Scoop Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)August 4th, 2006
SCOOP
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
MATCH POINT, Woody Allen's last movie, was absolutely terrific, finding him back at the top of his form. Although his latest, SCOOP, is also a mystery starring Scarlett Johansson, it isn't one we're supposed to take seriously, as we did MATCH POINT. SCOOP is a silly but satisfying little comedy, much in the whimsical spirit of Allen movies like THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO.
It's also a film in which Allen gives himself a leading role again. As Sid Waterman, Allen plays a hammy magician who calls himself not merely a magician but a "prestidigitator." In addition to his card tricks, the highlight of his vaudevillian show is to make young damsels disappear and then reappear in a magic box on stage. Actually, Sid's real skill is delivering his typically wacky Allen lines, including "I was of the Hebrew persuasion until I converted to narcissism," and "Don't think of being dead as a handicap."
Finally playing something other than her traditional character that we keep seeing again and again, Johansson, this time, is a flighty and nerdy blonde named Sondra Pransky. A journalism student wanting to get her big break, she is perfectly willing to sleep her way to the top.
Sondra is given the "scoop of the decade" by none other than Joe Strombel (Ian McShane), one of the world's most famous investigative reporters. He'd follow up on the lead himself, except he recently died and only learned the tip on the River Styx while on his way to the Pearly Gates. Actually Joe isn't sure where the boat is going, which worries him. At any rate, he passes along what he knows of the story to Sondra. Joe found out from a fellow passenger, whom Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman) killed, that Peter is none other than an infamous serial killer loose in London now. Called the Tarot Card Killer, he preys on short-haired brunette prostitutes.
Out to trap Peter and prove his guilt, Sondra goes deep under cover with a false name and a fake father, the ever-bumbling Sid. We follow this Columbo and daughter duo as they clumsily try to determine the truth. The journey is cute, with many little laughs along the way. You'll probably forget it all within ten minutes of leaving the theater, but, if the day is hot, watching Allen work the audience like a vaudevillian comedian while enjoying the air-conditioning is a pleasant enough way to relax and beat the heat.
SCOOP runs 1:36. It is rated PG-13 for "some sexual content" and would be acceptable for kids around 8 and up.
The film is playing in nationwide release now in the United States. In the Silicon Valley, it is showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com
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