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‘Aphrodite’ Epitomizes Allen’s New Style
Woody Allen’s films have undergone two ma
jor changes since he made his directorial debut
thirty-one years ago with “Take the Money and
Run.” In 1977, after he won the Best Director
Oscar for “Annie Hall,” he changed. His next film
“Interiors,” ushered in anew era of introspective,
quiet and more “senous” films. These films varied
from pure tragedy (“September”) to sublimely
funny, but all of them retained a sense of hopeless
ness or reluctant acceptance of man’s miniscule
position in the world. However, after “Shadows
and Fog” and “Husbands and Wives” received
especially wide critical acclaim in the early nine
ties, the ball dropped. With controversies sur-
rounding him and his
adopted daughter,
Soon-Yi Previn, he re
treated into obscurity,
returning only to act in
“Scenes From a Mall”
| TODD GILCHRIST |
Maui a Roirioiu
IIIVIIv lie View
'Mighty Aphrodite'
B+
and direct the cream-puff “Manhattan Murder
Mystery.”
“Murder Mystery” indicated yet another change
for America’s most curious auteur: Allen as the
matinee master. There are noticeable differences
in these subsequent films from their predecessors;
they are decidedly less serious, extend past Allen’s
previous repertoire of contemporary New York
stories (“Bullets Over Broadway") and are far
detached from his personal life. His latest film,
“Mighty Aphrodite,” strengthens this trend.
“Mighty Aphrodite” re-invents the traditional
Greek chorus as a framework for this tale of the
relationships between men and women and then
turns it on its ear. Led by F. Murray Abraham, the
chorus begins with a classic recitation of Greek
verse and then soon updates its shtick, giving
advice to the other, more contemporary characters
and helping the story along. Allen returns to his
leading-man position as Lenny, a sportswriter
who reluctantly (at least at first) decides to adopt a
child with his wife, Amanda (Helena Bonham
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F. Murray Abraham, a grossly
underrated and underused actor,
won an Oscar 10 years ago for his
performance in “Amadeus ” and has
been neglected ever since.
Carter), an art-gallery manager whose relation
ship needs a little kick.
Several years later, the excitement of child
rearing has worn off, leaving Lenny and Amanda
in a lackluster relationship, held together only by
their affection for their son, Max. Lenny sees
happy couples walking on the street and wonders
why they aren’t the same; Amanda’s main con
cern is opening her own art gallery, assisted by
Jerry Bender, another gallery owner eager to get
her out of her clothes.
Looking for solace, Lenny decides to find the
birth mother of his adopted son, and much to his
dismay, she is a veteran pom star and prostitute
who at one time worked under the name Judy
Cum. When he meets her, she is using the name
Linda and turning tricks out of her apartment.
After an initial meeting in which he can barely
resist submitting to his carnal desires, he decides
that he wants to help her make her life better, even
if she isn’t interested.
Lenny and Linda begin seeing each other with
an unnatural regularity, even though their rela
tionship is platonic, as Amanda and Jerry begin an
affair in which she barely can find herself involved.
Lenny sets up Linda with Kevin (Michael
Rapaport), a dimwitted prizefighter who aspires
to work on his brother’s onion farm, not battle
Tyson. Then the story gets complicated.
All of the performances are terrific, except for
Helena Bonham Carter’s harried, pale Amanda,
who isn’t especially believable. Woody Allen is
DIVERSIONS Movies
great as Lenny, even if he’s doing his classic
routine, and Mira Sorvino is excellent in the dumb
blonde Linda role. Previously in cinematic nephew
Whit Stillman’s “Barcelona” and “Quiz Show,”
she carries the role into something substantial,
leaving the audience with more than a one-note
character whose physique is the only memorable
thing about the performance.
F. Murray Abraham, a grossly underrated and
underused actor, won an Oscar 10 years ago for his
performance in “Amadeus” and has been ne
glected ever since. His Chorus Leader is funny,
inquisitive, intelligent and much like Lenny, he
occasionally lets his emotions get the best of his
logic. Michael Rapaport, who was abused in
“Higher Learning” and shone in “Kiss Of Death,”
is perfect as Kevin. Rapaport seems to be getting
typecast as a tough-but-dumb Northerner, because
every role he has performed since his debut in
“Zebrahead” has played upon this, but he is still
incredible, conveying equal parts toughness and
discomfort in a role that should get him noticed by
more than the most extreme film buffs.
