clearly playing a version of Allen himself as a child). Though light in tone, Radio Days is an ambitious re-creation not simply of an era, but of radio itself. Nowadays radio is little more than a way to sell pop tunes, but it used to transmit dreams; watching this movie, you get a taste of how inspiring this simpler medium could be. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (22)

The Best Woody Allen film of them all.
I love Woody Allen and his crazy sense of humor. I know that some people find him (at times) a little far out, but this movie should be loved by everyone with a family and a radio. The music is the background of the WW2 generation and their children. It reminds me very much of my parents and all my relatives. It is little episodes in the life of a 8 year old boy but told in a way that all of us can relate to. I live in Florida, and a few years ago on my birthday, we were under a Hurricane watch.........a whole crew of my family of all ages gathered at my house to wait. Trying to find something to entertain everyone was a real challenge. After a bunch of false starts on other movies everyone was getting edgy until we put on Radio Days. It calmed everyone down and cheered them up, made them laugh--the movie was a hit ( and the hurricanne missed us). The casting was great. All of Woody's regulars and some other talents too. I love it.

A standout gem!
I've been hurt in the past by a lot of "classic" Woody Allen films. But this one does not disppoint. I think this is one of his best films. A nostalgic look back on his childhood in the good ole radio days. Although for once, Woody was not the highlight of a Woody movie for me. And I never thought I'd utter thses words in my entire life. But...Mia Farrow was the funniest thing about this movie (and it was a really funny movie by itself). I just loved her eating as people are discussing where to dump her body and my favorite line of her's is upon hearing of the bombing of Pearl Harbor at an inconvenient moment, she asks kind of agitated, "Who is Pearl Harbor?" The second stories would switch, and she'd pop up, I'd already be laughing. And I am by no means a Mia Farrow fan. She was just so broadly funny; maybe that's what she should have done more of. Because usually she plays such dry characters...but this was a welcome change. Woody must have loved her role too. He basically recycled her in Bullets Over Broadway with Jennifer Tilly's ditzy character (also funny). This film was just so real and honest and clearly personal to Woody, that his passion showed in the writing and the acting and made this movie one of my favorites of his (and a young Seth Green did Woody justice too).

Very good music, but missing some great songs.
I purchased this soundtrack because it contained some really great music. However, my favorite song, September Song, was missing. If you saw the movie, it was the song that reoccurred numerous times, starting with the wind-swept rainy scene of his home, Rockaway Beach, near the ocean.

Not only that, but that song is near impossible to find now, as I've spent hours searching on the Internet with no luck. Still, there are many other titles I like on the CD. I just wish that were one of them, considering its sort of the theme song that reappeared so many times. Really disappointing.

Seth Green shines
Seth Green plays a Jewish boy..and its basically a story about Woddy Allen's childhood which this movie is greatly doned on...good acting fro Mia Farrow and others..a nicely done..feel good movie..you dont want to miss it

Nostalgia...ah, yes...
I'm a huge fan of Woody Allen (even his "clunkers"), but this is my absolute favorite Woody film. All of his films are personal, but none as personal and revealing as this...and ABSOLUTELY entertaining. Seth Green, Woody's young character, is perfect, justifying his current success. Wonderful performances from Woody's usual stock troupe (Kavner, Wiest, etc) are all in tune with the goings-on. Mia Farrow, in particular, is a hoot, especially her scenes with Danny Aiello. Woody even managed to squeeze a cameo from Diane Keaton at the end ("You Be So Nice to Come Home To"). Lovely and sweet. It's too bad the Academy eliminated the category for "Best Adapted Score", cuz this woud've won, no question. The greatest songs of the period (1940-1945) were lovingly presented, and anyone who sees this film can't help but be left with a wistful, soft and nostalgic feeling. Yes, this is my favorite Woody film. ... Read more

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Based on the acclaimed book by neurologist Oliver Sacks, director Penny Marshall's hit 1990 drama stars Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Sayer is a neurologist who discovers that the drug L-Dopa can be used to "unlock" patients in a mental hospital from the mysterious sleeping sickness that has left them utterly immobilized.Leonard (Robert De Niro) is one such patient who awakens after being in a comatose state for 30 years, leaving Sayer to guide Leonard in adjusting to the world around him. Penelope Ann Miller costars as the daughter of another patient, with whom Leonard falls tenuously in love. Earning Oscar nominations for best picture, actor, and screenplay, this moving fact-based drama was a hit with critics and audiences alike. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (41)

DeNiro, Williams in a poignant human drama
Undeniably one of the industry's most underrated directors, Penny Marshall attained lofty heights in 1990 with this poignant and true drama about one doctor's (Robin Williams, in a brilliant dramatic performance) awakening his own soul to the risk of love while literally awakening patients in a New York chronic care hospital in the late 1960's. Based on Dr. Oliver W. Sacks' novel of the same time and based on his professional experience, "Awakenings" is one doctor's triumph in identifying (by accident) the correct chemical balance in the drug L-Dopa to bring sufferers of a sleeping sickness that totally immobilizes them to life. As Leonard, Robert DeNiro is the shiniest of the wonder drug's triumphs, and DeNiro glimmers in one of the most compelling and humane performances of his magnificent career. But the miracle begins to wane all too soon, and both Dr. Sayer and Leonard painfully prepare for the day when Leonard and his fellow sufferers lapse again into their immobilized state. The film's scenes that lead to that devastation are real, honest and painfully moving and don't insult us with phony sentimentality. But in the process, Leonard instills in his and his fellow patients' caregivers a sense of humanity for their suffering, and Dr. Sayer manages to find the courage to risk loving something other than his work. In a supporting role as the object of Leonard's rediscovered love, Penelope Ann Miller is tremendous. It is little wonder the film was a favorite with multiple Oscar nominations, and DeNiro and Williams are at their best here. But it is director Marshall's vision of the fragility of human life and love and the power of that which is the focus of her film, and her vision is powerfully moving and humbling.

