Whatever Works

Whatever Works

This film just doesn’t work. In parts, it has itself believing it’s a romance-driven story, in others it appears to be a barely cohesive fable about how life sets itself in an order we are not meant to stand in the way of.

Larry David plays the part of Boris, a previously suicidal pessimist who seems to be a less aggressive version of his famous small-screen character Larry David from the hit US show Curb Your Enthusiasm. His rantings are altogether more intelligently pieced together but as the film strolls along – seemingly unaware that it’s even supposed to be a professional production given the standard of script and shoddy acting – the long-winded and ever so tiresome monologues begin to wear thin. Whether it’s the fact that the recipients are one-dimensional simpletons with little to no actual personality nor ability to be offended, or it’s the fact that Boris plays across from Southern cretin Melody who doesn’t seem to show emotion or common sense, the power of the rants and the dialogue itself lacks the brilliance of Curb’s opposing characters, each of whom display a comic hostility which makes them so endearing and Larry David a much more loveable and stupendous character.

The film itself doesn’t seem to know what it wants to tell the audience. Boris will often speak to the camera as if confiding in the faithful understanding of the cinema audience, letting us in on how he feels about certain characters at points in the film. The problem is, we don’t care about the characters nor the plot which seems to throw bizarre scenarios at the audience and expects them to shrug their shoulders and continue watching.

The love-story plot lacks any credence or realism, characters are introduced on a whim and seemingly require little to no background information, whilst those who should be taken aback by sequential plot points appear to not give a damn. We are expected to believe that a 20-something year old would happily settle down with a 50 year old at the drop of a hat, regardless of his overall feelings towards her and his habit of spewing nothing but derogatory remarks her way. When a new man enters her life – quite where he came from we truly don’t know – she is all too happy to forget she was ever married to Boris in the first place, dismissing her deep-rooted traditional values of staying true to one’s husband and sleeping with the next man to speak to her.

For a film written and devised by Woody Allen, Whatever Works lacks the wit and sharp attributes which made his back catalogue such a mass of classic works. However, here we find an outdated film presumably set in present day but which possesses the mindset of a 1940s love story gone wrong. The values at work don’t suit the hustle and bustle of New York City, the characters lack any real personality nor genuine emotion and the dialogue reiterates the confusion of the supposed era. The only saving grace – but one which does nothing to actually save the film any blushes – is the inclusion of Boris’ smart one-liners which add an element of dry humour amongst a backdrop of boredom, archaic beliefs and a surprisingly lacking piece of work.

6/10