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Mighty Aphrodite

Mighty Aphrodite

List Price: $14.99
Your Price: $11.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This movie is brilliant. First of all, it purposely follows the structure of a Greek tragedy, and advertises the fact by incorporating a Greek Corus into the flick, which is just so cool. Cassandra appears in the film as does Tyresius (sp?) the blind seer of, ummm... was it Thebes or Troy? Anyway, it's a movie about acts and consequences, revolving around a husband and wife. Yeah Allen writes a lot about relationships, yes disfunction or insecurity are often a aspect, but what some folks don't realize is that he's not writing about "insecurity", or "neurosis" or whatever- he's writing about life and how wonderful, ridiculous, and painful it can be-and how so much of it can thankfully be laughed at. If you want to say he has a shtick, then that's it.

Allen's character in this movie is actually one of his most appealing. The Greek tradgedy model is great, because his character only makes two "hubris" inspired mistakes, one of which is simply the desire to find his adopted son's birth mother. This two "decisions of excess", you could say, are the only "typical" Woody Allen devices his character uses.

Mira Sorvino is incredible. She's not a "hooker with a heart of gold", not by any means. She's not your typical jaded-whore type either, she just lacks any moral squeamishness when it comes to what she does. She's actually a pretty complex character, so many usually discordant aspects live side-by-side, without being cliche.

The ending has a wrap-up from the chorus leader that kind of tells you why the movie is so great, in case you didn't get it. You know, but for the frank sexual talk and situations, this is Allen's sweetest film.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice Try Woody
Review: This movie is certainly not one of Allen's best but it does have it's merits. Allen's attempt to infuse a greek chorus and classical references is admirable and at times it is amusing bit frankly for the most part adds little to the movie and for some viewers will probably be an annoying distraction. Aside from that the movie has an interesting plot and Mira Sorvino is very funny as a ditsy hooker/porn star that happens to be the birth mother of Allen's adopted child. Allen's character becomes involved in her life trying to rescue her from the path she is on while his own marriage is apparently going down the tubes. The usual memorable lines from a Woody Allen movie are what keeps the film afloat and Allen and Sorvino provide most of the interesting dialogue. Their performances and the screenplay are what makes this one watchable. For Woody Allen fans it's definitely worth your time. Not his best but not bad.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this movie was extraordinarly amazing
Review: this movie took an advance look at the reality that may come from adoption no matter how great of a child you get it may have come from a toilet. miss sorvina was amzing in how she potrayed the the role of a idiotic hooker.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the few comedies I really enjoyed.
Review: Virtually the only Woody Allen movie in recent years I have enjoyed in its entirety! Mira Sorvino more than deserved the Oscar. I smiled throughout the whole thing. It's never on the shelf at the video store, so I had to buy it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greek Tragedy...A La Woody...Not So Tragic
Review: Whenever I need a smile or a good laugh I always turn to Woody Allen. I know he will never let me down, and "The Mighty Aphrodite" is no exception. As always he has gathered a fabulous ensemble that seem to be just perfect for the wonderful characters he creates. This one stars Woody(of course), as sportswriter Lenny Weinrib, who after being convinced by his wife to adopt baby Max, becomes obsessed(who can do obsessed better then he?) with finding the real mother.

The laughs are non stop as Lenny gets a little help on his quest from a very funny Greek Chorus, led by the great F. Murray Abraham. Lenny finds the mother who is not only a prostitute but an adult movie actress as well. "Linda" is not exactly the brightest person on earth, but you can't help loving her, and is played brillantly by Mira Sorvino. Lenny doesn't stop with finding her though, he is now out to change her life!

Meanwhile back at the Weinrib ranch, Lenny's wife Amanda(Helena Bonham Carter), is having thoughts of an extra-martial affair. Could this spell doom for Weinrib family? Can our Greek philosphers say the right words to save this marriage? It's a lot of fun finding out!

Woody takes love, prostitution, adultry combined with greek mythology and the great setting of New York, and gives us an hour and a half of pure delight. Mira Sorvino by the way, won several awards for her outstanding performance including Best Supporting Actress from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes as well.She's the funniest pro since "Irma La Douce". This great cast includes the likes of Olympia Dukakis,Claire Bloom,Peter Weller,and the wonderful Jack Warden as the blind man(Tiresias) who sees all.

