Picking Up the Pieces (2000)

I am surprised at what poor reviews this film has gotten. I myself liked it very much.It's very irreverent, very politically incorrect, and I can see where it would offend a lot of people. However, I didn't think it was mean-spirited at all, and it encourages us to think about our faith and what spirituality means to us.I enjoyed seeing Woody Allen out of his comfort zone--wearing Western clothes, and as a character named "Tex"--and, although I am sure that this film didn't make much money, I thought it was adorable.I hesitate to recommend it, though, since it is a very very dark comedy. One of the cast members (I think Fran Drescher) compared it to "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World." I would definitely avoid it if you're offended by anyone poking fun at religion.

This movie could have been made into something good, but it never rose to the occasion. I love seeing Woody Allen playing someone other than the neurotic New Yorker. Here he is in the exact opposite role - an southeastern New Mexican. I get tired of seeing Woody Allen always being Woody Allen. So, this role should have been refreshing. Surrounding himself by a competent cast of actors and comedians, you would have expected something good.The problem with this movie is that it took a good idea and never really went anywhere with it. Tex is a mild mannered butcher, who finally murders his wife after all his affairs. While disposing of her, he accidentally leaves her finger lying on the highway. In the mostly Hispanic town that he lives in, the people start having miracles happen. So, they decide that the finger is the result of these miracles. Fran Drescher is very funny as a nun who is always crying "sin" over everything. However, that's it. You would expect something out of this movie, but you never find it. A big disappointment.

An Alfonso Arau (Mexican director) film with American characters and in English. Just as ludicrous and circoesk as some of his other works.Love his perceptions and the fun he makes of the Catholic church. Some of the observations are absolutely right on. Others are so ridiculous that they're hysterically funny. Woody Allan was type cast as a murderer who gets away with murder and at the end recaps the whole film and observes that God is probably saying, "F___ it if you can't take a joke." Which might be what the movie is saying too. David Schwimmer - zip nothing Fran Drescher - is an absurd caricature.So it's supposed to be a religious spoof... waste of time and money in my opinion, and there is some humor.

The bawdy, crass jokes and lowbrow humor employed in Bill Wilson's script work in his story about a kosher butcher who catches his unfaithful wife in the act and is driven to homicidal maniacal behavior. From the gags involving a permanently frozen hand with its middle finger extended, to the obvious dialog quips, this movie is highly entertaining, with Farrelly/Coen Brothers influences. The impressive cast executes all the silliness with great ease and skill. Woody Allen's characteristically droll performance makes an interesting backdrop against the film's New Mexico locale.Despite the obvious nature of the story, Director Alfonso Arau's use of visual realism lends to it's contrasting irony. Arau's style is reminiscent of some of Mexico's better comedies celebrating the culture through humorous eyes.