Alice

When I first saw Alice, I didn't know it was a Woody Allen movie, but I can imagine if I'd been expecting the usual stammering joke fest, I might have wondered where Woody's influence went. He doesn't always make strict comedies, though, and this movie proves it.

Mia Farrow and William Hurt are married, have two children, and live the high-life. But Mia, in the title role, is unsatisfied and she doesn't know why. She visits a Chinese acupuncturist to help with some back pain and enters a journey of self-discovery.

Mia does a wonderful job in this slightly off-beat flick. Just as in The Purple Rose of Cairo when she rises above an unhappy marriage and finds herself, she expresses curiosity, sadness, hope, and invigoration all at the right times. I happen to be a Mia Farrow fan, so I was expecting to like this movie, but my mom doesn't like her nearly as much as I do, and she still really enjoyed Alice. As always in Woody Allen movies, there's a large cast, and this one includes Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Cybill Shepherd, Joe Montegna, June Squibb, Julie Kavner, Bernadette Peters, Gwen Verdon, and Bob Balaban. Alice is thoughtful and sweet, and a great movie to watch when you're pondering the universe.

Less known that Allen's "Annie Hall", "Hannah and her Sisters", "Crimes and Misdemeanors", and "Manhattan", "Alice" is a charming and delightful film that can be viewed as Allen's remake of "Juliet of Spirits" with some obvious themes from "Alice in Wonderland". Mia Farrow plays a wealthy New Yorker who one day feels that something is missing in her sheltered and comfortable life. She turns to a Chinese doctor whose magic herbs help her to reevaluate her life and her relationships with her husband, lover, mother, and sister. She may not find the answers for all the questions but she certainly learned a lot about herself. During the few days that film takes place, Alice experiences romance, finds spirituality, and even enjoys the power of invisibility. This film has one of the most optimistic endings in Woody's film. Mia Farrow is absolutely wonderful.

This is one of those scatter gun films that kept me attending throughout. Of course, it is part of the Woody Allen canon. Mia is rich and has it all, all except a feeling of purpose and happiness. She shops, eats, lives in luxury, and, ultimately, admires more than anything, Mother Teresa. But now we move into the supernatural element, where Keye Luke (number one son) is able to provide her with magical potions, allowing her to observe the lives of those she wishes. It isn't a good thing for her. The man she truly loves and finally gets together with is conflicted and can't make the move forward. Her husband is a total jerk, using her as a prop. I was so pleased with the way this film ended.

Next to the Front, this contains Woody Allen's best ending. There's one striking visual image in the plot I still can't get out my head: Mia is cheating on William Hurt with Joseph Mantegna and the 2 of them are over at Mantegna's apartment, while a glorious downpour crashes against a huge glass window behind them. The sound of the rain hitting the window compliments their nervous dialogue perfectly. One of Farrow's nicest performances (the Purple Rose of Cairo is her most heartbreaking). And where else are you going to see invisibility in the same story as Mother Theresa? One of Allen's better cast jobs, too. Even the smallest roles are exquisite. Gwen Vernon as Farrow's old time movie star mother is sublime. And Bernadette Peters makes a great wise cracking muse.

I think Woody Allen's 'Alice' is one of his most under-rated creations. This movie comes from his glory days before the scandal with his adopted daughter eclipsed his U.S. career.

Here is vintage Woody. A fecund imagination married to a masterful story-telling talent.

Like 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' (his masterpiece in my estimation) this is pure fantasy and it is delightful. Mia Farrow has done nothing finer, equal to her portrayal in Polanski's 'Rosemary's Baby' though of a completely different genre.

The little socio-political messages do not interfere with what is otherwise a nifty little love story between Alice and Joe Mantagna. Things don't quite work out in the end, as is usual in a Woody movie, but they are on the border of real-life possibility and add the bittersweet note that he is so good at.

I love this movie. It is not one of his rocking comedies like 'Broadway Danny Rose' but is a sweet vignette. It has overtones of 'Diary of Mad Housewife' but with a happier ending, for the housewife anyway.

The scenes with Keye Luke, Alice's magical Eastern physician are subtle and funny. The fantasy scenes with Alec Baldwin's dead lover and the wonderful Bernadette Peters' muse are enchanting. Peters' Bronx-like muse is especially funny.

Don't miss it.