Whatever Works

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Whatever Works

64% Liked It
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Whatever Works

Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Henry Cavill, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr, Adam Brooks, Kristen Johnston, Michael McKean, Conleth Hill, Cassidy Gard, Steve Antonucci, Yolonda Ross

An eccentric New Yorker (Larry David) abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. He meets a young girl from the south and her family, and no two people seem to get along in the e...( read more  read more... )ntanglements that follow.

Id: 11023809

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Whatever Works Recent Reviews
  • sykora259517
    November 25, 2009
    sykora259517
    (w/ Henry. Cavil & OMG he gets to keep his accent in it!! grrrowl)- Ok not sur eif anyone else would find is funny. But this is suppose to be a rom-com (romantic comedy) Well Henry is not in it much. There?s parts that I wish moved a long a bit faster. Oh yeah & if the Old guy wa...( read more)s suppose to be female then I should have those lines! Cause ½ the crap the guy says sounds like me. (or maybe ¼ of it) my 1st NETFLIX movie !! So I?ll let ya?s know in a month or 2 how I like it. Tehre were a few parts that I thought were funny, not hilarious funny but ok. Its more of a Relax movie than anything. C
  • sononothing
    November 14, 2009
    sononothing
    Whatever Works follows the life of Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David), a genius physicist who blows all that stuff off to teach kids how to play chess and spread the good will of his philosophy to the masses. Cynical to the extreme. One night while returning to his ram shackled apart...( read more)ment he stumbles on a Southern teenager living on the streets named Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood), who Boris reluctantly helps and develops into a disciple of his own Borisology. Of course, the two end up falling in love and getting married with the most shocked party being Boris himself. The problems arise when Boris' new in-laws that are obviously of the red state mentality are thrust into the way of life in NYC- and make Boris' life a living hell.

    Whatever Works represents a turning point in Woody Allen's career. The film breathes like some of his best stuff from the '70's and '80's, but he's realized one important fact- he is too old to play himself anymore. Boris is so blatantly Allen that it should be announced before the film that "the role usually reserved for Woody Allen will tonight be played by Larry David. You can obviously hear these lines come from Woody Allen's mouth ten or fifteen years ago. Larry David fills in fine and seems to know when to let his inner Woody come out and when to pull a Costanza.

    The rest of the cast is very good with Wood playing the naive southern belle up for all its worth, giving a comedic turn that I haven't seen from her. Patricia Clarkson plays Melodie's mother who succumbs to the "hedonism" of New York City and instead of making dinners for her husband (an awesome Ed Begley, Jr.) decides to become a photographer and enter into a relationship where she lives with two men. That damn NYC!

    Whatever Works is a Woody Allen movie. love him or hate him, he makes a good movie here or there. This isn't one of his greatest films, but it's definitely not one of the worst and has some very funny moments, usually coming from Boris' mouth. Being your typical Allen movie the characters go through a series of hellish, obscure, defining events, but in the end there's a moral to the story that you can either take with you or send off to neuron oblivion.
  • DrZeek
    November 12, 2009
    DrZeek
    Marietta: How'd he get that limp?
    Melodie St. Ann Celestine: He jumped out the window and his suicide didn't work.
    Marietta: You can't win 'em all.

    Woody Allen returns to New York after a few stints over in Europe. Working from a screenplay he wrote back in the 70s with Ze...( read more)ro Mostel in mind for the lead, it has been reworked a bit and now has Larry David in the lead, as the Woody Allen character. I wasn't a fan of the framing device used for the film, with David breaking the fourth wall, but for the most part, the film had a very classic Allen feel to it, good use of character actors, and a number of good zingers.

    David stars as Boris Yelnikoff, an eccentric, bitter chess teacher from Greenwich Village. A few years ago, he wakes up in the middle of the night with a panic attack and jumps out the window, but lands on a canopy and survives with only a marked limp. He soon divorces his wife and virtually secludes himself from the world, criticizing everyone he meets for not having his level of intellect.

    One night, he finds a young woman, Melody played by Evan Rachel Wood, from Mississippi lying on his doorstep. He takes her in for the night and eventually marries her, despite their 40 year age difference and their clashing cultural backgrounds. His philosophy on the matter is that life is short so he might as well enjoy himself.

    Eventually, Boris' happy mold is broken once Melody's parents, played by Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr., track her down and one by one come to Boris' door, only to discover New York living for themselves.

    John: [as he kneels down to pray] Lord I've sinned, please forgive me!
    Boris Yellnikoff: Why do all the religious psychotics wind up praying in my doorstep?

