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“Whatever Works” (2009) overview

An eccentric New Yorker Boris Yellnikoff (played by Larry David) abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. A former Columbia University professor and self-proclaimed genius, Yellnikoff fancies himself the only one who fully comprehends the meaningless of all human aspirations, and the pitch-black chaos of the universe.

After the failure of his career, his marriage, and his suicide attempt, Yellnikoff spends his days insulting the small children unfortunate enough to study chess with him and irritating his still-loyal friends with his never-ending tirades about the worthlessness of absolutely everything.

Yellnikoff meets a young girl named Melody (Evan Rachel Wood) from the south and her family and no two people seem to get along in the entanglements that follow...

Genre: comedy, romance

Editors' rating:

Writer (WGA) and director: Woody Allen

Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum. Co-producer: Helen Robin. Executive producers: Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval. Co-executive producers: Charles H. Joffe, Jack Rollins

Cinematography: Harris Savides. Film editing: Alisa Lepselter. Casting: Ali Farrell, Juliet Taylor, Laura Rosenthal. Production design: Santo Loquasto. Costume design: Suzy Benzinger

Budget: $15,000,000 (estimated)

Filming dates: April - May 2008

U.S. opening weekend box office: $0.26m | June 21, 2009 | 9 screens

Cast

Larry David as Boris Yellnikoff

Evan Rachel Wood as Melody St. Ann Celestine

Patricia Clarkson as Marietta

Carolyn McCormick as Jessica

Conleth Hill as Leo Brockman

Henry Cavill as Randy James

Olek Krupa as Morgenstern

Ed Begley, Jr. as John

Christopher Evan Welch as Howard

Jessica Hecht as Helena

John Gallagher, Jr. as Perry

Adam Brooks as Boris' Friend #1

Lyle Kanouse as Boris' Friend #2

Michael McKean as Joe, Boris' Friend #3

Clifford Lee Dickson as Boy on Street

Yolonda Ross as Boy's Mother

Samantha Bee as Chess Mother

Marcia DeBonis as Lady at Chinese Restaurant

Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman as Chess Girl

Nicole Patrick as Perry's Friend

Steve Antonucci as Flea Market Shopper

Marc Alan Austen as Photo Gallery Patron

Julie Basem as Cafe Waitress

Chris Nuñez as Concert Goer

Quincy Rose as Guy on Bench

Kenneth Edelson as Gallery Guest

Robin Singer as Indie Rocker

Armand Schultz as Television Voice #2 (voice)

Lindsay Michelle Nader as Television Voice #1 (voice)

Critics' reviews

"Whatever Works" is very minor Woody, querulous, fitfully funny, and removed from any shared reality. ... The movie's ostensibly about what happens when this bitter pill takes in a stray: Melody St. Ann Celestine (Evan Rachel Wood), a young runaway from Allen's blinkered idea of the Deep South. Moving onto his couch and into his life against Boris's better judgment, Melody's a perky cheerleader gone bad and she absorbs her savior's bleak pessimism like a sponge. He's all irony and she has none; they're attracted to each other like two magnetic Scotties. ... The character of Melody is thin and wholly untenable... The gag is that only in New York, that cultural island floating serenely off the coast of America, can a soul find its true expression. ... “Whatever Works’’ is the movie equivalent of the famous Saul Steinberg map of America, 12th Avenue followed by Kansas and the Pacific Ocean, and it finds its beating heart in Marietta's grin as she stretches languorously between two lovers in one bed.” - Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

In “Whatever Works” it's hard to know where Woody Allen leaves off and Larry David begins. ... In fact, Boris is aptly named: He bores us. ... It's a rehashed tale of a beautiful innocent, Melody St. Ann Celestine who falls for a jaded and screwed-up older man. ... Boris is merely foul-mouthed and narcissistic. ... One of Allen's worst missteps is having Boris address the audience directly by looking into the camera. ... The dialogue, especially his diatribes, is arch and awkward, rarely witty. Boris is awash in finicky observations and nay-saying, but he lacks the pithy humor to take the edge off. Melody is even less believable than the churlish Boris. A runaway former beauty queen with a thick Southern accent, she appears outside his New York apartment and begs Boris to take her in. ... Didn't she ever learn not to talk to strangers, much less go into their homes and eat their food? Within days she's head over heels. ... The irresistible charms of the innocent beauty is a recurring Allen theme. ... Allen is like a miner doggedly re-combing every inch of the Manhattan landscape for comic gold. - Claudia Puig, USA Today