TOUCHING DRAMA WITH SUPERB PERFORMANCES.
"Awakenings" is one of those movies that will touch most of the people due to the situations that the film shows. The movie is based on a book written by real-life neurologist Oliver Sacks, represented in the movie as Dr. Malcolm Sayer, played by Robin Williams. This is the story of a group of catatonic people living in the '60s, and the struggle of Dr. Sayer to save these people.

It's really a shame that diseases like this can destroy the ability to fulfill the hopes and desires of the human beings, and "Awakenings" superbly captures on-screen the pain and suffer of the relatives of the affected people that can't fully enjoy their physical abilities.

"Awakenings" displays excellent performances from Robin Williams, in one of his finest performances, and the magnificent Robert De Niro as well. However, the movie wouldn't had the same impact if the supporting cast wouldn't delivered such fine performances as they did on "Awakenings", everybody on this movie contributed to print a remarkable realism to the movie.

"Awakenings" is a film that will provoke several feelings, will provide clean entertainment and will make people reflect about the value of life, because the human life could be limited or finished at any time.

Miracle in New York--a Miracle from Hollywood
I don't know how this wonderful movie ever got made. It's not a feel good movie. It's got Robert DeNiro but he's not playing a tough guy. It's got Robin Williams but he's not being funny. But I'm glad that whoever pushed for it did so. And I'm glad Hollywood relented. AWAKENINGS is a quietly powerful movie of enormous depth and passion. Anyone who has seen the movie has been affected by it.

Based on Oliver Sack's book, AWAKENINGS recounts the story of a miracle that occurred in a New York hospital during the mid-1960s. Bucking the system and believing in his theory, Williams' character brings back a dozen patients who appear catatonic--DeNiro being one of them. Through massive applications of the drug L-Dopa, the patients revive and take sheer joy out of just simple tasks. Although the sad ending has been given away by others, I feel the film remains a positive story. It is about human endurance and also about the joys we some times take for granted.

De Niro And Williams at there best!!
Robert De Niro and Robin Williams both did a great job in this movie. Robin Williams plays the role of a doctor, a very shy doctor at that! De Niro plays a patient with sleeping sickness who hasnt said a word or done anything on his own is 30 years.

Robin Williams dedicates his time to finding a cure or at least something to help these patients like somewhat of a normal life. I dont want to ruin the movie for those who havent seen it some Im gonna stop there.

But Robert De Niro does an excellent job with his role in this movie. He his famous for his roles in The Godfather Part II, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Heat, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Untouchables, and Casino. In all of these movies he plays either a gangster or a bad@$$ of some sort. So seeing this movie really shows the acting ability that he has.

I dont usually watch movies like this but I had De Niro in it so I had to watch it. And coming from someone who loves Gangster Movies; this is one of Robert De Niro's best performances and I recommend this movie to everyone, this is a must see!!!

Williams & DeNiro are Great!
Robert DeNiro in a totally different role as a boy who awakens from a coma, after many years, as a man! Williams as the doctor who tries desperately to revive other patients like DeNiro and then act as a father and mentor to each. Then later Williams tries everything humanly possible to keep his patients from relapsing to their former coma state.

The scene where DeNiro wakes up for the first time and puts his arms out with a big smile is one of my favorite movie scenes of all-time. This was probably Robin Williams best role ever! ... Read more

Reviews (81)

REPROBATE ALLEN WINS ME BACK, THIS TIME
When it was first released, I avoided seeing DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (a.k.a., Woody) because I couldn't bring myself to face yet another self-deprecating, neurotic, self-indulgent, self-centered Woody Allen on screen (who the newspapers had just confirmed is that way off screen too!). Having first laughed at and then endured Allen since the 1960s, I'd had enough. Nevertheless, to this day Allen's THE FRONT remains one of my all time favorite movies ... mainly because of its truthfulness, honesty and courage. Unintentionally, one night I saw part of DECONSTRUCTING HARRY on cable TV (and then HAD to buy it here in DVD) ... because I couldn't stop howling. I'd only seen perhaps the middle half hour of it, but that was enough. Mercifully, THIS movie was not ALL about Allen. Rather Harry Block-Woody Allen was "exploited" as a vehicle for a higher form of humor. Then there were a parade of actors who I never imagined had it in them: Richard Benjamin, Kirstie Alley, Amy Irving ... of all people ..., Mariel Hemingway ... yet! ALL were great in this comedy ... they were terrific. Equally terrific were Hazelle Goodman as Harry's motherly hooker Cookie (wonderful), Billy Crystal and Robin Williams ... who you'd expect to be funny, were indeed that.

