Alice (1990 film)

Written and directed by Woody Allen, Alice is the story about an upper-class New York housewife whose life changes after meeting a jazz musician as she thinks about her life as she turns to a mysterious Chinese man for help. Inspired by Federico Fellini’s 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits, the film is a mixture of romance and fantasy where a woman tries to find herself away from the life she’s lived. Starring Mia Farrow, William Hurt, Joe Mantegna, Alec Baldwin, Keye Luke, Judy Davis, Blythe Danner, Cybill Shepherd, Bernadette Peters, and Bob Balaban. Alice is an extraordinary film from Woody Allen.

The film plays into the life of a rich New York City housewife who goes to a mysterious Chinese man (Keye Luke) in Chinatown to get something for her aching back. What happens instead is that this woman named Alice (Mia Farrow) goes into a journey of self-discovery as she thinks about her 16-year marriage to Doug (William Hurt) while falling for a musician named Joe (Joe Mantegna) whom she had dreams about. In taking different amounts of herbs, Alice encounters these revelations about her life while wondering who to be with as she turns to her estranged sister Dorothy (Blythe Danner) for help while becoming driven to do something about her life.

It’s a film that takes this woman who for all of her life has lived a world where it’s very routine where she shops, goes to salons, gossip with various friends, and do all sorts of things as a rich woman. Yet, Alice is also quite prudish and unwilling to take risks where she seems to be content with her life despite the fact that she and Doug don’t spend much time together anymore as he’s always working. It’s only until she starts to have some backaches where she meets the mysterious Dr. Yang as she takes different herbs in her drinks to play into her attraction towards Joe as well as doing things like be invisible and pry into his life and other people’s lives.

The screenplay that Woody Allen creates is full of these revelations that Alice faces not just about herself but also her late mother (Gwen Verdon) and the things she does as well as her marriage that’s definitely lost steam. While she finds some happiness in Joe, it’s not enough as Joe is dealing with being a divorcee with a child to take care of. Though Alice is also a mother, her two kids are often in the care of a nanny as it adds more to her own existential plight as well as what kind of woman she needs to be.

Allen’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of compositions though there are moments of style in the way he brings up this idea of fantasy. Notably as it includes a sequence where Alice meets the ghost of her former lover Ed (Alec Baldwin) who observes her as well as Joe while having a very low opinion on Doug. There’s also some funny moments of Alice being invisible as she talks to a friend on the phone as only the phone is shown while another sequence has Alice and Joe both be invisible through the herbal drink that Alice had been carrying where it’s funny but also would become a key plot point for both characters. There’s also a moment where Alice has to face things about her childhood and her relationship with her estranged sister as it also plays some truths about her mother. All of these revelations where Allen uses medium shots and some close-ups are all to express Alice’s journey into finding herself and meaning in her life. Overall, Allen crafts a very majestic and compelling film about a woman’s personal journey in finding herself.

Cinematographer Carlo Di Palma does excellent work with the film‘s very colorful cinematography from some of the look of the interiors like Alice and Doug‘s home to the more low-key look of the scenes in Chinatown. Editor Susan E. Morse does nice work with the editing as it‘s mostly straightforward where it doesn‘t go for style except in a few rhythmic cuts for some of its comedic moments. Production designer Santo Loquasto, with set decorator Susan Bode and art director Speed Hopkins, does amazing work with the set designs from the look of Alice and Doug’s posh home to the school where her kids and Joe’s daughter go to.

Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland does fantastic work with the costumes from the posh clothes Alice and her friends wear to the more simplistic look of Dr. Yang. Visual effects supervisor Randall Balsmeyer does terrific work with some of the visual effects like the dissolved look of Ed to some of the moments where Alice and Joe become invisible. Sound editor Robert Hein does superb work with the sound to create some effects where dialogue is presented while the characters aren’t talking as well as some of the scenes in the locations. The film’s music soundtrack features a mix of jazz and classical music to play up the sense of adventure and fantasy that is prevalent in the film.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is brilliant for the ensemble that is created where it features some small appearances from Holland Taylor as a friend of Alice’s, June Squibb as Alice’s maid, Gwen Verdon and Patrick O’Neal as Alice’s late parents, filmmaker James Toback as a writing professor Alice briefly goes to for instructions on writing, Elle MacPherson as a model at a clothing store, Bob Balaban as a guest at Dorothy’s Xmas party, and Judy Davis as Joe’s ex-wife Vicki. Other notable small roles include Alec Baldwin as Alice’s deceased lover Ed, Bernadette Peters as a muse who appears through one of Alice’s herbal drinks, and Cybill Shepherd as an old friend of Alice’s who becomes a powerful TV executive who is uninterested in Alice’s ideas.

Keye Luke is amazing as Dr. Yang as a man who gives Alice mysterious herbs to help her as he would guide her into the journey that she must take. William Hurt is terrific in a small though sort of bland role as Alice’s husband Doug as a man who is always working while not really understanding about what his wife does. Blythe Danner is wonderful as Alice’s older sister Dorothy as a woman whom Alice hadn’t seen who becomes aware of Alice’s problems as well as giving her some harsh truths about Alice. Joe Mantegna is great as the musician Joe Ruffalo as a man whom Alice falls for as he is seeking for someone to overcome his life as a divorced man while being mystified by some of Alice’s experience with the herbs. Finally, there’s Mia Farrow in a remarkable performance as the titular character as a woman who learns about her life as well as finding more about herself as Farrow brings a bit of humor and humility to a character that becomes strong as the story progresses.

