Tout le monde dit - I love you

So, Everyone Says I Love You is pretty much the typical Woody Allen comedy, complete with all the staples that define his oeuvre; lots of neurotic characters, a performance from the man himself, New York City...only this time, there's one big difference - it's also a musical. It's well known that Woody Allen is a big fan of cinema, and therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that this film is Allen's tribute to the classic musicals of yesteryear. Everyone Says I Love You is typically Woody Allen in spite of the obvious difference in genre to the rest of his movies. I'm not a fan of musicals, and if I were to be overly critical of this film; I would say that it would have been better as a straight comedy-drama, without the musical element. However, it's the musical side of the piece that gives it it's unique edge, and dropping that from the film would have ensured that it isn't the movie that Allen wanted it to be. Not to mention the fact that the musical side of the movie makes it striking in the way that only Woody Allen can be.

For this film, Woody Allen has put together a terrific cast. Of course, a number of stars is part of Allen's trademark, but I think he outdid himself with the cast of this movie, which includes the likes of Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne and Alan Alda. Not to mention Woody himself. I'm not a fan of all of those film stars, but seeing a number of familiar faces in a movie together is always a treat for a movie buff. The song and dance sequences in the film aren't all that well put together, as the songs are largely unimaginative and the film fails on the whole to capture the grandeur of the classic musical. However, the drama side of the movie is very strong; and as usual, Woody's script is funny, touching and obscure in equal measure. He's given himself the best part, and has most of the other characters commenting on how great he is, but Woody Allen without a huge ego just isn't Woody Allen. I don't rate this as a movie at the very peak of Allen's filmography, but it's a strong one and it's recommended to his fans.

High camp and high neuroses in the same picture.

If you get everything you ever wanted, you still aren't satisfied because your own fantasies can never be truly fulfilled in the real world. It's kind of what Woody Allen is saying by making this movie into a goofy musical. It's his own fantasy of what movies used to be like, but can't ever be anymore. The small touches of realism, like the grocery store heist or the homeless man breaking out into song provide both humor and a commentary on how unsubstantial and irrelevant musicals are. But aren't they fun?

The most obvious example of the theme is the Julia Roberts storyline. She gets everything she ever wanted, but instead of making her happy in her new life, it helps her therapy for her old life. Joe was married to Steffi, all the woman he ever wanted, but he was so afraid it would fall apart that it did fall apart. Skylar wants a man to take control and sweep her off her feet, but when Charles Ferry comes along and does just that, she can't live with the consequences. There are other examples.

The execution of the movie is awkward and sometimes off-putting. But this movie is an experiment in form x function - what kind of story lends itself to the musical form? Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. For example, it used to be that musicals helped you into the mood by introducing songs, something that couldn't be done here because of the very nature of the story. It can be stagey and forced if you're not already in the mood. On the whole, however, everyone seems to be having a good time, and it shows up in mostly loose, endearing performances - even the ever-annoying Goldie Hawn, who I'd normally want to toss in the river in any other movie.

This is a wonderfully funny story, affectionately parodying old-time musicals, and evoking a nostalgic regret that they are not being made any more. Some of the vocalizations are amateurish (Alan Alda is an exception) but Dick Hyman's musical arrangements and the performances of the musicians are fine. Alda's rendition of the old Cole Porter song "Thinking of You", accompanied by the marvelous Dick Hyman on the piano, is first rate.

Woody Allen provides many hilarious moments. He uses the great violinist Itzhak Perlman as the punch line to a carefully constructed gag. He uses the invasion of privacy of a session of psychoanalysis as an offbeat plot device. He satirizes the romantic young and the do-gooding impulses of the old. He takes us from Manhattan to Venice and Paris. He involves us in old tunes and comically elaborate dance routines. He gives us a good time.

Everyone Says I Love You is one of the very few movies I have ever gone back to the theater to see another time. I even bought the tape.

Woody Allen, one of my absolute favorite film directors, goes against the grain of his normal outings with a very creative cinematic device which involves making a bright, happy musical that takes the course of a normal film starring actors who've never sung before singing with their normal voices in musical numbers with no truly professional dancers. With this vastly fun element of the movie, Allen shows us life if any old person broke out into song. And that is what makes it an even more pleasant and encouraging escape that many other normal musicals.

One has never before looked at a cast the same way. I wonder what reviews were like. I can say that Alan Alda, who's always fun, has one of the very best voices in the film and even plays the piano. The same goes for Goldie Hawn, who apparently was scared to death of singing in the film. She's also still extremely hot. Julia Roberts plays a very very serious role and never sings, but it was definitely interesting to observe what she and Woody are like on screen together. He carries the scenes, and she loyally follows. Natascha Lyonne is the definite highlight of the cast, playing a hyperconfident girl in that midpoint between girl and woman whose flights of fancy make her extremely fickle with men. Edward Norton, one of the best contemporary actors we have, is actually not at his best in this film. It feels like he just doesn't know how to get comfortable in his role. His voice is OK. Billy Crudup, in a small role, is actually quite unexpectedly funny in a little number in a cab with a Middle Eastern driver. Tim Roth, an unexpected addition to the bit players like Crudup, has a great non- singing role that recalls the genre he's been working in for most of his career.

Where a lot of musicals repel most people because of their agonizingly featherweight stories, this one does what a great musical is supposed to do, which is lift your spirits and make you feel the very deepest potential of life's beauty that can possibly be pulled out of it, and because of Allen's unorthodox method, it nails it. It's one of my favorite musicals, of which there are few. It's a very interesting ensemble epic that involves all different strands pertaining to the love life and newfound wisdom of each member of a wealthy and happy family.

I didn't really know what to expect when I heard this was an all-stops-out Woody Allen musical, featuring the REAL voices of his stars. Some of them should definitely not quit their day jobs--Julia Roberts and Ed Norton in particular. Others, like Goldie Hawn, Alan Alda and Tim Roth, fare much better. I shudder to think what Drew Barrymore sounds like--she has said her voice is SO bad, she insisted on someone dubbing it. I can't imagine how she could top Julia Roberts on the "tone deaf" meter.

There really isn't much of a plot here. It's basically about upper-class New Yorkers struggling with their love lives, but the plot gives Woody an excuse to film in Venice and Paris and mimic his hero, Groucho Marx. Some of the musical interludes are really creative and funny--dare I say as good as some of the numbers in the classic MGM musicals. And some of the numbers, in places like hospitals, funeral homes, and jewelry stores, are a little on the bizarre side. Woody Allen fans will most definitely appreciate this more than the average viewer. And on another note, I have no idea why this movie is rated R. There is no profanity, no nudity, no sex, no violence---I think the MPAA was on drugs when they saw this.