I must admit, Allen pulled one out as writer, director and star. But not merely because of the brilliant writing and directing (oh, O.K., and the acting) but because for ONCE Harry-Woody was not the center of the neurotic universe. He was in the middle of the action .... but he tied it all together in DECONSTRUCTING HARRY. Many modern interpersonal issues, stereotypes and clichés are brought into scrutiny under this microscope. It is the very absurdity of it all, making the movie hysterically funny.

Clearly, this is a movie for mature audiences. It is definitely not a movie for children and adolescents. Probably they would find it boring and confusing. The language and situations are graphic, raw and irreligious. But in this movie these are necessary "paints" for painting this picture. Grownups will enjoy this movies thoroughly.

Allen's self-exploration vignettes
Weaving between fiction and reality, Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry tells the tale of a writer's sexual exploits, romantic failings, and dealings with depression. Allen's character Harry transfers his life's problems into his books, which causes much strife between the real-life counterparts in his world.

Once again Allen has leveraged his considerable fame to draw in Hollywood's elite. Throughout the film, every face is a familiar one. Billy Crystal is portrayed as the devil who steals Woody's romantic lead, Robin Williams as a blurry actor who can't get his focus, Kirstie Alley as a ex-wife who discovers Harry has cheated with a patient, and countless more celebrity cameos.

The joy in partaking in this film is evident in the celebrity actors who appear. There's a certain prestige in such an endeavor, and we, the film audience, can identify just about everyone in the film. At the same time, each character that appears has so much baggage in our minds. For instance, Demi Moore appears as an ex-wife. How many of us can honestly think of her in any way other that her celebrity profile. While this isn't a major problem, identifying with some of the celebrities proves difficult at times.

Deconstructing Harry catalogs Woody's struggle with sexual desire and his inability to love. Early on we discover that he has finally found true love in a pupil, Elizabeth Shue, but she has fallen in love with his friend.

The plot is shaped around Harry's self-identity questions, and the character's goal is to go to an honorary ceremony at his alum. He has nobody to take. His ex-wife won't let him take his son, his girlfriend has left him, and a hooker is the only one around that will take him up on his need for companionship.

The play between Allen's semi-autobiographical stories, which flash to and from reality, illuminate the film and shows how Allen's writing channels his depression and gives him a release from an otherwise ugly life.

After viewing Deconstructing Harry, I wonder how autobiographical it really is.

Witty, perhaps, but heartless
There is no doubting the genius of Woody Allen. The clever ideas and witty dialogue flow thick and fast here, but there is just one problem: The film is totally and utterly heartless.

Woody Allen's humour here is just downright cynical. Cruel, even. The film has a narcissistic feel to it, where everyone is mocked and ripped apart mercilessly apart from Woody's alter-ego, Harry. Though I saw this a few years ago and loved it, on rewatching it recently, I just couldn't enjoy it. His cynicism here is left untempered by optimism and faith, something that marked out his earlier work. Sorry, but this just left a bitter taste in my mouth.

One of Woody's best!
This belongs on the shelf along with the other Woody greats such as Hannah, Manhattan, Stardust Memories & Crimes and Misdemeanors. I can't imagine any objection to this movie unless you're the type that gets excited whenever you see a Tom Cruise type up on the screen. About as close to art as a movie can get and in the same league as Bergman, Wenders, Godard or any of the other greats.
Enough said.

incredible
This is by far my favorite woody allen film . most people who discredit the movie do so because of course language and/or typical woody allen roles and situations. well, if you can't take a little vulgarity, f__k off this movie's not for you. It's not potty humor, it's unfiltered dialogue fitted to the characters and the situations they find themselves in. As for the typical allen scenerios of love triangles and even squares, that's what has made him. Would you expect a woody allen film where he is not nuerotic, or tense, or in constant insecurity? Then don't expect one in which all the angles of relationships are dissected and exploited. ... Read more

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Billy Crystal plays Mickey, a basketball referee who has to accompanyhis estranged father's body to France, where the old man requested to be buried with the other members of his D-Day platoon. Unfortunately for Mickey, the airline loses his body. Fortunately for Mickey, this leads him to meet Ellen (Debra Winger), an airline executive who takes personal charge of the case and even joins him at the funeral. A whirlwind Paris romance leads to marriage, but that's when the complications begin... The story of Mickey and Ellen's marriage is recounted by their friends (played by Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, John Spencer, and Cathy Moriarty) as they wait for Mickey and Ellen to arrive at a dinner party. And of course these friends have their own stories, which are played out in witty shorthand as they bicker about who's going to tell the next part of the Mickey/Ellen saga. Forget Paris is uneven (unsurprisingly, Winger is stronger in the dramatic sections and Crystal in the comic parts, a schism that takes its toll on their chemistry), but its best parts hold up, even if the whole is shaky. Plus, the movie's theme (that romantic memories aren't what makes a marriage work, you have to live in the present) is explored with conviction and tenderness. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Charming
Forget Paris is indeed a charming romantic comedy. Billy Crystal is his usual wise cracking self and Debra Winger fits in decently as his love interest. I like the way the story seems to weave as each of the supporting cast members relate an amusing anecdote about our star couple. Several hillarious moments include when Crystal and Winger are in therapy and the reactions of the different psychologists. Love Crystal's retort to a couple psychologist team,"When do you get involved, when there is gunplay!"

Overall, the story is pretty similar to When Harry Met Sally. In some ways its a little irrealsitic. Nonetheless, there are some comedic moments that will keep you amused.

