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Blu-ray Review
Whatever Works
 Official Synopsis:
Meet New Yorker Boris Yellnikoff (comedy great Larry David): a sarcastic, bitter and brilliant misanthrope who almost won the Nobel Prize. Boris, admittedly, is not a likeable guy. That is, until he meets Melody St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood), a charmingly naive runaway who finds shelter on his doorstep. As he lets her into his home and his heart, he discovers that in this cruel world sometimes it's worthwhile to get a little happiness doing Whatever Works. Director-writer Woody Allen returns to his comedy roots in this poignant and wildly hilarious romp that Gene Shalit of The Today Show calls "Colossally funny!"
Our Take:
The prodigal son hath returned!
Whatever Works marks Woody Allen’s return to New York City after a career rejuvenating four-picture hiatus in Europe. Normally, one does not care where a director shoot his movies, but the love affair between New York and Woody Allen is a torrid one. He is our director. Two years ago, when I took a lunch break walk through Battery Park City, I spotted a camera crew and a crowd gathered in the park. Trying to maintain my jaded New Yorker-cred while satisfying my cinema fanboy instincts I meandered by. Turned out it was Woody Allen directing Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood. Jaded credentials be damned, I hung around for 10 minutes looking on like a happy kid. Woody Allen brings that out of people.
Whatever Works is another neurotic romantic comedy that could just as well be a cinematic Valentine to New York City. Allen’s location selection is impeccable as always, with the stomping ground of this film being the downtown Village scene. Instead of casting a younger actor to play the requisite Woodman stand-in part, Allen has cast Larry David. Unlike many of the younger actors cast as the Woodman in the past (let’s all collectively forget Jason Biggs doing Woody Allen right now… together… it will all be ok), Larry David does not devolve into mere imitation. Perhaps it is because these two old Jews from Brooklyn, separated by only 12 years, have enough similar comedic sensibilities to level the playing field. Larry David has a brand of humor that is slightly different than Allen’s on-screen neurotic persona. Where Allen is nebbish and fretful, David is obnoxiously belligerent. While both personae clearly are those of educated “New York Jews” with feeling of superiority over the world, Allen tends to mask his behind a nervous neuroticism. David goes full out, allowing his neurosis and absurd sense of entitlement to create socially awkward, but laugh out loud funny, scenarios each week on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
This combination of comedic viewpoints allows Whatever Works to be one of Allen’s most pretentious works to date, and I love it. The best of Woody Allen’s films make fun of society for its pseudo intellectualism and its boorishness at the same time. The joy in a Woody Allen film was that he was so plugged into the New York intelligentsia scene that he could poke fun at it while others were too busy being a part of it. Taking that penchant for poking fun and combine it with Larry David’s brand of self-entitled humor and you get a preachy (even directly to the audience via breaks in the fourth wall) comedic rants and raves.
Whatever Works is a simple enough story, a Pygmalion tale of a country bumpkin bunking with a bitter New York genius. Over time they form a friendship as the bitter brain ceaselessly tries to impart his wisdom upon the bumpkin. Soon Allen’s own neurosis and fears emerge as the young attractive bumpkin (Evan Rachel Wood) is pursued by a hot young actor. Wood’s parents, two uncultured southerners, pop-in to experience the transformative powers of New York City. This part is sure to infuriate some, who view it as New York City mythmaking. But, in fact, it is making fun of the myth. The radical changes in the Southern parents are the joke. If you are from New York you realize that new inhabitants do not conform to the 70’s New York City mold and mythology, but gentrify and cannibalize.
Audio & Video:
Sony Pictures Classics have presented the film in with their standard 1080p AVC MPEG-4 encode. This is more than enough to accurately represent the film’s naturalistically drab color palette. Whatever Works is shot to look like New York City actually does, so there will be no color boosting to make things look brighter than they are. Park benches looks the appropriate shade of decrepit forest green, concrete does not look freshly paved. Facial detail is heightened, but there are occasional soft shots in the film as well as periods of higher than normal levels of grain, all of which seem to be courtesy of how Allen shot the film, not detriments of the transfer.
Sony has made the odd choice of choosing a DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround track for the film. As fans of the Woodman know, this is unnecessary by a wide margin. The track is not even remotely immersive as Allen’s films work because of and through dialogue between characters. To that end, the dialogue is pitch perfect and clear throughout. A good track for those with tempered expectations.
Special Features (Blu-ray Exclusive):
As with all Woody Allen releases, there are no supplements of substance to be found on the disc. The man does not record commentary tracks and never includes deleted scenes.
- BD-Live enabled – Do not expect any film-related content to ever show up. though.
Special Features (Standard):
Conclusion:
Whatever Works is a gloriously pretentious New York City fairy tale made by/for neurotic, obnoxious, lifelong, intellectually superior-feeling NYC residents. This is Woody Allen intellectual superiority and pretension on steroids. But it is also funny and biting comedy, so whatever, it works.
RECOMMENDED!
Overall Picture:
Movie: B+
Video: A-
Audio: B-
Extra Features: D
- Matthew Orlando
Staff Writer
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