Whatever Works

"Whatever Works" (2009) ***1/2

Even though famously self-deprecating about his own acting, most fans would readily acknowledge that one of the great pleasures of any Woody Allen film is the presence of the comic genius himself, perhaps the screen’s most amiably exasperated neurotic intellectual. Woody’s characters are almost always a variation of the same theme—a sarcastic yet romantic artist with an insightful yet cynical worldview, a laundry list of phobias and a dread fear of death.

However, when the writer/director stays behind the camera, someone in the cast must often assume his persona. Over the years, this strategy has yielded mixed results pivoting wildly from mediocre (John Cusack in the excellent “Bullets over Broadway,” 1994) to downright disastrous (Kenneth Branagh in the awful “Celebrity,” 1998). The most recent ostensible stand-in was Owen Wilson’s earnest but unremarkable turn in 2011’s “Midnight in Paris.”

Clearly the best Woody incarnation belongs to Larry David in the sharp and hilarious “Whatever Works,” Allen’s funniest comedy since “Hollywood Ending” (the underrated, screwball gem from 2002). From a hilarious moment early on—when David’s character wakes up screaming in a comically exaggerated tenor after nightmares remind him of his doomed, inescapable mortality—you know television’s “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” alum is poised to hit all the right notes in his portrayal of the irascible quantum physics professor, Boris Yelnikoff, part time chess teacher to kids (he calls them names) and full time curmudgeon.

Allen, also known for his ensemble casts of stars, has assembled another splendid group to surround David. The highlight of which is easily Evan Rachel Wood—showing a breezy, comic touch after the desperate, troubled teen in the brilliant “Thirteen”—as Melodie, who stumbles into Boris’ life as a naïve Southern teenager who flees Mississippi to seek fame in the big city. He discovers her outside his shoddy New York apartment and reluctantly lets her in like a stray kitten.

Cynical Boris eventually softens as Melodie bewitches the grumpy old man with her guileless smile and relentless optimism. A sweet moment comes when he awakes from another fatalistic dream, and after being comforted by Melodie they watch a Fred Astaire movie on TV.

Patricia Clarkson and Ed Begley Jr., both terrific, play Melodie’s bible-thumping parents who eventually come looking for her. Repulsed at first, they find themselves fascinated by the beguiling, all-encompassing New York that Allen presents—transformative, cheerful, life-affirming and more optimistic than even Boris pauses to realize—and set free from their conservative roots, they begin to embrace opinions and lifestyles too surprising and funny to reveal here. Michael McKean and Conleth Hill, as Boris’ best friends, add distinctly deadpan comic personalities to the mix.

“Whatever Works” is a homecoming of sorts for Woody Allen. After taking a tour of Europe for many of his recent films, he’s back on familiar turf in a beautiful New York City that proves as picturesque and magical as the ones in “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan.”