Morceaux choisis

I thought it was very funny, but in the morbid sense. The premise and many of the gags were indeed funny to one's dark humorous side. Just as Stephen King "experimented" with several short stories and novels using the pseudonym Richard Bachman, I think many miss the point that this is really Woody's writing/directing, using "Bill Wilson" et al, to try his blacker comedic side. Sharon Stone was great--primarily because as I watched her, I didnt know it was her....until the end of the movie. True Woody Allen affecionados should appreciate this effort!

This film RULES. Woody Allen is great as the psychotic killer who is trying to cover up the murder he committed against his wife(played by Sharon Stone). The religious symbolism and ironic story line put this a step above most films.

The bawdy, crass jokes and lowbrow humor employed in Bill Wilson's script work in his story about a kosher butcher who catches his unfaithful wife in the act and is driven to homicidal maniacal behavior. From the gags involving a permanently frozen hand with its middle finger extended, to the obvious dialog quips, this movie is highly entertaining, with Farrelly/Coen Brothers influences. The impressive cast executes all the silliness with great ease and skill. Woody Allen's characteristically droll performance makes an interesting backdrop against the film's New Mexico locale.

Despite the obvious nature of the story, Director Alfonso Arau's use of visual realism lends to it's contrasting irony. Arau's style is reminiscent of some of Mexico's better comedies celebrating the culture through humorous eyes.

Maybe it's just the mood I'm in but after a failed first attempt at viewing this film (lasted about 10 minutes) I just finished seeing the "hole" thing and thought "what a great WA film ala the pre-serious Woody phase that he didn't write! This film was obviously not done with the BIG audience in mind, but out of love for the absurd to a sublime degree. Over the top puns abound in a truly profound way. Like for instance, "You can save your ass, or you can save your soul. But you can't save both. You choose, ass....soul...etc.,etc. I can't believe the many stars in this cast (albeit off-ctr types) did this for the money, so they must have had a blast making it. And c'mon folks, tell me you didn't love to see Kieffer hung up and beaten like a pinata with fireworks going off on his body. I hven't seen cast interviews, so I'm not as informed as some of the commenteers here are, but the overall message (last words of Woody)of this movie is not to be ignored: "f__k em if they can't take a joke". Yeah, the production was cheezy, but it fit so well. The patchwork editing just may have been intentional.... I can easily see how people panned this film. But, no offense intended, maybe you take yourself a bit too seriously.

PS: the quip about Jesus' party getting out of hand _was_ Lenny Bruce's comment as stated by Woody in the film.

Ahhhhhh

This movie was interesting. I love Woody, and the cinematography was quite, quite excellent, yet the film failed to get me involved. The script, although pretty original, ultimately failed because of its lack of structure. I would hasten to say (and I haven't checked yet) that whoever wrote this was a first timer.

The story of the miracle hand was suitable idea, yet I felt more could have been done with it. In addition, the direction (from a director I admire) was sloppy. Much of the acting (Fran Drescher???) seemed less then inspired, although Woody Allen was (and always is) very good comedically. Stone was ok in her brief appearance, and David Schwimmer, although HORRIBLY MISCAST as a priest, (could he be ANY more Jewish?) worked.

I think my major problem with the movie was a seeming lack of professionalism, which isn't to say it was bad by any strech of the imagination. Watching a movie like this, you sort of have to suspend your disbelief. Any attempt to take it seriously would ruin the movie (apparently much of the cast and crew didn't take the project seriously)

ANYWAY...tough call on this, but 6/10 is my vote~