Maudite Aphrodite

This is a charming movie - particularly the parts played by the boxer-onion farmer, and prostitute/porn star, and their two scenes together. Allen's character's efforts sense of what happier direction the prostitute's life could take and his efforts to reform her, are also exactly what most of us would do if we discovered that she was the biological mother of our adopted child.

Allen has such imagination - and such an understanding of how people of varying education and background, talk and move, and what they care about.

I did feel the subplot involving Helena Bonham-Carter, her career and Peter Weller, was less imaginative, less interesting. I've always had trouble warming to Bonham-Carter - perhaps it's just how unlikeable virtually all her roles have been - and this role didn't help.

Mira Sorvino's character sounds amusingly like Victoria Jackson from Saturday Night Live - her figure is so eye-popping, and her sweetness so endearing that she definitely is the memorable character for anyone who sees the movie. "Oh, that's the one with Mira Sorvino" is undoubtedly how people would remember this movie. However, the Greek chorus was a wonderful idea - and Jack Warner in a small role as a blind seer, and F. Murray Abraham as the principal chorus member/conscience of the movie is also wonderful.

A childless couple adopt a baby, but the father becomes curious about the real birth mother and decides to trace her.

Good to see Allen returning to something like his best, probably because he is returning to his natural home: The light comedy of domestic life and the embarrassing people that we have to deal with.

The star turn is Mira Sorvino (the natural mother) as the tart with a heart (an update of the happy hooker?) who Allen gets to know by pretending to be a client. Great plot device, which shows what Allen can do when he casts his mind wider than people chatting around restaurant tables or at parties.

Interesting to see how Allen has developed as regards sexual frankness and the use of four letter words. Strangely he is returning to the device of being sexually inept (something he had been moving away from) to gain extra laughs.

For once he gives the best lines to someone else - and in Sorvino we have a great comedienne: A really touching and funny performance. Another Oscar that an actor/actress would never have otherwise got without the magic pen of Woody - no wonder the guy is so loved in the business!

Away from the main comedy the thing bumbles along. Wife Helena Boham-Carter is not faithful and they argue a lot. The usual hypocrisies, double standards and manners are displayed (for a WA film), but they don't stop the film as they do elsewhere. The Greek chorus asides - are actually fantastically funny and a real piece of comic invention.

Thankfully we have a something to do and somewhere to go here, it isn't just people whining about their lives. Allen wants to improve the life of the hooker-come-porn-star and suggests hairdressing and teaming up with a half-wit boxer (who he met through his job as a sports writer) he thinks she will like.

A very entertaining film and it is good to see that Allen can write funny lines for women - which I thought he was incapable of. Recommended.

Woody Allen gives us an unconventional friendship with a Greek tragedy (Or comedy) as its backdrop. Story is about a sports writer named Lenny (Allen) who is married to Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter) and she works in an art gallery but their marriage is on the rocks so Amanda suggests they adopt a baby but Lenny at first says no. After they adopt a boy they name Max it takes no time for Lenny to change his mind. As Max grows Lenny is very curious about who left him for adoption and he starts snooping around until he tracks down Max's real mother. Turns out his real mother is Linda Ash (Mira Sorvino) who is a hooker and sometimes porno actress and Lenny sets up dates with her (No sex) and gets to know her better. He doesn't tell her that he has adopted her son and a friendship develops between the two. Meanwhile, Amanda is having an affair with Jerry (Peter Weller) and she moves out. Lenny tries to help Linda improve her life and sets up a date between her and a local boxer named Kevin (Michael Rapaport). During the course of this film Lenny talks to members of a Greek chorus who chant out what he should and should not do and sometimes they break into song! Three of the Greek chorus members are F. Murray Abraham, David Ogden Stiers and Olympia Dukakis. This is one of Allens funniest films in years and Sorvino steals the picture. I could listen to her talk that dialogue all day long. One of the many lines that stand out is when on a date with Rapaport she tells him she dated a pinball champion, but two guys strangled him! Sorvino appears on the surface to be just another kooky hooker but as the film develops we start to really care for her character and Sorvino adds just the right amount of charm and realism without forgetting the comedic elements of her role. One of the reasons the friendship between her and Allen works so well is because Sorvino displays her own sharp and quick wit to their spirited conversations. Allen has never used four letter words in his films but he does here and it seems appropriate with Linda's background and the violent pimp that Lenny goes to visit. The cinematographer is the great Carlo DiPalma and he's shot several of Allens films as well as "Blowup". The colors are interesting in several shots and the color yellow is very prominent. The focus of the story is about Allens character tempting fate by intruding in on Linda's life and trying to change it. This is clearly one of Allens best films and Sorvino is just terrific in a career making performance.

Spike Jones once said that his material was too corny for sophisticated people but too sophisticated for corny people. Woody Allen's material can lend itself to similar critique. Mighty Aphrodite has a superb balance between sophistication and corn.

The Greek chorus idea is very well used, both at a sophisticated level - the film is essentially a modernised Greek drama - and at a corn level (when the chorus morphed into a more Broadway-style chorus Janie avoided the cheese by going into the kitchen and uncorking the wine). The Greek myth theme is well done throughout - I loved the appeal to Zeus especially. Also the deus ex machina resolution was terrific fun, although I think not entirely original (I believe it was Cocteau who previously used the helicopter as a visual deus ex machina).

Fine performances - Mira Sorvino is a super "tart with a heart". Even Helena Bonham Carter is more effectively used in this film than in her standard Merchant Ivory roles, although I thought she lacked chemistry with Woody. Good also to see F Murray Abraham as the leader of the chorus - why do we see so little of him these days?

I'm a fan of Woody, but he has been patchy in the last 10 years or so. With this one, he really was in sparkling form. Well worth seeing.

I can say that "Mighty Aphrodite" is the film that made me really appreciate Woody Allen's films. His direction is great, and so is the screenplay in the majority of his pictures.

The story of "Mighty Aphrodite" is magic, light, funny and beautiful. The idea of the Greek chorus is just incredible! All the cast is great, but the best one is really Mira Sorvino. She deserved her Oscar playing Linda Ash, a nice and ingenuous prostitute.

So if you like Woody Allen's films, you'll surely love this one like I did.