Let me tell you, if I can manage, what I love about Woody Allen movies.
I do love them. Make no mistake about it. I love the way that, unlike
most other comedies these days, a Woody Allen movie actually makes
you feel smarter. It makes you feel smart for catching the jokes.
It makes you feel smart just for watching one.
Why? Because a Woody Allen movie doesn't use the same, tired flatulence
jokes as every other film. A Woody Allen comedy uses humor to expose
truths about everyday life, usually romance. A Woody Allen movie has
a lot of funny moments, but it also usually has one or two really
painful ones. Try watching "Annie Hall" and telling me that
you don't feel the hurts of the main characters at the end. Or especially
"Manhattan", which has a more painful ending than most non-comedies.
Even his early, fluff pieces like "Bananas" or "Sleeper"
have a few moments of telling social commentary to go along with the
hilarious stuff.
Well, "Everyone Says I Love You" is more in the tradition
of his early, fluff films. Yet it has such a heart, such spunk, such
a genuine love for its subject matter and for the traditions of movie
musicals that it is infectious. It has a charming spirit about it.
It is impossible not to smile during the majority of this film. Yet
it also has some nice truths about romance (quite a few of them, in
fact) smuggled into it.
The movie has so many love stories going on in it that I am sure that
I won't be able to remember them all. First there are Goldie Hawn
and Alan Alda as what seems to be the perfect couple. Then there is
Woody Allen as Goldie's first husband. Woody is, as always, unlucky
in love (yet he always seems to get more dates than I suspect a man
who looks like Woody Allen truly would, but I guess you can do those
things when you're the director). With the help of his daughter (Natasha
Lyonne) he hopes to hook up with a charming American woman he meets
in Venice (Julia Roberts). Meanwhile, his other daughter (Drew Barrymore)
is in love with a really nice guy (Edward Norton) but is starting
to have her heart stolen by a persistent ex-con (Tim Roth).
In answer to your question, Yes. Everyone is in this movie. Other
people I haven't mentioned: Billy Crudup, Natalie Portman, Lukas Haas
and David Ogden Stiers. It's a great cast and, with the exception
of Drew and Julia, they all do their own singing. The musical numbers
are fun and have a magical spirit to them and the transitions between
all these characters are well done and never, ever clunky. This movie
is like a magical tonic. It has charm to spare, delightful dialogue
(Woody is always reliable for that) and it moves with deceptive speed.
It is sweet and good-hearted and wonderfully acted by an ace cast.
So sit back and enjoy "Everyone Says I Love You". Trust
me, you can't go wrong.
