Rating: 
Summary: just a silly funny move
Review: Don't listen to Adi's review, calling the film "juvenile"
Adi should watch some of today's teen exploits to find a true juvenile movie.
This film was far beyond its time, and is a SPOOF, like many comedies. If you don't believe most of the reviews, just rent it first........have a few drinks, and you'll laugh hard......this is the one movie that made me "discover" the talent of Woody Allen, and I'm glad I did.
Rating:
Summary: just a silly funny move
Review: Don't listen to Adi's review, calling the film "juvenile"
Adi should watch some of today's teen exploits to find a true juvenile movie.
This film was far beyond its time, and is a SPOOF, like many comedies. If you don't believe most of the reviews, just rent it first........have a few drinks, and you'll laugh hard...... this is the one movie that made me "discover" the talent of Woody Allen, and I'm glad I did.
Rating:
Summary: just a silly funny move
Review: Don't listen to Adi's review, calling the film "juvenile"
Adi should watch some of today's teen exploits to find a true juvenile movie.
This film was far beyond its time, and is a SPOOF, like many comedies. If you don't believe most of the reviews, just rent it first........have a few drinks, and you'll laugh hard...... this is the one movie that made me "discover" the talent of Woody Allen, and I'm glad I did.
Rating: 
Summary: Garbage.
Review: Huge disappointment from an otherwise consistent, high-quality period in Allen's career. I'm no prude, but the whole exercise is simply base and comes across as simply dirty as opposed to dirty and clever - even the Austin Powers films display greater sexual wit. The "Fantastic Voyage" sendup is definitely the highlight, but nary a laugh is to be found in the remainder of the film. And references to gang-rape and child molestation simply are not funny in any context.
Rating: 
Summary: Inconsistent... but brilliant at times
Review: I found this to be a very hit-or-miss affair. The scenes which Woody doesn't appear in ("Are transvestites homosexual?", "What's my perversion?", and "What is sodomy?") miss his comic touch. Granted, Gene Wilder is deliriously funny as a man in love with a sheep (shouldn't the segment have been called "What is bestiality?"), but the other scenes never rise above bad Saturday Night Live-style parody. The cross-dressing scene goes for cheap and easy laughs, while the tired cliché of a game show turned upside down has only one funny moment (the rabbi's wife grimly feasting on a plate of pork). When Woody does appear in a scene, the film comes alive. The 'Woody' character works perfectly in an anthology about the confusing nature of sex, because that for me is the essence of his character. His sexual confusion and manic personality kicks every situation into a higher gear. The Fool he plays in the first scene - a hapless borscht-belt style comic transported to a medieval court - delivers great line after great line in ridiculous old English ("TB or not TB, that is congestion"). His Fellini-esque Fabrizio (in "Why do some women have trouble achieving orgasm?"), confused about the frigidity of his newlywed wife, plays it cool in his Mastroianni sunglasses and world-weary Italian. But you know this guy is a hapless shnook anyway, when his wife can only get turned on for sex when it's in a public place. His Victor Shakapopoulous (sp?) saves the world from - yes it's true - a giant "tit" (size 4000X for those of you scoring at home). But the most wonderful scene is the last one, "What happens during ejaculation?" Taking a cue from "Fantastic Voyage", we see the bureaucratic inner workings of one man's body, including the control tower (conducted by Tony Randall and Burt Reynolds), the stomach (trying to process an unexpected order of fettuccini), the tongue (lubricated and rolled-out just in time to receive a kiss), and the penis (powered by sweaty men in workman's overalls). Woody shows up as a sperm, having second thoughts about ever volunteering for duty ("I hear some guys smash their heads on a hard, rubber wall!"). It is a great piece of satire, towering over the lukewarm parody of the rest of the pieces. Something tells me this last scene would have made a great feature-length movie itself.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent... but brilliant at times
