I cut the "Woodman" as much slack as the next guy, which seems to be a prerequisite now for going to his movies. But this one was a bit too much to ask, I'm afraid. Some ripped off and recycled jokes (verbatim, from Broadway Danny Rose, which seems to be the character Woody Allen is playing in this) and a lot of quite off-key performances by, well, just about everyone (Ian McShane--and various Brits in minor roles--was/were OK). Logic problems abound. I know it's a kind of screwball comedy, but that doesn't mean the story shouldn't cohere. Also noticed quite a few instances where the actor would just sort of trail off with their line, as thought it hadn't been completed on the page or they didn't bother to do a second take where they could spit the whole thing out. Rather than seeming naturalistic it only heightened the artifice for this moviegoer. As did the clunky dialogue ("I was born into a privileged family") and unbelievable density of some of the main characters in the face of transparent, buffoonish deception. If you like your comedy very half baked and sloppy, you might want to "scoop" this baby up. Not solid enough to use a fork.
Reviews
2 Reviews
The Wrong Guy
(1997)
Bravo, for real
5 June 2006
While my grade of "10" is perhaps written in the heat of a happy moment, given what a comedy is supposed to do (and how utterly most fail), I stand by my 10. Wrong Guy's as silly as it is smart, and Dave Foley gives one of those performances that make me understand how people can get all weak kneed at the idea of Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, etc. You're just so happy to be watching every little thing he does. At the end of the movie I almost wished I'd been more depressed before it, because I had left over joy from watching. Colm Feore perfect counterpoint as not the wrong guy. I loved it! Oh, I guess I need 10 lines of text. there! Wrong Guy so great!
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