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Your review of Everyone Says I Love You seemed to say that Allen is losing his sense and even his hipness. Quite the contrary. The dialogue was as sharp and stylish as Classic Allen. True, the solos did make one wish for a loaded shotgun (or, for the more sensible viewer, at least the fast-forward on the remote control), Barrymore was dreadful, and Portman's talents were definitely wasted, but you left out several postive moments in your synopsis. Tim Roth was excellent as the ex-con, his tough-guy presence so reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs and The Hit and yet so caught up in the parody of feel-good musical atmosphere that it seemed hysterical; a fish-out-of-the-water character. The swallowing of the engagement ring and following hospital scene were a gas, and Allen's attempt to con Julia Roberts into believing he was her dream man was intelligent and well-developed. And what do you mean it displayed no "dark humor?" The funeral parlor sequence and the various references to religion were very much in the market of Annie Hall and Manhattan. Not to say that Everyone... is anywhere near as brilliant as his two truly greatest films, Zelig and Sleeper, but it served its purpose as an entertaining and funny tribute to the brothers Marx and love songs from the first half of the century that Allen undoubtably adores as much as Groucho himself. * * * - at least.
--John C
7/15/97
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