I normally enjoy even Woody Allen's lesser films, but this one was painful. It was as if he scribbled the plot down on a napkin and let that serve as the shooting script. As a result we have absurdly one-dimensional characters, laughably self-conscious dialogue and scenes that go on for WAY too long.
What makes it doubly frustrating is that there are good actors in this one. Poor Kate Winslet tries her best to breathe some believability into her one-note character, but fails (anyone would). The last scene, in which she has something of a Blanche DuBois breakdown, is very hard to watch. Jim Belushi and Juno Temple are similarly impressive in doing the best they can with their cardboard-thin roles.
Justin Timberlake is probably the most irritating, playing a Woody Allen stand-in, a pseudo-intellectual who wants to write 'meaningful' plays. Why is he breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience? It makes no sense. Neither does the character of Winslet's son. Okay, he's a pyromaniac. Is that supposed to be funny?
I throw my hands up with this one. Woody, please make an effort next time.
What makes it doubly frustrating is that there are good actors in this one. Poor Kate Winslet tries her best to breathe some believability into her one-note character, but fails (anyone would). The last scene, in which she has something of a Blanche DuBois breakdown, is very hard to watch. Jim Belushi and Juno Temple are similarly impressive in doing the best they can with their cardboard-thin roles.
Justin Timberlake is probably the most irritating, playing a Woody Allen stand-in, a pseudo-intellectual who wants to write 'meaningful' plays. Why is he breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience? It makes no sense. Neither does the character of Winslet's son. Okay, he's a pyromaniac. Is that supposed to be funny?
I throw my hands up with this one. Woody, please make an effort next time.