The only problem with “Aphrodite” is that it
epitomizes Allen’s new style. He is reluctant to
write with the intensity he once did and this seems
to be out of the fear that parallels will be drawn
between his films and his life. At the same time,
Allen doesn’t want to appear to be glorifying
himself, so he balances all of his characters’ posi
tives and negatives.
When Amanda has an affair with Jerry, we feel
sorry for Lenny, which could be construed as
making Lenny perfect, so Lenny gives in and has
an affair with Linda .Doing this makes the charac
ters realistic, but it also leaves the audience won
dering why his character would make this sudden
change.
Still leagues above every other comedy this year
in terms of wit and sheer intelligence, “Mighty
Aphrodite” only falters when it calls attention to
its avoidance of Allen’s personal publicity.
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‘When Nature Calls,’ Ace Ventura
Returns to Deliver More Laughs
Some people like to go to movies looking for a
message about society. Others like going to see their
favorite actors or actresses.
But if you want to go to a movie that will mairp you
laugh the entire time you are in the theater, go see “Ace
Ventura: When Nature Calls."
“Ace 2” is the sequel to the popular “Ace Ventura:
Pet Detective,” starring Jim Carrey, arguably the fun
niest person on the face of the planet. Ace is a
pompadoured pet detective
who people hire to find their
missingpets. He is the Doc
tor Doolittle of the ‘9os.
In this film, we find Ace
in a Tibetan monastery try
ing to find his “inner self”
BRIAN TRUITT
Movie Review
'Ace Ventura: When
Nature Calls'
A
after being unable to save a raccoon on a snow-covered
mountain in a hilarious scene reminiscent of
“Cliffhanger.” He is hired to find a sacred white bat
that was stolen from a Nibian tribe in Africa. The
mystery Ace has to solve is: who took the bat? Was it
the rival tribe, poachers or someone else? Of course,
Ace goes through many hilarious misadventures while
finding the bat. He rides through a forest singing
“Oiitty-chitty-bang-bang” in a range rover, spits on
tribal leaders, drives a camoflauged monster truck
through a wall of rock, busts up a high society gather
ing, elbow-smashes an alligator, goes through tribal
initiation rituals and is hit countless times with poison
darts, among other things.
“Ace 2,” written and directed by comic Steve
Oedekerk, uses the template for a great comedy sequel.
It keeps the best aspects of the original and uses the
same formula, but it also adds a lot of new aspects that
are better and funnier than the original. The same Ace
catch phrases are in the sequel, including “like a
glove,” “leh-hew, seh-her” and “allrighty, then.”
Thefilmisliterallynothing, though, without Cairey.
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“Ace 1 ” is what put him on the celebrity map, and here
he returns to what made him famous. For the last year
and-a-half, he has done no wrong, starring in hits like
“The Mask,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Batman
Forever,” and he is now an actor who can command
S2O million per movie.
It is obvious he has not sold out yet. He is great in
“Ace 2. ” The plot is enhanced (and made) by Carrey's
physical comedy. In certain places, Oedekerk just lets
him go off and have fun, which is the smartest thing to
do when you have someone like Carrey. The Ace
persona is his baby, and he treats it as such during the
movie; Ace is a lunatic who has a good heart and does
his best to save animals in trouble, but he will still strut
into an African village wearing a Hawaiian shirt and
tacky pants.
The only significant oversight and the main depar
ture from the original is the lack of more star power
around Carrey. In “Ace 1,” Carrey co-starred with
Courteney Cox, Sean Young, Ice-T and Dan Marino.
Even with these actors and actresses, Carrey stole the
movie.
The producers of the sequel may have thought that
he might be overshadowed by other stars, but with
Carrey’s personality, it is highly unlikely. The only
actor in the cast that most people may have heard of
before is Tommy Davidson.
Davidson, one of Carrey’s co-stars on the late
television series “In Living Color,” plays a brief role as
a tiny tribal warrior whom Ace has to fight in order to
become a member of the tribe.
Overall, “Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls” is a
great movie and one that all ages will love. If ysu have
not seen the original, you may want to check it out
before seeing the new one because it’s also hilarious.
Takeyour girlfriend, take your boyfriend, takeafriend
or just take yourself, but go see it; you will laujh your
head off. All righty, then ...
7