Funny Romantic Comedy
The romantic comedy is a very popular genre at the movies right now. I suppose that it always has been. In "Forget Paris" the emphasis is on the comedy, rather than the romance, and it provides a nice counterpart to some of the others.

The story is structured in a fashion that will be familiar to Woody Allen fans. Three couples are sitting around at dinner telling stories about their absent friends Mickey (Billy Crystal) and Ellen (Debra Winger).

Mickey and Ellen first meet in Paris through a rather amazing set of circumstances. (I won't give it away.) They fall in love, but Mickey has to go back to work-he's an NBA referee-so he leaves. He pines for Ellen, though, and it starts to affect his work. (There's a great scene with him and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.) Finally, Mickey returns to Paris and they resume where they left off.

Eventually, they decide to get married and Ellen quits her job and moves to California with Mickey. That's when the problems begin. Mickey is constantly on the road, so Ellen gets lonely, plus she hates her new job. Basically, she's miserable.

Trying to make things work out between them, Mickey quits his job and stays home with Ellen. In the meantime, she has gotten a great job that she loves so she's never home. Now Mickey is miserable.

If you suspect that somehow everything works out in the end, you've probably seen this kind of movie before. No matter. A romantic comedy succeeds or fails, not based on its originality or unpredictability, but on its charm, humor and the charisma of its characters. On that basis, "Forget Paris" succeeds.

Billy Crystal produced, directed and co-wrote the film, in addition to starring in it, so it's his picture all the way. With that kind of pedigree, you know it's going to be funny, and it is. Sometimes hilariously so.

It also means that there will be moments when the story or the characters will be sacrificed in order to serve the humor-and there are. There are too many scenes where Crystal cracks jokes and all Winger is given to do is laugh at them. That's too bad. An actress of her talent and intelligence should have a character that is more worthy of her.

There will be natural comparisons between this film and "When Harry Met Sally...," which also starred Billy Crystal. Although this picture is not as good as that one, it is still enjoyable.

Better Than Average
This is not a great movie, but I have to admit it is better than most romantic comedies out there. There are at least two or three "laugh-out-loud" moments (my favorite is the pigeon scene), but for the most part it is just okay. I thought my lack of enthusiasm could be attributed to the fact that this is more of a "chick flick," but alas, my wife felt the same way.

Using the friends of the main characters to tell the story in flashback is an interesting device, but overall this film is only a little bit better than average.

romantic comedy wins despite itself
Debra Winger and Billy Crystal are surprisingly well matched in this romantic comedy. The two meet in Paris where Mickey Gordon (Crystal) has come to bury is father, a WWII vet for whom Mickey had little love. When papa's coffin gets lost, it falls to Ellen Andrews (Winger), an airline exec to help him out. Paris is magical, and they fall in love. Unfortunately, while there love endures, that Parisian spark doesn't survive the wedding. Crystal's bachelor life proves harder to leave behind than he thought (Mickey has what amounts to Bill Crystal's dream job - as an utterly fearless NBA ref - but may have to sacrifice it; He may also have to bear living with Winger's dementia-plagued father played by William Hickey). She may have to bear the obvious unhappiness of causing Mickey to lose his dream job, not to mention his loutish friends, including Joe Mantegna as a sportswriter, and primetime TV vet John Spencer ("LA Law", "West Wing") as a serial divorcee who derisively refers to his latest spouse as "the new Mrs. Jack."

If "Paris" is uneven it's because it's trying to be a romantic comedy that is often not very romantic or that funny. Still, the flick knows when to light things up (much of the story is told over dinner by Mickey's friends - especially Mantegna who display's a reporter's knack for knowing where his audience's attentions will flag, and a gift for reclaiming them) and in the end, romance wins.

A good story that's funny and original!
Genuinely funny and original! From the opening, you'll be both touched and thoroughly entertained by this truly romantic comedy!

Billy Crystal is wonderful as a slightly neurotic basketball referee and Debra Winger is convincing as an ascending career woman who finds herself torn between love, Paris, and her job.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

An Allen throwback to the good old days
What kind of Woody Allen fan are you? Do you favor his heavy, drama-laden homages to Bergman? His film noir? His zany early comedies?

If you love the latter, you'll probably like this "lost" gem. A bit like "Manhattan Murder Mystery" which was resurrected years after it was written, "Don't Drink the Water" conjures the early days of Allen's career with zany comedy full of larger than life characters and over-the-top performances.

The cast is great, the script is too, the plot moves along nicely and in general I had great fun. Yes, it seems a bit claustrophobic at times and a bit stagey, but many of Allen's recent work has a similar feel regardless of the genre.

All in all it is an enjoyable farce that harkens back to the golden days of Allen's comic genius.

Should be given 6 Oscars
Woody Allen's audiovisual version of an early play which was originally staged on a premiere during a military parade for the Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat, who was carnaged with his cabinet in the early eighties by his own air force.
The embarassment of the jewish author, who strangely didn't attend the staging due to pregnancy (and started the well known gossip story of a love affair with the dignatary), made him start a re write, which lead him to just leave the title and change everything else (including his famous B&W credit card to the more festive Filemón Pacheco, which sadly didn't make it to the final cut).
If you wanna see Michael J. Fox not traveling to the future (or the past) this is the movie you want to steal from a relative who already owns it and is not that aware of the things he has bought.
If you're tripping in acid maybe you'll discover how this is the prequel to Star Wars' Episode I (if you do, please post a message).
Let's just enjoy our beloved hypocondriac, always funny, always being analyzed in New York!!!!!!

