Tutti dicono I Love You

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.

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.

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.

Psychologist Steffi Dandridge (Goldie Hawn) and lawyer Bob Dandridge (Alan Alda) head a liberal upper class Manhattan family. The extended family includes Steffi's ex Joe Berlin (Woody Allen), their daughter Djuna Berlin (Natasha Lyonne), Skylar (Drew Barrymore), Lane (Gaby Hoffmann), Laura (Natalie Portman), grandpa with dementia and the black sheep Republican son Scott (Lukas Haas). Holden Spence (Edward Norton) is in love with Skylar. Von (Julia Roberts) is one of Steffi's patients. Charles Ferry (Tim Roth) is an ex-con.

This is a Woody Allen musical. The music is easy listening and everybody does a good job singing. Some are surprisingly good but the songs aren't terribly challenging. The overwhelming family can be hard to take. I would have preferred some trimming of the family tree. It would have been better to concentrate on one relationship. The effect is a bit scatter shot.

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.