Scoop
Written and Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane

If there’s one thing I can look forward to every year it’s a new Woody Allen film. He’s been churning out a film every year since the early eighties, and although a few have disappointed me over the years, I am still usually entertained. Scoop is the second film that Allen has shot in England, the first one being last year’s fantastic Match Point. Apparently he couldn’t get funding in the States so he picked up and left.

Scoop also sees the return of Allen in a starring role. He plays the same character he plays in all his films, the quirky narcissistic funnyman, this time in the form of a magician named Sid Waterman. Sid is touring England and performing his show to pretty much anyone who will watch. Along the way he meets a young journalism student named Sondra Pransky, played by Scarlett Johansson. She is in the audience one night and is asked to be a part of one of his tricks. The same old trick where you enter a box and you disappear (or as Sid calls it, de-scrambling your molecules). While in the box, the ghost of famous reporter Joe Strombel, played by Ian McShane, appears and tells her he has the biggest scoop of the decade, something he has learned from beyond the grave. He knows the identity of the tarot card killer, a serial killer who has been terrorizing the streets of London. His suspect is a famous aristocrat named Peter Lyman, played by Hugh Jackman. Now it’s up to Sid and Sondra to solve the case. So the plot is kind of out there, but it does work for the type of film that it is.

All the usual good things from a Woody Allen film are present in Scoop: the great music, wonderful performances and great writing. Woody Allen and Scarlett Johansson work great together. They play off one another perfectly, and if it weren’t for these two characters bickering at each other the film would have been a real disappointment. Johansson is playing a similar type of character to Allen’s and although I’m not quite sure why Allen’s character is helping Johansson’s, it does makes for some memorable scenes. This is the second time Johansson has worked with Allen and I hope they continue to make films together. Allen’s sense of humour is great and although I’ve seen this character many times before, and at times even seemed like I was hearing the same jokes, I still enjoyed watching him on screen. Allen seems like the only filmmaker that can get away with playing pretty much the same guy in most of his films.

I didn’t really have too many problems with this film, but the problems I did have stayed with me after I left the theatre, which is never good. The film’s “mystery” is pretty weak. The cards are pretty much laid out for you right away, which I guess is what Allen intended. However it would have been nice to leave some things to the imagination. Another problem I had with the film was Hugh Jackman. For most of the film it seemed like he wasn’t even there. You would think being in a Woody Allen film would give you the motivation to give a great performance but I guess Wolverine isn’t cut out to play a famous aristocrat. I might be a little too harsh on this performance, and maybe its because I enjoyed Allen’s and Johansson’s a lot more, but it did kind of pull me out of the movie every time he was on screen.

Overall, Scoop was a fun time at the movies, and with some real disappointments this summer it was nice to actually come away from the theatre happy. With that being said, it’s not for everyone, but if you enjoy Woody Allen’s type of comedy then you’ll probably really enjoy this. — James

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