Blue Jasmine

The nerve, the twitch that hit the zeitgeist in recent years, that tinge of uproar sparked by the brief Occupy movement, inspired by the corrupt antics of those richer-than-sin is but the blip of the surface that's keenly and acutely observed in Woody Allen's latest-- a rich and potent character study of one woman's riches to rags saga.  It's also inspired the most provocative and surprising drama the filmmaker has tackled in years, decades even, as if Allen was hit by a primal nerve, one in which he sought to create a crowd-pleasing morality fable centered around a once wealthy woman, not just on the verge of a nervous breakdown, by in the full-on throes of one.  Blue Jasmine, a sparkling melodrama, seems to document a sudden and welcome shift, not to mention a glimmer of topicality for the illustrious auteur.  For decades, Allen has held a gilded light on the neurotic and prickly dwellers on the upper echelons of society, at first as noted observer, than as insider-- in Blue Jasmine, Allen retreats and through the prism of a most absorbent character study, he has perhaps given the proletarians the feel good movie of the year.

Jasmine French (Cate Blanchett) is a modern day royal, one of the many superbly coiffed, well spoken members of high society, or she was, now she's tapped out due to the crafty bookkeeping by her high yields husband Hal (Alec Baldwin), and stuck in an eternal existential state of why me.  With no skill set to speak of, the loss of the societal camaraderie she once knew and recent bouts of mania, Jasmine has little choice but to journey west to San Francisco and mooch off her working class sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins) with little else but her own snobbish haughtiness to sate her.  Something is amiss right from the start of the film, as Jasmine, a woman so desperate to maintain authoritative civility,  appears lost on the doorsteps of her sister's apartment in one of the very first scenes, as if she's stuck in a nightmare waiting to wake up back at her summer home in Southampton where she can play the consummate hostess, the only role that ever naturally suited her.

Wolverine and Woody

Hugh Jackman returns as the clawed superhero on which he is most familiar with The Wolverine, the only major release to debut this weekend.  Director James Margold (Walk the Line, Knight & Day) hopes to undue the damage brought on the spin-off franchise by the dwindling returns of the Wolverine's first solo entry which in 2009 earned awful reviews and despite a strong open, experienced a drastic fall.  The first days results proved a sigh of relief for the studio executives at 20th Century Fox, as it collected $21 million on its first day of release (including a sold $4 million from Thursday late shows-- an uptick of recent films like Pacific Rim and World War Z.)  While it will fall short of the $85 million opening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the long end may appear brighter for the better reviewed flick which received an A- CinemaScore.  Here's how the X-Men series stands cash flow wise:

X-Men (2000)- $54 million opening ---> $157.2 million total
X2: X-Men United (2003)- $85 million opening ---> $214.9 million total
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)- $102 million opening ---> $234.3 million total
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)- $85 million opening ---> $179.8 million total
X-Men: First Class (2011)- $55 million opening ---> $146.4 million total

On the limited side of the openings, Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine is hoping to achieve one of the strongest per-screen averages of the year.  Allen's highest per-screen average so far was Midnight in Paris, which debuted on 6 screens for an average of $93,000.

UPDATE: Blue Jasmine will indeed have one of the more notable limited openings of the year as its first day gross was an estimated $176,000 for a stellar per-screen of $29,000.  It's positioned to open on par (or even perhaps slightly better) than Midnight in Paris.  Fruitvale Station (review), meanwhile, expanded into wide release for a Friday gross of $1.4 million, good enough for the tenth slot.

"Blue Jasmine" and the Annual Struggle to Maintain Devotion to Woody Allen

"I don't think I can take it.  For some reason my Xanax isn't kicking in."

