Scoop (2006)

There are three reasons to watch this movie: 1. If you think anything by Woody Allen is absolutely hilarious 2. If you think Scarlett Johanssen is really cute (because she is a lot of that) 3. If you're a Hugh Jackman fan... although you may be disappointed at the very two-dimensional character he's given to portray. Just realize going in this is a Woody Allen comedy (focus on Woody Allen) and not a romance comedy as portrayed in the ads. Character depth isn't in the recipe.On the other hand, if you don't like Woody Allen dominating a film, can only handle so much of Johansson being micro-directed, or are a Hugh Jackman fan, you may find this flick less than satisfying. While there are a few semi-humorous lines in this as well as a couple of well-acted moments, for me Scoop was a bit of a letdown (considering I was hoping for a solid Johansson / Jackman romance comedy). I am going to avoid relating the name of the film to cat litter commercials because that would be crass and irrelevant. However it would be fair to say that while the movie claims to star Johansson and Jackman, the prevalence of Allen in almost every scene of the movie (it surprises me he didn't pop up in the bedroom scenes) definitely gives a different flavor to the film than expected. This is typical Woody Allen humor but with considerably less wit than displayed in his earlier film. Unfortunately it drags Scarlett and Hugh along for the ride in a not-all-that-interesting tale that quickly becomes semi-narrative in scope. I felt as if I were watching an ongoing Allen commentary on everything that was going on in the show.It was our family movie night. My sister politely excused herself about halfway through and told me go ahead and finish watching it and let her know if the rest is worth watching. I didn't blame her. I later emailed her that between the two of us hers was the wiser decision. Allen fans may disagree with this review (especially when I read the glowing reviews about what an uproarious comedy this is), but I didn't go into this with the understanding I was watching a Woody Allen movie with two co-stars. I went in expecting a romantic-comedy and found little of either. There are apparently a lot of people who agree, as this barely squeaks out a 6.5 rating as of this review.I'll include no spoilers, no discussion of (plot?)... just a caution: if you like Woody Allen you might enjoy this movie. If viewers enjoy predictable, light-fluff plot lines, this makes a pretty decent rainy Saturday flick. Far worse films have been made-- and this does have the benefits of Johannson and Jackman to provide eye candy throughout-- its true saving grace and the reason I gave it 5 stars rather than a yawner 4. Perhaps the actors would agree-- this was not their best platform, and is nowhere near the best work of Woody Allen. Beware the reviews with gushing stars in their eyes. If you're an Allen fan and love the movie, I'm happy for you. Other folks may find this to be a cutesy flick centered around Woody Allen's performance. And I say that with the deepest sincerity. You're all amazing people, a credit to your race. Seriously, you've been wonderful. (That schlock got tiring pretty early.)

The plotting was clever and effective, but the lame attempts at humor should put to rest--finally--Allen's reputation as a comic master.The joke about Rubens painting/Reuben sandwiches was inexcusably childish, and one could see it coming a mile away.Allen seems to have a base of fans who are ready to love anything he does, and this has made him lazy.

Woody Allen starts this film with a lot of magic, delivering one of the most boredom characters he's played to date. I mean, it's not like I have seen many of his movies, but out of those which I've seen, Sid Waterman is surely the one. Considering that this film's beginning seemed a little uninteresting, I had my doubts whether it would get any good or not. Fortunately, it DID. Scarlett Johansson plays a brave woman who wants to investigate the case of a murderer, so she finds out a way to precisely do that: dating the main suspect. However, after she falls in love with him, it gets hard to make her notice the danger lies beneath her nose. Please notice that I'm not judging her; Jackman's character is a extreme elegant man who would NEVER be able to rise my bad expectations on him. He's just too calm to be a lunatic (please don't notice that I would also be thrown in the river, just like her). The great message of "Scoop" is that old cliché of "don't judge a book by its cover", which reminds me of "Aladdin" series, reason why I don't give a better rating than 7, even thought I admit that I had a really good time watching it. Thumbs up for Allen!

Review: This is yet another movie starring Woody Allen were he is rambling on about complete rubbish all the way through the film. The storyline was original but completely silly. Its about a terrible magician, played by Allen, who brings a girl (Johanssen) out of the audience for a magic trick and halfway through the stunt, she gets visited by a dead person who escaped the Grimm Reaper to tell her the true identity of a serial killer. WEIRD! Allen also gets to see the dead person so he joins Johanssen to take down the serial killer. The storyline was really weird but I liked the concept. The main problem is Woody Allen's writing which made the movie more of a silly comedy than a intriguing, murder mystery. Jackman, who plays the accused, had the ability to make his character interesting but the storyline really does go from one extreme to the another. It also didn't help that the film was based in the UK because the rich characters seemed more pompous than interesting. Personally I got fed up with the constant rambling on about trivial matters. I did stick with the film because I thought that it might switch into something serious, but Allen chose to stick with the unfunny theme. Average!Round-Up: With such big names like Johanssen and Jackman, I'm surprised that the budget was so small. Maybe it's because it was made nearly 10 years ago, before Jackman was Wolverine and Johanssen was the Black Widow. Anyway, I personally think that Allen spoilt the movie with his stuttering dialogue and silly humour. I liked Ian McShane, who played the deceased, but he wasn't in the movie that much. I also liked the ending, which was the only proper twist throughout the film, but it wasn't enough to make this film that great. It amazed me that Allen cast Jackman, whose Australian, alongside Johanssen, whose America and he filmed it all in the UK. Jackman does put on a great English accent and he plays pompous quite well, so he blended in with the rest of the English cast. Anyway, this just has to go down as another let down by Allen. Budget: $4million Worldwide Gross: $39millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their drama/thrillers about 2 people trying to work out whose the Tarot Card Killer with the help of a ghost 3/10