WHATEVER WORKS (2009 - Cert 12A)

Larry David. Is there anyone in the world better suited to play the Woody Allen character in a Woody Allen film? If you've seen Curb Your Enthusiasm, you'll know that David's grumpy, narcissistic, say-whatever-is-on-your-mind approach is perfectly suited to a lot of Woody Allen's writing. It seemed to me that Allen was on to a winner here, he's found something he's been after for years. You'd think he would be shouting it from the rooftops, he's found his muse, marketing this film until he's blue in the face. Instead, it made very little impact, causing barely a ripple. Released after the much talked about Vicky Christina Barcelona, and before Midnight in Paris (which is apparently Woody Allen's return to form and his best film in years - people forget that they said the same thing about Vicky Christina Barcelona). I know Allen is prolific in his output but you would still think that a film starring one of the most championed comic minds in the land would spark some interest?

It's a very small film. By that I mean that Allen isn't trying to add a location as a character, as he has been tempted to do with the other two films mentioned above and many others. Instead it's set in New York. It's not particularly ambitious. It plays to David's strengths, as Boris Yelnikoff he is misanthropic, grumpy, he hates people, he's critical of everything and he's terrified of getting sick. What Allen lacks in imagination in character creation he makes up for with cracking dialogue. He calls people mindless zombies, cretins, imbeciles. They become catch phrases that elicit a chuckle every time they are muttered. There are some wonderful put downs and observations, classic Allen in many ways, to cite them here would do them a disservice. 

It pains me to say it as a huge Larry David fan, but the early part of the film is let down to an extent by him. Much of the opening is him speaking directly to us, breaking down the fourth wall, lengthy monologues. Unfortunately, and I say this with a heavy heart, he isn't that good an actor. In Curb he is mostly improvising, and you can tell that he is, he's smirking and thinking on the spot. It works in the context of the show. In Whatever Works, Woody Allen is giving him his words, and the delivery is forced and stilted. It isn't natural and I found it hard to get past that. His character's limp is even alarmingly inconsistent.

As the film progresses though this becomes less of a problem. Partly because I got used to it, it became part of the many eccentricities of the character, but mostly because the scope of the film opened up a bit and other characters are centred on much more. Evan Rachel Wood is the love interest from Mississippi, Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr as her parents, Superman-to-be Henry Cavill as someone competing with Boris for the girl. All are substantially better actors than David and, sensibly, Allen lets them all do their thing. Rachel Wood and Clarkson in particular stealing the show. The former playing the epitome of ditsy South Country, while the latter makes what on paper is a totally implausible character shift seem the most natural thing in the world, all while continuing to be funny and interesting. 

To explain how the plot and various relationships develop wouldn't really be fair, there is some joy to be had from seeing it unfold and implode. However, if you've seen a Woody Allen film, you'll already know that. 

It's saved by a very short running time, 87 minutes, you don't have time to get bored and take issue with problems with the film. It's perfectly enjoyable, the funny lines are in there, the crazy characters pop up and cause mayhem, it's all as you would expect from Allen. It also saves itself by wrapping it all up with a nice message and an explanation of what the title of the film means. That is what has stayed with me, not the gags, not the lines, not the characters, certainly not Larry David's acting, but that takes us back to what the film is about - different strokes for different folks. Someone out there will love this, my girlfriend certainly did. Whatever works.