Café Society

Café Society is fun, romantic, and surprisingly smart, with a lot more going for it than it might seem. As we get a glimpse into contrasting scenes of New York and Hollywood during a rich and vibrant time in America's history, we begin to see the mentalities of the esteemed and the successful, and begin to realise there is perhaps this side to all of us. Employing a colourful and exciting aesthetic and a rich and genuine cast, Woody Allen achieves an interesting and engaging movie with a lot to think about.

Set in the mid 1930s, Café Society follows Bobby Dorfman (Jesse Eisenberg) as he decides to leave his quaint life in the Bronx behind and move to Hollywood to make a name for himself. Bobby hooks up with his uncle Phil (Steve Carrell), a highly successful film agent, who helps him get a start in the industry. Bobby quickly falls for the charming Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), Phil's surprisingly grounded secretary, however complications force the two apart. Bobby returns to New York to run a night club with his gangster brother Ben (Corey Stoll), before his life gets shaken up once again as Vonnie re-enters the picture.

The writing is surprisingly clever, with an easily missed message smartly woven into the changes experienced by the characters. While the end of the movie may ultimately leave audiences wondering if it was nothing more than a comfortable romance flick, the changes experienced by the characters throughout the film suggest otherwise. As Bobby remarks to Vonnie how she has fallen into the glitz and glamour lifestyle she had once loathed, we can't help but realise the same of Bobby himself, who perhaps only became this way through the bitter lessons learnt during his time in Hollywood. Needless to say, there is much to think about in the film's true meaning, and Woody Allen crafts these complicated pictures of society masterfully.

Performances are impressive across the board. Jesse Eisenberg employs a mix of his trademark awkwardness (The Social Network, Zombieland) as well as his surprisingly enjoyable and just as recognisable charismatic character (Now You See Me) to create an enjoyable dynamic to the character of Bobby. Likewise, Kristen Stewart proves she has matured much from her Twilight days to deliver a charming and enjoyably complex performance as Vonnie. Cafe Society features an impressive supporting cast, with particular mentions to Parker Posey who continues to raise the question of why she isn't in more A-List movies.

When it boils down to it, however, this movie isn't perfect. While Woody Allen's narration is ultimately enjoyable, it is perhaps unnecessary in telling a story which easily tells itself, and the constant jumps between the two different sides of America can be a bit jarring at times. This being said, the upbeat jazz soundtrack helps draw the viewer into the rich context of the film, easily supported by the constant name-dropping to 1930s Hollywood celebrities such as Fred Astaire and Joan Crawford. While it is often easy for intended immersion such as this to feel forced, Café Society does it with ease.

If you like complicated romance, you will enjoy this movie. If you like jazz and the 30s, you will enjoy this movie. If you like impressive portrayals of socially unsure and evolving characters, you will definitely enjoy this movie. And if you've ever seen a Woody Allen film and liked it, you will enjoy this movie. 

Mascots

Christopher Guest mockumentaries are well renowned for being representative of middle America. Things like community theatre and dog shows are things that, though the majority of us may not be familiar with, exist in the real world. His first film in a decade however, focuses on a fictional mascot competition. While Mascots strives to recapture the glory of Best in Show, it ends up landing only a few of its ambitious jokes, while leaving others stranded by the wayside.

In the lead up to the World Mascot Association's Fluffy Awards, mascots travel from all over the globe to compete for the Gold Fluffy. There are Mike (Zach Woods) and Mindy Murray (Sarah Baker), a husband and wife mascot team for a small town baseball team, Cindi Babineaux (Parker Posey), whose character Alvin the Armadillo is a the mascot for a Mississippi university, Tommy Zucarello (Chris O'Dowd), a Canadian who considers himself the bad boy of mascotary with his character The Fist. There are many other mascots including Sid the Hedgehog from the UK. Meanwhile, judges Gabby Monkhouse (Jane Lynch) and A.J. Blumquist (Ed Begley Jr.) are squabbling over who used to be the better mascot and head of the WMA Langston Aubrey (Michael Hancock) is trying to square away a deal to televise the event with TV executive Upton French (John Michael Higgins).