    I think the cast of this movie is very good. David in the Allen role, works for me. I could use less of his direct to camera tirades against everything, but the way the Melody character counter-balances this aspect certainly helps.

    All the Allen trademarks are here, including the use of jazz and classical music, characters with smart, analytical dialog, despite there personas, as well as using New York culture as a setting and source of character transformation. All this being said, the film does become a bit sitcomy once the parents arrive, especially Begely Jr (as much as I like seeing him in things).

    Still, the movie is entertaining and humorous, which is what I wanted and what works.

    Boris Yellnikoff: That's why I can't say enough times, whatever love you can get and give, whatever happiness you can filch or provide, every temporary measure of grace, whatever works.
  • johnd62
    November 1, 2009
    johnd62
    You know what the biggest issue with Woody Allen comedies in the last 10 years? Its the male lead, they are written to be so distinctly Woody that there is just something strange and uncomfortable about watching anyone else take that role.
    While Larry David seems to be a perfect...( read more) fit for a Woody Allen comedy, you still feel as though Woody really misses the 70s in "Whatever Works", his first New York comedy in 5 years. What should have been a match made in comedic neurotic, Jewish stereotype heaven turns into a so-so comedy that should have been a lot better.
    For the record I love "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Larry David in it but simply put part of the appeal of Curb is that it never asks you to think of Larry David as anything more then a socially inept ass, here David is a socially inept ass that were suppose to like... I'm sure he's a nice guy in real life but likable Larry David is like catching your parents making out, you just get really uncomfortable watching it all go down.
    Though to be fair even if David was playing to his strength, this script was on the back burner for 30 years! While it has its moments of charm and humor, you can see why. I know it may be unfair to compare this with "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan" but its hard not to expect more after those masterpieces.
    That's not to say that the film does not also include the strengths of Woody Allen, as usual Allen is amazing with his female cast, Evan Rachel Wood brings an amazing ray of sunshine to a fairly cynical attitude and even if he is not in top form, Allen is still a sharper satirist then the majority of writers out there. That there are certainly some moments in "Whatever Works" that shows what our parents saw in Woody Allen to begin with.
    If the film was better constructed and more selective in it editing and style, we could have had a masterpiece but sadly by just putting whatever into the film and only about 50% work. (Man, I'm witty)
  • mrpopcorn
    October 29, 2009
    mrpopcorn
    "Why do all the religious psychotics wind up praying in my doorstep?"

    Boris Yellnikoff rants to anyone who will listen, including the audience. But when he begrudgingly allows naive Mississippi runaway Melodie St. Ann Celestine to live in his apartment, his reclusive rage...( read more)s give way to an unlikely friendship and Boris begins to mold the impressionable young girl's worldly views to match his own.

    REVIEW

    Whatever Works is Woody Allen's umpteenth film as director. Boris has an acerbic personality that really turns out to be a perfect match for the character he plays and for the world view Allen wants to show. Bitterness, paranoia and an amused fatalism make David's performance absolutely perfect, show him really comfortable in the Woody Allen role, and overall make him believable. Whatever Works takes a serious downturn when the focus drifts from Boris and moves elsewhere, on Melodie's mother and later on her father John. These awakenings (the film is to be watched to understand why they woke up..) of two southern conservatives in New York are extremely funny but also "a bit" earnest. Whatever Works might seem familiar but has found a winning formula that makes it different from other Allen's works. A must see movie for sure.
  • FlyingSolo2009
    December 6, 2009
    FlyingSolo2009
    Why is Larry David allowed to be in movies? I can't even waste the time to give this one a chance.
  • MetalMario2
    December 6, 2009
    MetalMario2
    The movie is sufficiently amusing, but often offensive and unpleasant, and I don't mean in that "charmingly sardonic and edgy" way beloved by critics; I mean in an arrogant, condescending, elitist way sure to curdle the guts of anyone who doesn't live a lifestyle or hold a worldv...( read more)iew similar to those of Woody Allen himself. I love Allen as a director, but this latest film of his comes off as bile-soaked, mean-spirited, and sour.
  • smith44
    December 3, 2009
    smith44
    http://content7.flixster.com/movie/10/88/97/10889753_tmb.jpg
  • JP36
    December 3, 2009
    JP36
    Larry David provides more than enough entertainment playing, essentially, himself.
  • anniewheeler
    December 1, 2009
    anniewheeler
    This was the most awful, terrible most stupidest movie I have ever seen! DONT GET IT!
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