DO buy this movie!
Don't Drink the Water is hysterical! I am a huge Woody Allen Fan and have seen nearly all of his movies. There are some movies by Woody that even I'm not that fond of BUT.....this is not one of them. This movie is entertaining and well cast. There is a lot going on and everytime I watch it I find something different that gets me going! Buy this movie and keep an eye on the subtleties. You won't be disappointed!

DO buy this movie!
This movie is hysterical! I am a huge Woody Allen Fan and have seen nearly all of his movies. There are some movies by Woody that even I'm not that fond of BUT.....this is not one of them. This movie is entertaining and well cast. There is a lot going on and everytime I watch it I find something different that gets me going! Buy this movie and keep an eye on the subtleties.....you won't be disappointed!

Don't Drink the Water...and don't watch this movie!
OK, so I didn't actually watch the whole thing, and maybe (just maybe) it got better at the end... but I just couldn't take it anymore! If what Woody was going for was a chaotic mess then he succeeded. It was filmed partially as a docu-comedy with a narrator and hand held camera (reminiscent of "Take the Money and Run), but without the character interviews. This shaky camera technique is difficult to watch, limits the possible shots, and detracts from your ability to "suspend disbelief." Am I supposed to think there's a guy there with a camera filming reality? If so, why don't the people notice it or talk to it? It would have been better filmed as the Broadway play it was written to be.

But that's just the start of the problems...

This movie lacked any sense of comedic timing! It was almost as if there had been no rehearsals at all (more of the docu-comedy technique?). Woody overpowered everyone in every scene he was in. Michael J. Fox looked like he didn't know what he was supposed to do or say next, but struggled along like a trooper trying not to do an impersonation of Woody Allen. Unlike Miyam Bialack, who showed she could stretch from playing "Blossom" by playing a female version of Woody. By the way, she also looked far too young for the role. Julie Kavner is always good, but there really wasn't anything for her to do but talk on the phone. And I was just embarrassed for Dom DeLouise who appeared to be adlibbing over the top while everyone around him tried to ignore him. ... Read more

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Alice is one of Woody Allen's more grounded whimsies, though viewers with a low tolerance for feyness might miss it. Here goes Mia Farrow again as a nattering Manhattanite with a girlie-girlie voice and a well-to-do husband of 16 years (a stockbroker played by William Hurt) who doesn't always notice whether she's in the room. One day a back pain sends her up a dim staircase in Chinatown to see an acupuncturist (the valedictory role of the beloved Keye Luke). He has quite a bag of tricks--including hypnosis and a versatile assortment of herbal teas--and enough insight to recognize that Alice's troubles lie somewhere other than her sacroiliac. Under Dr. Yang's ministrations, Alice goes on a Wonderland voyage through her own life, fantasizing about having an affair with a dusky stranger (Joe Mantegna), flitting about Manhattan as an invisible spirit, and--most unlikely of all--talking straight with her various relatives, past and present.

Like so many Allen films, Alice wavers between scenes imagined with deftness and precision (like Farrow and Mantegna's astonished mutual seduction) and other scenes and notions that are merely touched upon and then abandoned before they can develop any rhythm and complexity, persuade you they were worth including, and justify the presence of so many nifty performers--Judy Davis, Judith Ivey, Gwen Verdon, Robin Bartlett, Alec Baldwin, Holland Taylor, Cybill Shepherd, Blythe Danner, Julie Kavner, Caroline Aaron--who mostly wink in and out again as cameos. Nevertheless, almost all Woody's looking glasses are worth passing through at least once. --Richard T. Jameson ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Mia Culpa
In Wonderland? This is the story of a mid-life crisis Mia Farrow, who, as Alice, the wife of a rich designer, played by William Hurt, has given up her own career and spiritual impulses a long time ago.

She now devotes herself to the frenetic passivity of her glamorous but rather humdrum Park Avenue existence - a wonderland of health fads, plastic surgery, extramarital affairs, gossip, with over-expenditure on everything from cuddly toys to personal masseuses and physical fitness trainers.

Alice soon meets the mysterious Dr Yan, and is therby introduced to a yet another wonderland of magic drugs that enable her, by turns, to don the cloak of invisibility, summon up ghosts from the past, make anyone fall in love with her, and generally see through the lies and hypocrisy of her life.

Despite these rich ingredients, the central theme of the movie owes more to the dourness of Ibsen's "A Doll's House" than to the unrestrained fantasy of Lewis Carroll's work. Allen's Alice is in fact Nora, a faithful wife and, with the help of maids, and, with the help of babysitters, a devoted mother. Beneath the surface, however, she feels stifled and deeply unhappy.

Having examined her life with the help of Dr Yan, the catalyst to changing it is Joe, a sleazy, divorced sax player, who enflames her passions, triggers off her catholic guilt feelings, and has her frantically trying to find out what her life meant, means, and will mean. She rushes around seeking answers, discovering her husband with another woman, and finding out, after a short affair, that Joe still loves his ex-wife.

All this is very entertaining, but what follows is a disappointment.

Alice decides to leave her husband, go off to Calcutta, meet Mother Teresa, and basically turn over a whole new leaf, wiping the slate clean, and living the complete antithesis to her former life by devoting herself to the poor and turning her back on all her old comforts.

