Love Letter (1999)

Its ads portrayed it as a wacky farce, while critics largely ignored it, presuming it to be a vanity project from Kate Capshaw (better known as Mrs. Steven Spielberg). But The Love Letter is neither; on the contrary, it's a low-key but surprisingly rich and touching film about love, illusions, and regret. Helen (Capshaw), a bookseller in a small seashore town, discovers an unsigned love letter that's fallen into the cushions of a couch in her store. The letter doesn't say who it's for, but Helen assumes it's for her and starts wondering who sent it. One would expect this to lead to a whirling comedy of mistaken identities, but after some amusing daydream moments, the movie follows its story with subtlety and nuance. The characters behave according to their own needs and desires, rather than the demands of standard Hollywood goofiness. The performances--from a cast including Tom Selleck (In and Out), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do), Ellen DeGeneres (EDtv), newcomer Julianne Nicholson, and others--are uniformly unforced and natural. Viewers weary of the hyped-up, absurd emotional climaxes of most so-called romantic comedies will find a respite here. The Love Letter is a genuinely charming film. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

Underrated, hilarious comedy

It appears that not everyone likes Woody Allen films. Well, I can't really
understand those people, especially when the guy makes such vastly entertaining little gems as "Hollywood Ending". It's true that this movie isn't absolutely brilliant, but it's close enough. This one makes for a great double feature when viewed after an earlier Allen classic also about a bewildered filmmaker, "Stardust Memories". So forget the critics who claim that Woody's time is past; it isn't. November 25, 2008

NYC-LA Culture Wars, Part II

As I noted in a review last year of Woody Allen's classic Annie Hall, that is among other things a defense of New York City as the cultural epicenter American culture such as it is, this is matter that has preoccupied him from early in his career as a director/ writer/actor/comic. Allen is the quintessential New Yorker so one knows where his sledge hammer will fall. In the current movie under review Hollywood Ending that same premise underlies his story line as he, once again, portrays on screen the trials and tribulations of trying to maintain some kind of artistic integrity in the world of Hollywood commercial filmmaking.

The plot here centers on Allen's character Val Waxman, an aging has-been director given another chance by, of all people, his ex-wife getting paralyzed by the prospects to such an extent that he has become temporarily blind. Nevertheless in the interest of comedy and his career (and their careers, as well) Val and his friends con their way through the filming of the remake of a 1940's film about New York City that is to be the key to his comeback. Along the way Allen gets to get his licks in on Hollywood culture, commercial filmmaking and the funny premise that commercial films are so dumb, for the most part, that a blind man is entirely capable of making a bad film, just like most other directors. Interesting film and, as always, full of autobiographical references, Allen's trademark cerebral humor and his extensive use of sight gags. Well worth a look see.

February 19, 2008

Fun, cute, well-paced

Part of the solid early 90s trilogy along with Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Small Time Crooks. Each one of these is a cute, silly, well-balanced story with a weaving plot that resolves with grace and symmetry. These movies are not laugh out loud funny, but the wise-cracks keep rolling as Woody waxes nostalgic and makes fun of himself. I find them very relaxing and enjoyable. This is Woody's last good movie. December 6, 2007

*Enjoyable Movie To Watch*

I really enjoyed this movie.It had people in it that you grew to like and care about.It was a very easy movie to watch and enjoy. November 11, 2007

Fairly amusing

Like most of his films of late, Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending" was panned by the critics, but it's actually fairly amusing. One of Allen's self-described "trifles," it casts the Woodman as a down on his luck director whose ex-wife persuades studio boss Treat Williams to give him one last shot at directing a major film. On the eve of production, he goes blind, a psychosomatic response to the way the plot parallels his personal life.

It's popular to suggest that since hitting 60, Allen's comic timing is off, but I laughed frequently as the blind director fumbled his way across the film set and engaged in conversation while facing an empty seat on the sofa rather than the person he's addressing. The movie within the movie turns out to be a disaster, of course, but it's hailed by the French critics. The ending mirrors Allen's own career these days. Once the fair-haired boy of American critics, Allen must now go abroad to find a receptive audience.

Brian W. Fairbanks August 8, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...