Whatever Works (a Woody Allen film)

Whatever Works
Directed by Woody Allen
By John Semley

So, Woody Allen has deputized Larry David has his latest on-screen stand-in. I can’t imagine a more perfectly storm of grating neuroticism. Sure, the particular brand of Semitic rankle David has cultivated from Seinfeld through to Curb Your Enthusiasm is likely a more sincere approximation of Allen’s own jittery idiosyncrasies than anything offered Allen’s more recent proxies (John Cusack, Jason Biggs). But faithful adherence to Allen’s trademark high-strung theatrics is hardly enough to sufficiently redress all the narrative, thematic and comedic rehash in Whatever Works.

David plays Boris Yellnikoff, a morose NYC physicist whose self-professed genius in the field of quantum mechanics and capacity to “see the big picture” imparts him with the ability to break the fourth wall and kvetch directly at the audience. Between bellyaching about the blemish that is humanity and eking out a living as a chess tutor (because smart people play chess, get it?), Boris happens across Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood), a runaway Mississippi pageant queen freshly pitched from the turnip truck.

Here is the full review.