Woody Allen still knows what 'Works'

June 20, 4:09 PMLA Movie ExaminerJim Luksic

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Woody Allen, Patricia Clarkson, Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David (AP)

Earlier this month I referenced Whatever Works as one of the summer mainstream films whose trailer deserved attention. With the actual release of Woody Allen's latest, the verdict is in -- and the filmmaker didn't disappoint.

The picture's premise can't be called an epiphany; Allen is, for all intents and purposes, reworking previous story lines -- particularly that of the superior Husbands and Wives (who can forget Allen's on-screen tryst with college student Juliette Lewis). The man's strong suit isn't always plausibility.

In this case, Larry David portrays a semi-suicidal physicist who, shockingly, invites a runaway (Evan Rachel Wood) to stay with him despite the fact they're complete opposites: age difference is about four decades. They soon marry (hardly a surprise in Woody's world) and complications unspool as the in-laws (Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr.) -- who have split up -- track her down.

David, a sizable chunk of the brains behind TV's Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, brings comic authority to Whatever Works -- even when the novelty of directly addressing the camera (and spectators) becomes a nuisance. He tosses off laconic one-liners like firecrackers, a good dozen of which evoke laughs.

If Ms. Wood was a revelation in Thirteen, this time she makes a statement (to both Allen and audiences) that she's in this business for the long haul.

Is Whatever Works a bit difficult to swallow? Does the grumpy, abrasive protagonist wear on us after awhile? Perhaps. But Allen never fails to analyze palpable, universal themes -- such as love, existentialism or death -- and tie them together with a stinging sense of humor.