A Woody Allen movie about a neurotic, older Jewish guy who falls for a younger, cheerier gentile girl in a New York City bubble of wealth and privileged bohemia? ... Larry David plays a self-absorbed griper named Boris Yellnikoff, with the emphasis on yell. Boris is a pessimist from the universe-is-expanding school of despair, a lifelong miserablist who, screwing up a decent marriage to an attractive, wealthy woman (Carolyn McCormick), can't even commit suicide quietly. After surviving his attempt, he meets a fresh-faced Southern runaway named Melody, then grudgingly takes her in off the street and belittles her as a prelude to marriage. - Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

A Jewish intellectual type shrugging his shoulders, looking into the camera, spitting out fancy Latinate words as if he'd just swallowed a thesaurus, while an eager young actress of the moment flits around looks sultry and clueless – execution is everything. ... Allen's unwavering belief in an empty cosmos made somewhat less bleak by the charms of old movies, older music and much younger women is one of the few things left we can count on. ... She [ Melody ] is a homeless Southern waif who follows Boris home one rainy night and, despite his loudly and repeatedly professed lack of interest in her feelings, her opinions, her long legs or her short shorts, falls in love with him. After they marry, things become a bit more complicated... - A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes. Countries: United States, France. Language: English. Color: Color. Aspect ratio: 1.85 : 1. Sound mix: Dolby Digital (Mono)

Certification

MPAA rating (certificate #44832): PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, brief nude images and thematic material. Canada: 14A (Ontario), G (Quebec), PG (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba). Australia: M. Sweden: Btl. Switzerland: 10 (canton of Vaud, canton of Geneva). France: U. Norway: A. Singapore: M18. Hong Kong: IIB.  Netherlands: 6

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“Whatever Works” trailer

“Whatever Works” photos

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Premieres

United States - April 22, 2009 (Tribeca Film Festival); June 19, 2009

Canada - June 26, 2009

France - July 1, 2009

Sweden - 10 July 10, 2009

Norway - August 28, 2009

Singapore - September 10, 2009

Italy - September 18, 2009

Spain - September 18, 2009 (San Sebastian International Film Festival); October 2, 2009

Belgium - September 30, 2009

Australia - October 15, 2009

Hong Kong - October 15, 2009

Finland - October 23, 2009

Austria - November 3, 2009 (Vienna International Film Festival)

Netherlands - November 12, 2009

Estonia - November 13, 2009

Brazil - November 19, 2009

Greece - November 19, 2009

Iceland - November 27, 2009

Germany - December 3, 2009

Denmark - January 1, 2010

Russian Federation - March 4, 2010

Poland - April 9, 2010

Filming locations

New York City, NY

Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City

East Village, Manhattan, New York City

Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City

Manhattan, New York City

Queens, New York City

Companies

Production

Sony Pictures Classics (presents)

Wild Bunch (financing) >>>>

Gravier Productions

Perdido Productions

Distribution

Sony Pictures Classics / 2009 | USA | theatrical

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / 2009 | USA | DVD, Blu-ray

Hopscotch Films / 2009 | Australia | all media >>>>

Sony Pictures Classics / 2009 | Canada | all media

LineTree / 2009 | South Korea | all media

Festive Films / 2009 | Singapore | theatrical

Golden Village Pictures / 2009 | Singapore | theatrical

Green Light Films / 2009 | Iceland | all media

FS Film Oy / 2009 | Finland | all media

California Filmes / 2009 | Brazil | all media

Paradiso Entertainment / 2009 | Netherlands | theatrical, all media

Mars Distribution / 2009 | France | all media >>>>

Medusa Distribuzione / 2009 | Italy | all media

Paradiso / 2009 | Belgium | all media

Audio Visual Entertainment / 2009 | Greece | theatrical

ArtCam / 2009 | Czech Republic | all media

Paradise/MGN / 2009 | Russian Federation | all media

Various services

Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment - camera dollies

Haddad - transportation equipment

Razor & Tie - soundtrack

Additional details

“Whatever Works” also known as:

Kim Kiminle Nerede (Turkey)

Tudo Pode dar Certo (Brazil)

Liebe Sich Wer Kann (Germany)

Basta Che Funzioni (Italy)

Jakby Nie Bylo (Poland)

Si la Cosa Funciona (Spain)

Ki An Sou Katsei? (Greece)

Mig og Melody (Denmark)

 

 

 

 

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