Alice is a marvelous film from Woody Allen that features a winning leading performance from Mia Farrow. Along with a great supporting cast that includes Joe Mantegna, William Hurt, Blythe Danner, and the late Keye Luke. It’s a film that isn’t just one of Allen’s more entertaining films but also one of his most thought-provoking about individuality and finding a role in life. In the end, Alice is a sensational film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don’t Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

The Jerk

Directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias, The Jerk is the story of an idiotic white man who was born into a family of black sharecroppers as he is forced to make it on his own where he suddenly becomes rich with a strange adventure. The film is a comedy that the rise and fall of a dimwitted man who has no idea what he’s done. Starring Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh, and Jackie Mason. The Jerk is a fun and delightful comedy from Carl Reiner.

Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) is a homeless bum who was adopted many years ago by a family of black sharecroppers in Mississippi as he reflects his past in how he realized he’s just a white man living with a black family. Realizing that he needs to leave to find out who he is, Navin goes on an adventure to St. Louis where he adopts a dog he calls Shithead and gets a job and place working at a gas station run by Harry Hartounian (Jackie Mason). One day when dealing with a customer named Stan Fox (Bill Macy), Navin reveals an invention that can help Fox not keep his glasses from slipping as Fox is happy about the invention. Meanwhile, a madman (M. Emmet Walsh) goes after Navin as he chases Navin towards a traveling carnival where Navin gets a new job there as well as girlfriend in an intimidating biker named Patty Bernstein (Catlin Adams).

After meeting a beautiful young woman in Marie (Bernadette Peters), Navin falls in love with her until Patty finds out where she confronts Marie only to get a surprise of her own. Navin and Marie have a courtship until Marie leaves abruptly where Navin has no idea what to do until he gets a message from Fox over the invention Navin made. Suddenly, Navin is rich as he reunites with Marie as they live a lavish life. Yet, it would all change when filmmaker Carl Reiner files a lawsuit against Navin for the invention as it would become Navin’s downfall.

The film is essentially a comical take on the rise-and-fall story as it focuses on a dim-witted white man who was adopted by a black family as he has trouble figuring out who he is until he makes an invention where he becomes rich until something goes wrong. It’s a story that does play to the formula but it is more about this dimwitted man who has no clue about the world outside while he often stumbles his way into fame and fortune. The screenplay does play into these conventions while creating a character that is as silly and as naïve as Navin R. Johnson as he claims to be born as a poor black child. Throughout his journey, he learns about his “special purpose” while falling in love and go through all sorts of trials and tribulations.

Carl Reiner’s direction is definitely off-the-wall in terms of the way he presents comedy as it is partially a road film and an existential comedy of sorts. Shot in all sorts of locations, Reiner makes sure that he finds a way for the comedy to just be loose and natural. Notably as it plays to the way Navin stumbles around in his journey from one part of the world to another. Even as Navin does something that is quite stupid where Reiner always inject something to maintain the film’s humor. While a lot of the technical presentation is straightforward, Reiner does manage to find ways to keep the humor intact as the film becomes more absurd as it progresses right to the end. Overall, Reiner creates a very funny film about the rise and fall of a white man born as a poor black child.

Cinematographer Victor J. Kemper does nice work with the film‘s photography as a lot of it is straightforward including the stylish lights for the disco room at Navin‘s mansion. Editors Bud Molin and Ron Spang do terrific work with the editing by utilizing lots of rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s crazier moments such as the scenes where Navin writes letters to his family and a hilarious scene involving Navin trying to chase a kid riding a small train. Production designer Jack T. Collis and set decorator Richard C. Goddard do excellent work with some of the set pieces including the scenes at the carnival and at the mansion.

Costume designer Theodora Van Runkle does wonderful work with the costumes from the dresses that Marie wears to the leather-biker clothes of Patty. The sound work of Charles M. Wilborn is superb for some of the film‘s big moments such as Navin dancing to soft music and some of the scenes at the mansion. The film’s music by Jack Elliot is excellent as it is a mixture of all sorts of music from blues, classical, and other pieces to play up the film’s humor while the music features a blues piece in the film’s early moments as well as a great duet between Martin and Peters for the song Tonight, You Belong to Me.

The casting by Gino Havens and Penny Perry is great for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Rob Reiner as a truck driver, Carl Reiner as himself, co-writer Carl Gottlieb as the infamous Iron Balls McGinty, Richard Ward and Mabel King as Navin’s parents, and Bill Macy as the investor Stan Fox. Catlin Adams is very funny as the intimidating biker Patty Bernstein while Jackie Mason is superb as the wise yet humorous gas station owner Harry Hartounian. M. Emmet Walsh is excellent as the madman who tries to go after Navin in the most insane ways. Bernadette Peters is wonderful as Marie who falls for Navin as she becomes the one person Navin is willing to share his life with.

Finally, there’s Steve Martin in an outstanding performance as Navin R. Johnson. It’s a film that truly defines Martin as one of the great comedy actors in the way he is able to make an imbecile so likeable while doing things that are noble but in the dumbest of ways. It is a performance by Martin that one just couldn’t stop watching where he does whatever it takes to bring laughter while also showing sensitivity to his performance as he is the heart and soul of this film.

The Jerk is an incredibly hilarious comedy from Carl Reiner featuring a remarkable performance from Steve Martin. The film is definitely one of the most off-the-wall and absurd comedies made in the 1970s while being a great springboard for the career of Steve Martin. It’s also a film that isn’t afraid to be politically incorrect or just be very low-brow. In the end, The Jerk is a marvelous film from Carl Reiner.

Carl Reiner Films: (Enter Laughing) - (The Comic) - (Where’s Poppa?) - (Oh God!) - (The One and Only) - (Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid) - (The Man with Two Brains) - (All of Me) - (Summer Rental) - (Summer School) - (Bert Rigby, You’re a Fool) - (Sibling Rivalry) - (Fatal Instinct) - (That Old Feeling)

© thevoid99 2013