Mia Farrow, William Hurt

Alice is one of Woody Allen's more grounded whimsies, though viewers with a low tolerance for feyness might miss it. Here goes Mia Farrow again as a nattering Manhattanite with a girlie-girlie ...( read more  read more... )voice and a well-to-do husband of 16 years (a stockbroker played by William Hurt) who doesn't always notice whether she's in the room. One day a back pain sends her up a dim staircase in Chinatown to see an acupuncturist (the valedictory role of the beloved Keye Luke). He has quite a bag of tricks--including hypnosis and a versatile assortment of herbal teas--and enough insight to recognize that Alice's troubles lie somewhere other than her sacroiliac. Under Dr. Yang's ministrations, Alice goes on a Wonderland voyage through her own life, fantasizing about having an affair with a dusky stranger (Joe Mantegna), flitting about Manhattan as an invisible spirit, and--most unlikely of all--talking straight with her various relatives, past and present.

Like so many Allen films, Alice wavers between scenes imagined with deftness and precision (like Farrow and Mantegna's astonished mutual seduction) and other scenes and notions that are merely touched upon and then abandoned before they can develop any rhythm and complexity, persuade you they were worth including, and justify the presence of so many nifty performers--Judy Davis, Judith Ivey, Gwen Verdon, Robin Bartlett, Alec Baldwin, Holland Taylor, Cybill Shepherd, Blythe Danner, Julie Kavner, Caroline Aaron--who mostly wink in and out again as cameos. Nevertheless, almost all Woody's looking glasses are worth passing through at least once. --Richard T. Jameson

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58% liked it

5,454 ratings

PG-13, 106 min.

Directed by: Woody Allen

Release Date: December 25, 1990

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

Stats: 175 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (175)


  • April 7, 2007
    Another awesome film by Woody and Mia!!
  • January 25, 2008
    What a strange movie. For the most part, I didn't like it. I decided Mia Farrow is best when she doesn't have to carry an entire movie on her shoulders. It's dull at points, but the ending is surprisingly thouching. I only got a couple chuckles in.
  • October 22, 2008
    One of the best ways to watch a romantic comedy is to have it made by Woody Allen. Then put in some mysticism and supernatural elements and you really can't help but fucking love the film.
  • September 29, 2009
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  • August 2, 2009
    Yeah, I didn't like this one. I don't think Mia Farrow's performance was up to par. The film never took me anywhere. It was constantly pretty dull and uninteresting. I did like some of the visuals and characters, but this mostly just sucked.
  • March 14, 2009
    This film comes and goes in how good it is. The premise is marvelous, the ending is thoroughly satisfying, and the scene where she meets a former lover is very touching. As a whole, however, there are a lot of scenes that don't ontribute much to either the film's plot or the film...( read more)'s tone, and really don't seem to have any purpose at all. Woody Allen's films often meander into discussions of the philosophical, but this seemed not even to have that in mind most of the time. Not one of his better ones, although still worth seeing for a fan.
  • December 23, 2008
    A good movie, certainly inspired by Simone de Beauvoir's "Les Belles Images", but the ending could have been less... christian...
  • December 10, 2008
    no thanks not my kinda thing
  • October 27, 2008
    I thought this movie was very entertaining mainly because Mia does an amazing Woody Allen as a women impression really well. The thing that got to me the most was the cinematography which ranks up there with the best of Woody's films. I also like Joe Mantagna a lot in the film an...( read more)d thought he gave a cool performance.
  • July 23, 2008
    Entertaining movie with "Alice in Wonderland" style. Good cast and pretty entertaining.

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Alice Trivia


  • I'm late I'm late For a very important date. No time to say "Hello." Goodbye. I'm late, I'm late, I'm late.   Answer »
  • In What Movie was the frase "we're all mad in here alice" used?  Answer »
  • Who wrote 'Alice In Wonderland'?  Answer »
  • In the movie Alice in Wonderland, the characters painted the roses what colour?  Answer »

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