Z/Web

Director: Woody Allen

I liked this. It’s typical Woody, with fast-paced humorous dialog, fantastic elements, and a moderately clever plot. In this case we’ve got a young girl journalist played by the stunning Scarlet Johanson who’s recruited by a recently deceased famous journalist who has a scoop for her: a certain millionaire playboy is the famous Tarot Card Killer. The only problem is the journalist has no proof, so the girl will have to find that. In trying to get close to the man she falls in love with him and then isn’t sure if her suspicions that he’s a serial killer are her imagination or reality. The girl’s partner in this adventure is Woody Allen playing a talky stage magician, who’s hilarious. Overall it’s a lightweight story, but there are some classic Allen lines. My favorite is when the girl’s debating over her boyfriend’s guilt and Allen says in classic deadpan style something like, “Your parents will have a problem with having a serial killer in the family?” Fun stuff.

The best thing about this film is that you get exactly what the trailer tells you to expect: four guys having a middle-age crisis go on a motorcycle road trip. Preposterous, predictable at times, occasionally dumb, occasionally hilarious, with fun casting choices, it’s just a decent, feel-good comedy, completely harmless. There are a few crude scenes I found oddly out-of-place, and the ending’s too pat, but overall it’s just fun.