If you have missed this gem,it's a must see. If it's been a while since you've seen it, watch it again and remember why you loved it so much the first time around.

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!"(The Greek Chorus)...enjoy...Laurie

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Greek Tragedy...A La Woody...Not So Tragic
Review: Whenever I need a smile or a good laugh I always turn to Woody Allen. I know he will never let me down, and "The Mighty Aphrodite" is no exception. As always he has gathered a fabulous ensemble that seem to be just perfect for the wonderful characters he creates. This one stars Woody(of course), as sportswriter Lenny Weinrib, who after being convinced by his wife to adopt baby Max, becomes obsessed(who can do obsessed better then he?) with finding the real mother.

The laughs are non stop as Lenny gets a little help on his quest from a very funny Greek Chorus, led by the great F. Murray Abraham. Lenny finds the mother who is not only a prostitute but an adult movie actress as well. "Linda" is not exactly the brightest person on earth, but you can't help loving her, and is played brillantly by Mira Sorvino. Lenny doesn't stop with finding her though, he is now out to change her life!

Meanwhile back at the Weinrib ranch, Lenny's wife Amanda(Helena Bonham Carter), is having thoughts of an extra-martial affair. Could this spell doom for Weinrib family? Can our Greek philosphers say the right words to save this marriage? It's a lot of fun finding out!

Woody takes love, prostitution, adultry combined with greek mythology and the great setting of New York, and gives us an hour and a half of pure delight. Mira Sorvino by the way, won several awards for her outstanding performance including Best Supporting Actress from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes as well.She's the funniest pro since "Irma La Douce". This great cast includes the likes of Olympia Dukakis,Claire Bloom,Peter Weller,and the wonderful Jack Warden as the blind man(Tiresias) who sees all.

If you have missed this gem,it's a must see. If it's been a while since you've seen it, watch it again and remember why you loved it so much the first time around.

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!"(The Greek Chorus)...enjoy...Laurie

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Etu Woody!
Review: Woody Allen at his funniest (and *raunchiest*--not for the prudish), particularly during his scenes with Mira Sorvino, who walks off with the film as a ditzy porn starlet. The only thing that prevents this from a full-out four-star rating is a baffling framing device in which characters from Greek mythology drop into the story from time to time to comment on the action. It's annoying and rarely funny.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Woody does it again...
Review: Woody Allen has never made a truly bad film. On the other hand, judged by his own exceptionally high standard of film-making, he can be pretty hit-and-miss. This one is a sure hit. Mighty Aphrodite is a modern myth, ingeniously told through the lens of classical Greek mythology, about a man who sets out on the fabulous quest for beauty. Woody is a father who tries to find the mother of his adopted son, in the belief that the mother of the child he idolizes will represent perfection. As always in Woody's world, things don't quite turn out as planned.

Mira Sorvino is charming, and Woody is - well, WOODY. This also features one of Dick Hyman's best scores (arranged from a number of jazz classics, as usual). And, as ever, one of America's greatest directors skillfully blends fantasy and reality, life and art to create a heartwarming comedy-drama. People tend to perceive Woody as essentially a cynic: In fact, his cynicism is always tempered by a genuine sense of hope; this is keenly felt in one of the director's best nineties films.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Woody Allen film!
Review: Woody Allen is a comic genius, and he outdid himself in "Mighty Aphrodite." But the real comic treat in this film is Mira Sorvino. Her role as the air-head porn star was hilarious -- she was the scene-stealer of the movie and she deserved every bit of that Oscar.

There are very few movies whose comic timing is as precise as this one. This is a dark comedy that you wouldn't want to miss. It's one of the best I've seen in recent years.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: More Mileage From Pygmalion
Review: __________________

Allen pulls riffs from a lot of literature and film, and imitation is the most sincere, well, you know. This is better than his worst and middle of the road films, not his best, but by comparison with other films, his are nearly always worth watching. His casting of himself in the male romantic lead only worked because of the context of the female lead. About every five years an Oscar goes to someone involved in his latest film, and this is one so honored. The humor in this film is some of his most refined, and he was not at all heavy-handed in his resort to some of his favorite tools, such as retrospective voice overs. The use of a faux Greek chorus was just plain funny. You should buy it and watch it often.


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