Review: I found this to be a very hit-or-miss affair. The scenes which Woody doesn't appear in ("Are transvestites homosexual?", "What's my perversion?", and "What is sodomy?") miss his comic touch. Granted, Gene Wilder is deliriously funny as a man in love with a sheep (shouldn't the segment have been called "What is bestiality?"), but the other scenes never rise above bad Saturday Night Live-style parody. The cross-dressing scene goes for cheap and easy laughs, while the tired cliché of a game show turned upside down has only one funny moment (the rabbi's wife grimly feasting on a plate of pork). When Woody does appear in a scene, the film comes alive. The 'Woody' character works perfectly in an anthology about the confusing nature of sex, because that for me is the essence of his character. His sexual confusion and manic personality kicks every situation into a higher gear. The Fool he plays in the first scene - a hapless borscht-belt style comic transported to a medieval court - delivers great line after great line in ridiculous old English ("TB or not TB, that is congestion"). His Fellini-esque Fabrizio (in "Why do some women have trouble achieving orgasm?"), confused about the frigidity of his newlywed wife, plays it cool in his Mastroianni sunglasses and world-weary Italian. But you know this guy is a hapless shnook anyway, when his wife can only get turned on for sex when it's in a public place. His Victor Shakapopoulous (sp?) saves the world from - yes it's true - a giant "tit" (size 4000X for those of you scoring at home). But the most wonderful scene is the last one, "What happens during ejaculation?" Taking a cue from "Fantastic Voyage", we see the bureaucratic inner workings of one man's body, including the control tower (conducted by Tony Randall and Burt Reynolds), the stomach (trying to process an unexpected order of fettuccini), the tongue (lubricated and rolled-out just in time to receive a kiss), and the penis (powered by sweaty men in workman's overalls). Woody shows up as a sperm, having second thoughts about ever volunteering for duty ("I hear some guys smash their heads on a hard, rubber wall!"). It is a great piece of satire, towering over the lukewarm parody of the rest of the pieces. Something tells me this last scene would have made a great feature-length movie itself.
Rating:
Summary: Juvenille and not that funny...
Review: I used to love Woody Allen's work, and I had expected great things from this movie. Unfortunately for me, I was disappointed. The humor is too juvenile to even be called childish. Yes, I do realize this movie was made 30 years ago, when the sexual standards were more conservative, but 30 years later I'm having problem understanding what's so funny about these situations.
Rating:
Summary: gene wilder got robbed...
Review: if it wasn't for the godfather coming out the same year(1972) and three of its supporting actors being nominated for the oscar(caan, pacino, duvall), gene wilder would almost certainly have been nominated for best supporting actor for his performance in "what is sodomy?" and may have even won... joel grey was nominated and won for cabaret that year, but eddie albert in heartbreak kid..? over wilder..? come on... wilder's 23-second take when stavros milos tells him he's "in love with a sheep" is one of the funniest things i've ever seen in my life... and when he's yelling at the customers in the deli... "i'm not a waiter..! don't call me 'waiter'..! i'm a doctor..!" oh, my god... wilder got robbed, plain and simple... an overlooked and underacknowledged masterpiece... on par with his work in wonka and young frankenstein...
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time
Review: Love Woody, but this film is not one of his best, or even close. Depending on how close to the surface your funny bone is, this is one of those movies in which you might occasionally say "that was clever" or "that was witty", but you'll rarely laugh out loud. The only time I laughed out loud was during one skit when Woody introduces himself as "Victor...Victor Shakapopolis". Other than that, the entire movie was pretty much laughless. The last segment, for example, is a classic and is the best one, and certainly deserved to be included, yet I can't imagine too many people rolling on the floor - it's simply not funny, just very clever. Not to say that's a bad thing, but we know Woody can make us laugh and he just doesn't do it in this film. The sheep sketch with Gene Wilder and the "What's My Perversion" sketch are in pretty bad taste, which might be ok if they were funny at all, but they're not. Too bad. It's one of the Woodman's few misfires. I can only recommend the DVD version if you have a few bucks to spare someday and are desperate for something to watch. The best thing about the film was some fantastic guitar/organ jazz played during a few skits. And the musicians/songs weren't even identified in the credits!
Rating: 
Summary: movie that makes one feel young again
Review: My old friend Woody is as good as he can get. The striking feature of the film is the personality that is being developed and actually disclosed in "fleshly" forms. The film is the natural study guide for any would-be masochists or Pfizer addictives. Beware!!! the more you watch it, the more you need it. Once you pop it you can't stop it. So enjoy!
|
