4 stars out of 5
Every time Woody Allen makes a movie, I go see that movie, and I tend to enjoy them. If that makes me an irrational man in your eyes, so be it. This time around, I was really impressed that, despite the comforting presence of many Allen touchstones, he was still able to come up with something new and entertaining.
I’d label Irrational Man a “light drama.” It deals with some heavy topics, sure, but I was smiling all the way through. A bouncy jazz-piano score nudged me in that direction as well.
Once again, Woody has allowed me to take a little air-conditioned summer vacation. This year, he sends us to Newport, Rhode Island. Joaquin Phoenix, as a disheveled, joyless philosophy professor, has shown up to teach the summer semester at a fictional well-regarded college. Woody seems to like asking the Big Questions these days, so why not bring in a philosophy professor to do the heavy lifting, right? (The movie starts with a quote from Immanuel Kant, fer crissakes.)
Is there a younger woman? Sure there is. But it’s college, so, not too random. For the second consecutive Woody summer release, we get Emma Stone, who I believe I’ve mentioned once or twice or 58 times that I’m a fan of.
And the topic here is, can philosophy really pan out in the real world? Can Phoenix commit an immoral act in the name of morality? In the process, can he regain his joie de vivre? And what about that beer gut?
This all plays out on a background on garden-variety immorality: an inappropriate student/teacher relationship (Phoenix is broken and Stone feels she can fix him), an age-appropriate relationship with fellow professor Parker Posey who is of course cheating on her husband, and an overheard conversation of a custody battle and a judge playing favorites.
There are laughs, but generally pretty subtle. Stone delivers a “shingles” punchline that I could hear Woody delivering, but she undersells the line, and it still works.
One thing I noted: I think Woody might have the middle class confused with the upper middle class. Stone is presented as down-to-earth, but there are piano recitals and a horse stable and her friend’s folks are art collectors. I’m guessing Woody doesn’t go slumming too often.
Still, the guy can still construct a solid script, well plotted out with some laughing and some thinking, and he knows how to direct top-flight talent, and he’s not trying to accomplish too much. Yup, I liked this one too.
the movie sounds like a dumbed down modern nod to William Barrett’s “Irrational Man.”
I loved that book in college. Aside from the great blue bookcover on my edition, with a Giacometti sculpture, I mainly only remember the scene of kierkegaard walking the copenhagen streets saddled with his nasty spinal disease.
btw, bendy straws are a handy invention for really sick deathly ill people. Two years into this career, I like to small talk with these folks and can hang ok when things are critical However, you know me Jack, more than once in a “blue moon” (LOL!) I can conversate (ebonics yo) like an immature retard, in which case, that shit about the bendy straw accordion might be perfect. Thanks!
Ah, interesting, wouldn’t surprise me if Woody was inspired by that, sort of like modern Dylan pillaging all of musical history for his recent work but still coming up with something fresh.
Bendy straws 4eva!
“All” of music history? hyperbole Fir evr
ok ok fair enough. But Richard Thompson went 1000 years back anyway.
Ah, interesting, not.
Me and my buddy since third grade, we saw Thompson at Graffiti sophomore year at Pitt. Were you at that show Jack?
Only saw Thompson once, in a church in Montclair NJ, on his…. 1,000 Years of Popular Music tour. (Did see son Teddy guesting with Laura Cantrell, though.)
Oh dear, I didn’t really mean to paint you into a corner, forcing you to answer my silly question. But thanks, and since you are playing the part of Mr Nice Guy, displaying polite blog etiquette, maybe you can answer my question from last week that went ignored.
No need for an answer. I understand. There’s many fans of Dylan like yourself who have extreme difficulty with “coming up with something fresh.”
“Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were two notable thinkers who refused positivism’s stifling embrace, and argued that the real goals of philosophy, self knowledge and freedom, are not to be found on this path, and that the ideology of progress obscures alarming trends toward conformism, banality and routine self-deception.”
http://www.duq.edu/academics/schools/liberal-arts/academic-departments-of-liberal-arts/psychology/human-science
but yeah, i think i understand. Salt in Wound is more about celebrities, nifty puns, and music at theme parks. Self-knowledge and freedom can go take me up the ass.
hey Jack, it’s my day off work, you know how that is,
Heaven.
Withe book “Irrational Man” being on my mind a lot over the past few days, I think I just got carried away today.
Things are good.
My belated bday party was yesterday. Brother in law, on his gargantuan ipad thing, showed me video of his most recent gig, playing a bunch of Iron Maiden songs, also “Spirit of the Radio” by Rush.
(you probably know being a fan of indie pop, Tullycraft had a fairly ok hit single in Germany with “Piano Lessons For Beauty Queens. I stole most of my guitar part from Spirit of The Radio. Then a year or two later Mike Mills from REM wrote “Be Mine” which has a chorus that is very much those same Spirit of The Radio chords.)
My own current band got further confirmation over the weekend that we may be playing a lesbian wedding in September. And in between messaging you today I gave an old asian guy at the ragtag thrift shop a $20 bill for a pair of 1 dollar shirts. Support The Nobodies! Hardly need to say this, take all my comments with a grain of ____.
Interesting, I will re-listen to “Piano Lessons…” and “Be Mine.” Happy belated, and good luck with the wedding gig.