From deadly serious Match Point (2005) to light comedic Scoop, director Woody Allen brings yet another original story to theatres. Unlike many directors, Allen has tackled several different genres through his directing career, always trying to do something new. Despite some of his work not receiving as much praise as others, Allen should be given credit for his creative, bold and witty stories.
And it seems Allen has found his new muse Scarlett Johansson (The Island [2005]). She plays Sondra Pransky, an American journalism student, who is vacationing in London when she is visited by a ghost, former journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane). While crossing to the other world, he receives the biggest scoop of his life--the notorious Tarot Card Killer is really Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman from X-Men: The Last Stand [2006]), a wealthy and powerful aristocrat of London.
Now Sondra and new friend Sid Waterman (Woody Allen from The Curse of the Jade Scorpion [2001]) investigate whether Peter is truly a murderer or the new love of Sondra's life. The more Sondra becomes acquainted with Peter, the more she's convinced he's not guilty of what Strombel accuses him of. Peter, it turns out, is sexy and charismatic. He comes from a respected family and lucky for Sondra, he's in love with her. But as innocent and naive as Sondra is, she keeps an open ear when Sid finds clues that may prove she is wrong.
Actor Woody Allen plays the same energized and comical character, but this time with a touch of fatherly love. Instead of creating a love triangle between the three characters, he serves as a father figure for Sondra as she travels toward a path of realization. But Allen's character is still funny; Sid Waterman is also known as The Great Splendini when he's a magician on stage. Throughout the film, he performs various magic tricks for crowds to come across as playful and harmless.
However, it was Scarlett Johansson that surprised me the most in this film. In Scoop, she proved she can handle some comedy. Even though Johansson is fantastic in dramatic roles, something about her character in Scoop was simply endearing. There is this great scene when Peter confesses to Sondra how captivated he was when he saw her in a red bathing suit. Instead of blushing like most girls, she responds with something like, "Thanks. I got it from the sale bin."
The actors were great for such a simple story. Despite Strombel escaping the Grim Reaper's boat to find a journalist who could benefit from his recent scoop, the movie was just another story about amateur investigators on a wild goose chase. Although it was amusing watching Sid and Sondra argue about their next plan of attack, there just wasn't enough mystery to make this movie great. Scoop seemed like an incomplete story, one that definitely should have gone through another draft.
Kristin's Grade: C+
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Genre: Comedy / Mystery / Romance
Running Time: 196 minutes
Rated: PG-13 (for some sexual content)