This is no doubt supposed to be a warm-hearted ending with Alice "finding herself as a woman and an individual" and acting out a few other cosy, well-worn cliches that have crawled off the couches of New York analysts.

But just as her former life was perhaps too shallow, material, and hypocritical, her new life is too profound, spiritual, and sincere. There is a coldness in the emotional amnesia with which she excludes her husband from her new life, and a fleshlessness in the spirituality with which she turns her back on all men...

The character of Joe shows a more welcome attitude to life, an attitude that embraces life with all its contradictions, obligations, nostalgias, and emotion.

If there is any emotional centre to this film, it is not to be found in the main character.

Woody Allen Does "Magic Realism"
This movie was made in the 1989-1990 period. Woody Allen was already an experienced film director and actor. Stas Mia Farrow in the title role of Alice, and Joe Montegna as the lover. Woody Allen does not appear in this film as he is only a director but there is a load of cameos from stars such as Cybil Shepherd and Bernadette Peters in the comedic role of the Muse. Woody Allen's intellectual/philosophical, life affirming comedies have always been effective and successful- Annie Hall, Zellig, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, Hannah and Her Sisters, etc. Alice is a modern day and more adult version of "Alice In Wonderland" where it gets its name. Alice is a seemingly happy, married woman living in Manhattan, New York City. The illusion of happiness soon wears off as she discovers her husband, a stockbrocker, played by William Hurt, is cheating on her. Soon enough, she is cheating on him with Joe Montegna's character, a saxophone jazz musician.

The reality of this film, which lies in the complicated adult affairs, including marital infidelity, and the urban scenes of New York City, are contrasted but mingled effectively with the "magic" that is dominant in the film. Alice is consulting a spiritual Oriental doctor who gives her all sorts of herbs and potions, including one which renders her invisable. The scene in which she and Joe Montegna are invisible in the women's clothes store is hilarious. Joe Montegna sneaks into a fitting room to spy on a model dressing. "There's a lot of heavy breathing coming from in here" says the model. Meanwhile Alice overhears her friends talking about her behind her back. Ultimately, Alice must make a choice. She has the cure for her problem. A love potion. But will she select her husband or her lover ? Her decision is unexpected and maybe even a bit off-putting to some viewers who would have preferred she remain in the realm of humans and romantic affairs and materialism. The movie had been going this way until the decision which is to reject worldliness and Mia Farrow is inspired by the humanitarian and noble work of Mother Teresa. I feel that it's at least true to Mia Farrow's real life nature. She is notorious for adopting many foreign children from war-torn and poverty stricken countries. This movie is still very good and I really enjoyed it. The witty script by Woody Allen and his position as director and Mia Farrow's husband is also very effectiive. It's a great film by a master of comedy that makes you think. If only this movie was available on DVD here.

Penguin House
Alice is a compendium of missed opportunities. Woody conjures up all sorts of angles worth exploring then drops them.

The movie is worth seeing for the stunningly crisp cinematography, odd use of color (especially in Farrow and Hurt's bizarre apartment) and unerringly apt musical choices. Woody's deep feeling for jazz is the unbilled star here, and when a lush string orchestra with muted trumpet strikes up a silvery and sensitive chorus of "I Remember You" just before Alice awakes to a visitation from her long-dead lover (Baldwin) you get a palpable sense of the heroine's pent-up longings.

Joe Mantegna is terrific. He uses those sleepy, heavy-lidded eyes of his to superb effect; those eyes tell us more than Woody's sketchy script ever will.

The film's most electrifying sequence brings the great, underutilized actress Gwen Verdon out of the shadows to play Alice's boozy mom. We've seen this boozy mom archetype in Allen films before: Maureen O'Sullivan in Hannah, Elaine Stritch in September. But none of them brought the FIRE that seethes from Verdon. Verdon conveys such waste and degradation that I felt as if I were witness to something horribly private. And there lies the movie's greatest sin: we just get this one scene and no more. What happened? Was the loaded gun triangle of Farrow, Verdon and "the accomplished sister" Blythe Danner to hot for Woody to handle???

I didn't mind the whimsy of Alice. But there was a meatier, darker story here waiting to be told, and Allen backs away from telling it. Still, given how bad, coarse, loud, vulgar and passionless nearly all of Allen's post-Mia films have been, Alice looks more and more like a gift as time goes by.

Dreamlike
Alice starts harmlessly enough as we meet her, a dissatisfied NY housewife married to a wealthy banker. The fun starts when she goes to a Chinese doctor (played by a brilliant actor, whose name I cannot remember) and he gives her various remedies to her problems. This kind of plot could easily fall into caricature and cliche but miraculously doesn't. The cast play their parts subtly and honestly, and support the movie's delicate frame. Mia is enchanting as Alice (and I don't usually feel this way about her). This quiet film is one that stays with me. Each time I see it, I enjoy it more.

