Mighty Aphrodite DVD > Reviews > Woody's Greek Goddess

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Standard
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

Advantages:	Very Funny, Mira Sorvino is Excellent
Disadvantages:	The whole Greek chorus thing

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I’m in the process of replacing my videos on DVD, so here’s the latest…

Mighty Aphrodite is an identity–based comedy from Woody Allen, where a man goes in search of his adopted son’s natural parents, and sets in motion an unexpected chain of events as a consequence.

Lenny (Allen) is a sports writer married to Amanda (Helena Bonham-Carter), and they decide to adopt a child. As the child grows, he shows signs of exceptional ability and intelligence, and this leads Lenny to embark on a search to track down his parents. Upon doing so, he is only able to track the mother, who it turns out is a prostitute and adult film star, and the father is a mystery.

Linda, the natural mother, is played by Mira Sorvino, who puts in a powerhouse performance, something of a trademark for Allen’s leading ladies. Actually, she won an Oscar for best supporting actress as the damaged and dim Linda, who attempts to tough it through life with disarming honesty and naivety while covering up her hidden heartbreak over giving away her child. The dialogue is great, her timing superb, and killer lines are delivered in a shrill, grating accent that puts your teeth on edge.

For what sounds a pretty stereotypical character, Linda actually has considerable depth, and goes a long way to explaining why the cream of Hollywood talent was queuing to appear in Allen movies at this time.

With many attempts at self-justification, Lenny attempts to interfere with Linda’s life and turn it around. As a sports writer, he comes into contact with a boxer (Michael Rapaport) and attempts to fix them up. He seems an intellectual match - ‘I’ve had 16 fights and I won all of them but 12’, and there seems to be some promise as long as her past stays secret. Lenny’s obsession with ‘saving’ Linda causes him to neglect his own marriage and ignore the developing personal relationship between his wife and her business partner (Peter Weller).

It’s all fairly familiar ground in terms of examining relationships, and the throwing in of some off-kilter personalities to clash with the central characters educated middle class sensibilities. The weird bit for me is the continual cutting to a Greek chorus in an amphitheatre as narrators; I read once that this is partly a reference to Pygmalion, who fell in love with a statue of Aphrodite which he carved himself. It’s clever, and serves to show Lenny analysing his developing relationship with Linda, plus there are some great one liners, but it adds a surreal edge to the film that puts me off a bit. Maybe I’m just not clever enough to get all the references, but it doesn’t quite work for me, although their advice to Lenny is frequently humorous.

It’s a 15 certificate, and given the nature of Linda’s work, there are some very explicit sexual jokes and dialogue, so this should be borne in mind if you’re sensitive to that kind of content. As is usual with Allen, there are no extras on the DVD, apart from the original trailer, and I got mine from Amazon for just under £5.

I’d recommend the film on the basis that it’s consistently funny, and there are some good performances, even if Helena Bonham-Carter is underused. But Mira Sorvino is fantastic.

It’s just that voice…