As you can probably tell, one of the problems with Mascots is the sheer amount of characters. I didn't mention all of them, but they all get their own one on one interviews with the camera. It gets to the point where you can't remember the ins and outs of everyone's stories. In the past, Guest has focused on a core group of individuals and gotten testimonies from other characters in a non-interview style. Another thing I found disappointing was the shift in style. For want of a better word, Guest's films have always had a realist quality. Take, for example, the dog show in Best in Show. There was an actual dog show going on in the background with actual trainers and dogs that weren't characters in the show. But here, the background mascots aren't entirely convincing. Another part of the realist style is the way the films were shot. They seemed like they were low-grade and hastily put together, the sort of thing you'd expect from an amateur documentarian. Mascots is too shiny and polished. The sets look like sets, rather than the location shooting you'd expect. Finally, there are a few jokes that are there, but missed out on. Zach Woods' Mike has a history of infidelity that doesn't suit his skinny body and that could have been explored so much more. Bob Balaban (who plays the owner of Mike and Mindy's baseball team) has a lot of sexual weirdness that is set up for nothing.

But these types of movies boil down to the performances. Long form improvisation is tough, but all these comedians are awesome at it. Although I think it would have benefitted from having veterans Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy, the other older cast members who are at play are pretty awesome. Chief among them is John Michael Higgins, who doesn't get too much screen time, but what he does with it is magical. His impassioned monologue about his career trajectory is weird and wonderful. Michael Hitchcock is amazing at awkwardly explaining his way through the phenomenon that is furries (a joke that I felt never hit its mark in the movie). Newer inclusions to the team are pretty amazing too. Zach Woods has always been a hilarious improv actor and he provided some of my favourite parts of the film. Chris O'Dowd was a wonderful inclusion to the film, although I felt his ending was a little off. There is also a stunt at the end of the film which I felt was pulled off expertly, and while it didn't make me laugh, I was definitely amazed at the theatrics of it.

Mascots tries too hard at making the mascot competition the joke. I feel like more time should have gone into focusing on the characters and giving more realism to the film. I did feel removed from the entire event and that's the opposite of how you want to feel with this movies. You're supposed to identify with these characters, but that was just too hard.

Irrational Man

Every time I go and see a Woody Allen movie, I go in with a preconceived notion based on past experience what that film is going to be, but he always throws me for a loop. The movies of his that really stick out to me are the ones where he makes a sharp right hand turn not long into the movie, for example time travel in Midnight In Paris. Because of this, that is why Irrational Man sticks out for me.

Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) is a philosophy professor who has lost all will to live. He is alcoholic and teaches his classes only halfheartedly. He develops a relationship with fellow teacher Rita (Parker Posey) and a friendship with student Jill (Emma Stone). Because of a reputation that precedes him everyone believes that he and Jill are having an affair, including Jill, despite his active efforts against one. One day while eating at a diner with Jill, they both eavesdrop into a conversation being had about a crooked judge and a child custody case. It is in that moment that Abe is lifted from his bad mindset when he decides to kill the judge.

With this movie, Allen is setting out to make his own adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller Rope, a movie where two university students attempt to pull off the perfect crime and in a way it works quite well. It definitely has resemblance to an Allen film, but at the same time it is fun and refreshing. Yes, the main character is self absorbed and neurotic, but he is also self aware about the situation he is in, often spouting forth philosophy tenants to match his feelings.

Allen also throws in some big moments that make you jump in delight or fear at what is going on. I like the films when he does this because it really throws me off guard. The last film of his I saw was Blue Jasmine and that was a rather tame self-reflective piece. When he shakes his own formula, it is really quite enjoyable for the audience.

Emma Stone is quite obviously becoming Allen's new muse and I think is doing a good job at inspiring him to tread new ground. Her character couldn't be further from that in Magic in the Moonlight, here she is just playing an archetypical college girl, Emma Stone if you will. Joaquin is fantastic and funny as Abe Lucas and it is amazing to see the transformation his character goes through. It is also amazing to see his dedication to gaining the weight for this role.

Irrational Man is such a refreshing new Woody Allen movie that would be perfect for any jaded fans of his like I was, it is filled with fun moments and funnier performances.