Comedy > Allen, Woody Comedy

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

...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 ...
...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 ... Read review

Advantages: An ambitious and classy addition to Woody Allen's CV
Disadvantages: You might dislike Woody Allen!

Hannah and Her Sisters is one of the most ambitious films in the long career of director Woody Allen. It was first released in 1986 and has the longest running time of any Allen picture. The film interweaves between the lives and relationships of several characters in a large upscale New York family and features an amazing ensemble cast. Central to this of course are the seemingly perfect Hannah (played by Mia Farrow) and her two sisters Holly (Dianne ...
...Alexander' (Like Fanny and Alexander, Hannah and Her Sisters begins and ends with a festive family gathering) Hannah and Her Sisters is not Woody in his ultra serious mode. If the 'early funny ones' (Sleeper, Bananas, Take the Money and Run) constitute 'comedy Woody' and the likes of Interiors, Another Woman and September 'serious Woody' then Hannah and Her Sisters is a return to the 'inbetween Woody', a film with serious themes and dramatic elements ... Read review

Advantages: Wonderful cast, enchanting songs, and extremely funny...
Disadvantages: Not everyone loves musicals, or Woody Allen for that matter

...7. Edward Norton, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU 8. Sharon Stone, STARDUST MEMORIES (1980) 9. Mariel Hemingway, MANHATTAN (1979) 10. Natasha Lyonne, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU 11. John Turturro, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986) 12. William H. Macy, RADIO DAYS (1987) 13. Mira Sorvino, MIGHTY APHRODITE (1995) 14. Tobey Maguire, DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997) 15. Natalie Portman, EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU Believe it or not, but the majority of these actors ...
...care though. As for EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU, this is arguably Woody's most unusual and unexpected film, a musical with great actors who can't really sing...but a film that is highly enjoyable and irresistable nonetheless. When I saw ESILY in the theater, it probably had Allen's best ensemble to date: Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda, Tim Roth, Julia Roberts, just to name a few, who prance around from Venice to Paris to New York ... Read review

Advantages: A funny and enjoyable experience
Disadvantages: Erm...you might not like Woody Allen

Annie Hall was the 'breakout' film for Woody Allen as a director. The film won four Academy awards including best picture/director and saw Allen move away from the freewheeling comedy films he was best known for at the time. Annie Hall is essentially about the relationship between Alvy Singer (Allen), a typically neurotic Allen character, in this case a comedian, and aspiring singer Annie Hall, played by Diane keaton in an Oscar winning performance. ...
...between Alvy and Annie's family. Annie Hall begins with Allen speaking straight to the camera as Alvy. The scene is an immediate indication that Allen has moved on and is seeking to make a different type of picture with more ambition. Alvy's very Woody Allen concerns give us an insight into his character and make an arresting beginning; "There's an old joke - um... two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, "Boy, the ... Read review

Advantages: Slightly amusing, and watchable
Disadvantages: Storyline unbelievable

Bridget (Diane Keaton) and Don (Ted Danson) are living a reasonably well-off life in a nice house on a nice street in a nice part of town. But when Don loses his job and the two fail to curb their spending, maintaining their nice lifestyle soon results in them running up a nice lot of debt. Forced to get a job, but with no recent experience or skills, Bridget rather unbelievably ends up scrubbing toilets in the Federal Reserve Bank. Now this is a ...
...to many hundreds of security checks, but, again, rather unbelievably, within moments of arriving, Bridget has found a foolproof plan to rob the joint, if only she can convince fellow employees Jackie (Katie Holmes) and Nina (Queen Latifah) to assist her. This is the one good part of the film - that instead of the usual blokes-doing-crime while the women folk sit at home and maybe come to rescue them in the end, it's the girls who are the naughty ... Read review