A must see
A great rainy day movie. It is a rare gem of a movie.Great story. Enough said,get it watch it and tell your friends. ... Read more

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Originally conceived and shot as a musical, James L. Brooks's(Broadcast News) comedy of life in Hollywood remains a perceptive andvery funny film. A loose Nick Nolte stars as Matt Hobbs, a struggling actor whomust find work to support his spoiled 6-year-old daughter (cutie pie WhittniWright) when his estranged wife (Tracey Ullman) dumps her. Brooks createswonderful characters in this insightful look at how the movie business haschanged--from strong talent (represented by Hobbs) to image and test screenings.Hobbs's angel--professionally and privately--is embodied by a ditsy productionassistant (Joely Richardson) to an egoistical producer (Albert Brooks, hilariousas always). Ironically, the movie's songs by Prince were excised when they didnot test well. What's left lacks the heights the songs might have provided(especially in the finale), but with Brooks's talent for giving even minorcharacters juicy dialogue, I'll Do Anything is a light comedy worthseeking out. --Doug Thomas ... Read more

Reviews (8)

GREAT VARIETY! JEANNE, WHAT A GAL!
Very entertaining not knowing what the next moment held. Matt deserved what he got, not knowing his daughter. Jeanne! A great performance and all from a small package. So much talent displayed. A wonderful cast. I absolutely LOVED IT.

A good idea was in there somewhere.
There certainly are flashes of brilliance in "I'll Do Anything". It conjures up some wicked satire and includes an extremely talented cast. However, this is a film whose flaws far outweigh its high points.

Nick Nolte plays Matt, a Hollywood actor who has gotten a few decent roles but whose current career is struggling. Tracy Ullman is hilarious as his estranged wife, Beth. Together they are the parents of a young daughter named Jeannie (Whittni Wright). Matt has moved on with his life and, being the caring father that he is, has little interest in ever seeing his daughter. It's been two years since he last saw her, when he gets a call from Beth. She needs him to come out and take Jeannie back to Hollywood for a few weeks. Once Matt gets there, however, he finds out that Beth is actually going to prison for several years and now he is solely responsible for taking care of their daughter.

So not even 30 minutes into the movie, Tracy Ullman's character is already gone. As if that's not bad enough, look at this absolutely amazing list of actors who have about five minutes or less of screen time: Joely Fisher, Vicki Lewis, Anne Heche, Ian McKellen, Jake Busey, Rosie O'Donnell and even Woody Harrelson. What in the world were they thinking by showing up glimpses of all these people without fleshing out any of their characters?!!

That's not the worst part though. Both the father and daughter characters are extremely unlikable. Extremely. Matt Hobbs is a self-absorbed jerk throughout the entire film. His daughter is even worse. In fact, I have been racking my brains to come up with a child in a movie I have disliked more. So far, I haven't been able to come up with one. Jeannie is one of the most shrill, spoiled and obnoxious little girls ever put on film. This all continues up until the last five minutes of the movie. Then, completely out of the blue, both of these characters turn on a dime and become very charming and loving. Sorry, but their transformation was too quick for me to buy.

Along the way, James Brooks (writer/director) is at least able to give us some funny moments. Once Ullman's character is gotten rid of, the humor baton is passed to Julie Kavner. Her character, Nan, has this uncanny ability to always tell people the brutal truth. She works for Burke (Albert Brooks), an egotistical movie producer who always seems to say and do the wrong thing. Combine Nan's scathing honesty with Burke's chronic bad manners and you get a cute couple.

With a different father and daughter, "I'll Do Anything" could have been a nice little sleeper. However, it is unable to overcome the unappealing attitudes of Matt and Jeannie.

Nolte is a good actor
I'LL DO ANYTHING showed me that Nolte is a good actor. As soon as I realized he was doing a dandy job acting his role--luckless actor--the movie carried on quite well without my analysis. Nolte has been swirling in the Hollywood maelstrom. His life has been designed to believe that acting is the most important matter in the world. Then,as often they do, the vissicitudes of life dump his 5 year old, hard-to-handle, daughter into the scenery. She is a precocious stick of dynamite. The story takes a few swipes at the cheapside of Hollywood. Otherwise, it is no expose. It is full of fun and healthy laughter.

Heart-warming Hollywood
Originally shot as a musical with songs by Sinead O'Connor and Prince, this remarkable pic tested so badly in pre-release that they excised ALL the songs and dance numbers. You'd never miss em'. Nick Nolte is an earnest actor struggling to make it in L.A. when his ex-wife drops the bombshell that their five year-old daughter (who Nolte barely knows) will now be coming to live with him. You thought that kid from "The Sixth Sense" was good? Wait til' you see THIS little spitfire! Julie Kavner is amazing as the head of a test-screening/marketing company, who spews truth (and uncanny insights) like bullets from an AK-47. The real draw here though, is the rocky and tender relationship that develops between Nolte and his young daughter, against the backdrop of a gutless and brainless movie business.

One of the worst of Nick Nolte's movies.
I like Nick Nolte. The only reason why I saw this movie is because of him. However, I have to say that this is the worst acting I have ever seen from his any other movies. Very often, it was awkard and unnatural. Another problem is other supporting actresses and actors. They don't act like real. They acted like they were just out from acting school. The whole plot is not really well coordinated (I won't say anything about it, since it is going to be a spoiler). The movie was boring to watch. If there is a reason why I hung on till the end, it was just to see how it ended (and the thought that I paid money for this movie). As a plus, you can somehow get some slightest idea of what is going on behind making movies (selection of actors/acresses/kids). There a few nice phrases which come out of Nolte. If you are a big Nolte fan, and want to see above plus things, you may want to see this movie. Otherwise, this movie is boring big time. ... Read more