 

Every year, more and more around this time like clockwork, Woody Allen releases his latest film.  It's insane to think it through, actually, considering the consistency.  It's a minor miracle of sorts, considering all the inanity that comes along with the release of a motion picture these days.  That he can write one off each year whilst still maintaining a top-drawer ensemble and finding funding to boot.  The mixed bag of America's favorite screenwriter is that the last two decades have been a decidedly mixed bag.  To the point that we must meet his next project with such a cautious optimism-- I sort of parental, "I hope he doesn't screw this one up" sort of vibe.  All that being said, his latest-- a dramedy inspired in sorts by the Bernie Madoff scandal of excess gone to stink (which couldn't be more timely, come to think of it)-- Blue Jasmine on first glance looks, dare I say, rather juicy.  Cate Blanchett plays the lead, an unhinged woman whose wealth and marriage have gone down the tube, and she is supported by an eclectic ensemble cast including Sally Hawkins (in a hopeful return to the promise she exhibited in 2008's Happy-Go-Lucky), Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Sarsgaard, Louis CK, Michael Stuhlbarg and most peculiarly, Andrew Dice Clay.  One reason for the hope must surely be presented in the form of Blanchett herself, who hasn't headlined a film in quite a few years, and on first glimmer looks perfectly on cue. 

Even so, it's a bumpy ride in Allen-land these days, as evident from the joyous surprise (and even more surprisingly, Oscar-winning) Midnight in Paris.  He quickly followed the Best Picture contender and his highest grossing film to date with the absolutely negligible To Rome With Love.  And while Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona rank as astounding successes in the last decade-- When You Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Whatever Works, Cassandra's Dream and Anything Else, um, don't.  Examine:

To Rome With Love trailer

It's been nearly a year since Woody Allen has opened a film-- his last, the triumphant and Oscar-winning Midnight in Paris was one of the auteur's best and most successful.  He continues his European tour with To Rome With Love (oh, that title with it's generic sound-- its was curiously retitled recently from the more interesting sounding Nero Fiddled), with an amazing cast-- Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page, Judy Davis (a moment to appreciate her awesomeness, and the biggest laugh of the trailer surely belongs to her "Euro" line reading), Allen himself, and gulp...Robert Benigni.  While this looks like a probable failure from the most productive American filmmaker currently working, here's hoping that's not the case.  My worry is soon he will run out of European cities to pine over.  The film opens this June, in an attempt for distributor Sony Classics to find early summer magic like Midnight last year.  The film, unlike Midnight will not have its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this May, as it debuts in Italy this month.

Celebrating Woody Allen's 42nd Feature

Woody Allen's latest film, Midnight in Paris, opened the Cannes Film Festival to favorable, it not ravishing reviews which is nearly enough to pose the idea that the film, which opens in limited engagements this week might be an above-average endeavor from America's most celebrated screenwriter.

Looking back on his past:

• What's Up, Tiger Lily (1966)
• Take the Money and Run (1969)- first WGA nomination
• Bananas (1971)- first film to feature Allen favorite Louise Lasser; 2nd WGA nomination
• Everything You Ever Want to Know About Sex But Were to Afraid to Ask (1972)
• Sleeper (1973)- first to feature Diane Keaton; 3rd WGA nomination
• Love & Death (1975)
• Annie Hall (1977)- landmark and treasure; first Oscar nomination (won for directing and writing, also nominated for acting); 4th WGA nomination and 1st win
• Interiors (1978)- 5th Oscar nomination; 5th WGA nomination
• Manhattan (1979)- second landmark and even more glorious treasure; 6th Oscar nomination; 6th WGA nomination.  Meryl Streep played his bitter lesbian ex-wife in her year of discovery.
• Stardust Memories (1980)- the 80s began a year of self reflection of Woody Allen-- a mixed bag critically, but perhaps even looser and more inventive than his landmark 70s achievements; 7th WGA nomination.
• A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)- first to feature Mia Farrow, who received a Razzie Nomination for Worst Actress; sigh!
• Zelig (1983)- 8th WGA nomination.
• Broadway Danny Rose (1984)- two more Oscar nominations (8); 9th WGA nomination and 2nd win.
• The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)- landmark and treasure featuring Jeff Daniels single greatest performance; 9th Oscar nomination and 10th WGA nomination.
• Hannah & Her Sisters (1986)- cinematic treasure; 3rd Oscar win and 10th nomination; 11th WGA nomination and 3rd win.
• Radio Days (1987)- 11th Oscar nomination; 12th WGA nomination.
• September (1987)
• Another Woman (1988)- featured Gena Rowlands.
• New York Stories (1989)
• Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989)- earned two Oscar nominations (13), 13th WGA nomination and 4th win.  Martin Landau won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
• Alice (1990)- 14th Oscar nomination; 14th WGA nomination.
• Shadows & Fog (1991)- co-starred Madonna, securing Allen's reputation as an auteur with the ability to get anybody to appear in his films.
• Husbands & Wives (1992)- landmark and treasure and the last to feature Mia Farrow for obvious reasons; earned his 15th Oscar nomination and 15th WGA nomination. How Judy Davis (nominated for Best Supporting Actress) lost the Oscar is one of the Academy's greatest travesties.
• Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)- a nifty, if slight re-teaming with Keaton
• Bullets Over Broadway (1994)- landmark and treasure; two more Oscar nominations (17), one more WGA nomination (16); Dianne Wiest deservedly won her second Oscar here-- her first win was for Hannah & Her Sisters, cementing Allen as won the top directors for Oscar-winning performances.
• Mighty Aphrodite (1995)- 18th Oscar nomination; 17th WGA nomination; Mira Sorvino won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her flightly hooker portrayal.
• Everyone Says I Love You (1996)- This movie always makes me smile.
• Deconstructing Harry (1997)- Divisive, but good film (his third best of 90s after Bullets Over Broadway and Husbands & Wives), earned his 19th Oscar nomination.
• Celebrity (1998)- Awful film that swerved a downhill spiral to this point on unfortunately.
• Sweet & Lowdown (1999)- Venerable showman preserved good will just a year later, featured Oscar nominated performances from Sean Penn and Samantha Morton.
• Small Time Crooks (2000)- Featured Tracy Ullman.
• The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
• Hollywood Ending (2002)- First of his films to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
• Anything Else (2003)
• Melinda & Melinda (2005)- Far from great, but Radha Mitchell's performance is a delight.
• Match Point (2005)- Landmark and treasure- second Allen film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, first to feature Scarlet Johansson; earned his 20th Oscar nomination.
• Scoop (2005)
• Cassandra's Dream (2008)
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)- Perhaps minor, but a welcome modern Allen film; 3rd to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival; Penelope Cruz won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar; Allen earned his 18th WGA nomination.
• Whatever Works (2009)- Dreadful film, but Patricia Clarkson is awesome.
• You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)- Dreadful as well; 4th to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

For nearly four decades Woody Allen has brought a film every year, and while it's always difficult being a Woody-booster, one always has the hope and neurotic desire that the next one will be a classic.  He's already prepping his latest film, another European odyssey, set in Italy with Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg and Roberto Benigni called Bop Decameron.  As a follower, I suppose I'll be there next year.  In whatever form, it's undeniable that Woody Allen hasn't changed the cinematic landscape, or that romantic comedies could ever be the same without his influence.  Perhaps never before was they're ever an a more clearly defined version of the neurotic male psyche ever put to screen.  Yes, very Jewish, and nearly always divisive, but think of an American movie universe without Woody Allen...doesn't exist.

Midnight in Paris Trailer

 

Our first glimpse of the latest Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris.  It's a bumpy ride being an Allen booster, for which I blame my endless passion for Manhattan and Annie Hall back in my teens; both of which are timeless and seminal in my upbringing.  Of course since the glory days of the 1970s and the interestingly reflective and absurdest films of the 1980s, it's been hard...there have been majors ups (Bullets Over Broadway, Deconstructing Harry, Everyone Says I Love You, Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona), yet there's been major downs (pretty much every other film), yet it would be sacrilege to turn away.  I like America's greatest screenwriter, I like Paris, I like midnight.  This one stars Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, Rachel McAdams, and bearded Michael Sheen and a strangely hidden from the trailer Marion Cotillard.  It opens the 2011 Cannes Film Festival this May.

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen's 46th feature film, entitled Midnight in Paris, is slated to open this years Cannes Film Festival.  Très approprié!  This marks Allen's first film that he filmed in Paris, in the first decade of his career in which he's voyaged outside his native New York.  The film stars Marion Cotillard, Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates and Michael Sheen.  Mr. Allen and myself have had a contentious last years in the auteur vs. fan relationship from the highs of Match Point and Vicky Cristina Barcelona to the lows of Scoop and Whatever Works, however it would feel like sacrilege to call it quits now, especially since his perennials are usually playing in a non-stop loop through my mind.  Recently re-watched Manhattan, and it's aged so sweetly!

This marks Allen's tenth appearance on the Croisette.