Woody Allen's Last Big Scoop

I had a chance to Woody Allen's Scoop on DVD this weekend, starring Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman and Woody Allen himself. Despite the bad reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, Village Voice and the like, I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. I would highly recommend seeing it. It is a light-hearted romantic comedy/thriller.

Like Allen's previous hit Match Point, Scoop is taking place in London but like most of his movies, it carries a strong element of New York within. Scarlett Johansson is a curious, nerdy yet spacey aspiring journalist from Brooklyn, visiting her family friends' daughter in London. In a magic show, she gets on stage and as Woody Allen, the magician, makes her invisible, the ghost of a famous journalist appears to her saying that a famous London businessman is the long sought after Tarot Serial Killer. Determined to make a story out of this juicy scoop, she decides to meet the businessman (Hugh Jackman) and drags the meek geeky Woody Allen with her. One look at Scarlett and Hugh Jackman falls on her lap but will she be able to pull the trigger and write the most scandalous story of the year or fall in love with Hugh Jackman's trimmed Wolverine looks?

Scoop may not be Woody Allen's (or anybody else's for that matter) most original scenario. In fact it may even be too influenced by Jack the Ripper as well as Allen's previous movies and embellished by obvious cliches... However the pace of the movie is tremendously well done. It keeps you at the edge of your seat the entire time. Moreover, Allen's astute sense of humor shines throughout the entire movie both through the characters and the way the plot unfolds. It has the exaggeration and lightheartedness of a Shakespearean play. Compared to Allen's previous movies, Scoop may not be as woven with literary references (if at all) or observant satire however, compared to the types of light comedies out there, Allen's sense of humor and eye for cinematography is a head above the rest.

The only thing I would complain about is Scarlett Johansson playing the same role again: The seductive and naive blond bombshell. Ever since she developed boobs (after Ghost World) she just started playing this character over and over again... A bit of variety please..