Description

A lingering solar eclipse casts a strange spell on a dead-end New Jersey town and unleashes hidden passions, frustrated dreams and lonely yearnings in this quirky, bittersweet portrait of small-town life. Full of wonder and wit, this award-winning, critically-acclaimed film, shot in luminous black and white, transforms the familiar terrain of suburbia into an eccentric landscape suffused with a dark and unexpected beauty. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Beautiful "Day-in-the-life" Character Study
"Judy Berlin" is one of those tiny films you stumble upon and from which you come away with a whole new respect for acting, the power of good films and...hell...humanity! Everything about this film is small, and all the more powerful for its smallness: the setting, the plot, the time that passes, even the actors. This was made before Edie Falco (Judy) gained fame on "The Sopranos", so she doesn't project the over-confidence many stars do in little "vanity" projects. No, everyone here is real and pitch-perfect, especially the wonderful actress Madeline Kahn in her final role, filmed during her losing fight against ovarian cancer. If you have patience for films you won't find at your local movie theatre, and you appreciate real acting, "Judy Berlin" won't disappoint.

Excellent character study
Eric Mendelsohn's Judy Berlin is, aside from being a Sundance Film Festival award winner, an intelligently observed portrayal of middle class foibles. Set in Babylon, Long Island (not New Jersey as the Description indicates), it views a day in the life of several of its residents as a midday solar eclipse plunges them into an unnatural darkness.

As a mismatched couple, Bob Dishy and Madeline Kahn are superb. He is an elementary school principal; she is his chatty dependent wife who needs, needs, needs. This was, very sadly, Kahn's last film role--she died of cancer shortly after the film finished shooting. She captures this character to a tee. You watch her and realize nobody else could have performed this role. Dishy, normally a comic actor, here gives a touching performance as a man lost in a half childlike state, as is his wife, although in a subtly different way.

In fact, many of the characters are associated with the elementary school. This is Mendelsohn's clever way of aligning their inability to express mature emotionality with their daily routine. Julie Kavner and Anne Meara, in small roles, work in the school nurse's office. Barbara Barrie is a teacher in the school whose somewhat supercilious attitude gives way, ultimately, to an attraction to her principal, who is having a hard time relating to his wife.

The title character is well played by Edie Falco, currently of The Sopranos, a struggling actress planning to make it big in Hollywood. She has a casual relationship with her mother, the schoolteacher played by Barbara Barrie--so much so that she calls her mother by her first name. On the day she is scheduled to leave for California, she runs into David, son of the Golds (Kahn and Dishy). David is a struggling filmmaker with his own agenda that excludes much of life. The two of them hit it off, but Judy has to leave....

What makes this film so resonant and memorable is the writer-director's mature emotional intelligence. He understands that the dreams we all have of how we want to live our lives are almost never fully realized in reality. The eclipse is a potent metaphor for the gap between what we dream of and what we live. And, he says, it is our lack of understanding how to realistically achieve what we want that plunges us into this gap.

The only sticking point in the film is David's (the filmmaker's) overly self-conscious remarks to Judy about filmmaking itself, which do tend to bog things down somewhat. But aside from that, this is a wonderful, beautiful film with heart and intelligence. Note that the DVD includes Mendelsohn's excellent short (23 minute) film Through an Open Window with a great performance by Anne Meara as an aging woman who feels trapped in her house by the presence of a bird that's flown inside on a summer day. She leaves, only to be confronted by others who make her realize just how trapped she really is...

Highly recommended.

We Love "Day In Life" Character Driven Film
Hubby and I both love slice of life filmmaking so giving us a totally character driven film involving only one day in these people's lives, minimal plot and minimal conclusions doesn't trouble us at all. I know many viewers, however, who require more of a plot than this movie has and/or a higher level of tension. The soundtrack is primarily harpsicord music and we enjoyed that too but if you like state of the art avant garde soundtracks, this also isn't for you. This is a very quiet, art house type film with excellent actors. I loved the chance to see the late Madeline Kahn in one last role. She is absolutely luminous here as the wife of the town's principal whose 30 year old son has moved back home and whose husband may be leaving her for another woman. That other woman's daughter and the Kahn character's son are the other couple in the film. Edie Falco plays the title role as that daughter and gets to show a whole other side of her acting talent outside of her role on the "Sopranos." She is leaving for California that night to try to be an actress there. David Gold, the 30 year old, has just returned from California, having failed in the movie business. After seeing Judy Berlin act at a local theme park it is obvious she is never going to make it as an actress. David is at first discouraging of her going and then starts swinging the other way as he catches hold of her dream. Another character is an old woman who used to teach in the school and is now coming down with Alzheimer's but it is just beginning to dawn on her friends and neighbors that she is failing. This is all set against a total eclipse which darkens the town for the day. The film is shot on such glorious black and white that at times I wondered if I were looking at infrared film, known for its otherworldly blacks and whites. You will probably either love this or hate it with not much inbetween.

Good offbeat drama
I read an interview with John Sayles recently where he noted that Edie Falco's performance in this film(not the SOPRANOS) is what made him decide to cast her in his new film SUNSHINE STATE. She really is quite good in this film. I just wanted to see more of her. The rest of the cast is also good-Barbara Barrie(BREAKING AWAY), Bob Dishy and Madeline Kahn. It's pretty easy to feel some Woody Allen influence here, but it's welcome. Eric Mendelsohn's short-THROUGH AND OPEN WINDOW is also included and I liked that too(stars Ben Stiller's mom Anne Meara). ... Read more