It seems like there was a point in time where Woody Allen could seemingly do no wrong. With films like "Annie Hall" and "The Purple Rose of Cairo" in his canon, Allen was the go to guy for comedic ingenuity. Yet as timed passed on, Mr. Allen has seemed to lost his touch. Certainly over the last decade he's made a few good films ("Match Point" and "Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona"), but none have even come close to capturing the magical run Allen had from the 70's to the mid 90's. As much as it dismays me to say it, "Whatever Works" is more of the recent Woody; not the classic Woody.
This is all the more surprising considering that "Whatever Works" was a script Allen has been sitting on for years; one he wrote during what was seemingly his prime. Yet, one would wonder why he was sitting on a script for over thirty years. Was it because it truly wasn't a good piece of work? For the most part yes. "Whatever Works" is an underdeveloped comedic contraption that plays out like a disjointed sitcom. The film follows Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) who, before he makes a failed attempt at suicide, comes to see life as a thread of worthless moments strung together. People, love, religion, etc. are all worthless in his worldview. This is a rather bleak view, especially when Boris is nearing the end of his life, but on a random night, Boris comes across a young Mississippi woman by the name of Melodie St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood) sitting in a garbage pile outside of his apartment. Melodie is far from home with no place to stay, so she convinces Boris to let her stay at his place.
From this point on there is a considerable bit of entertaining banter between Wood and David, but things turn dull when Allen approaches a plot point that seemingly mimics his life. This all happens while Allen tosses on subplots that involve the exploits of Melodie's parents who come to the door of Boris in search of their daughter. I understand the point Allen is trying to make with the film and its varying plot points, as he muses over the randomness of life as well as how people reason, but the film as a whole never fully connects. Instead of creating a film that's zany with some restraint, Allen just lets everything spiral out of control into a somewhat, philosophical funny mess.
Even though I think the film is extremely half-baked, I'm going to slightly contradict myself by saying the film was able to put a consistent smile on my face. This was not due to the script or even most of the cast, it was brought on by the full hearted efforts by Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood who give performances that light up the screen. To no one's surprise David plays a neurotic extremely well, and Wood is simply adorable. When together,both have a chemistry that is endearing and refreshing.In all honesty I could watch a movie with just those two interacting. But, this aspect is also what makes the film even more disappointing considering Allen wasn't able to place these performances in a tighter, more cohesive film. It's almost as if they go to waste. I guess that would be the common issue with "Whatever Works": it's all kind of a waste. Aside from the performances by Wood and David, this is a project that Allen should've kept on the shelf.
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