MovieChat Forums > To Rome with Love (2012) Discussion > WOODY ALLEN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP C...

WOODY ALLEN, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP CASTING YOURSELF IN YOUR MOVIES.

posted 12 years ago by skat1140
14 replies | jump to latest

PLEASE STOP CASTING YOURSELF IN YOUR MOVIES.

Or, if you do, have something different/interesting to add to the character you play.

Right now, whenever you are in your film, you are being an M. Night Shyamalan: you're appearing in your movie just to appear in your movie. When you are first seen, the audience says "Oh, it's Allen/Shyamalan. Why is he here?" After the movie is over, the audience says "Why was he there?"

Plus, you look so tired, blunted, and without energy in these films. The amazing, frenetic and self-defeating anxiety that we saw in Woody Allen of the '70s and '80s has become the hollowed-out caricature we see in this movie. (And, frankly, the jokes you give yourself aren't anywhere close to those of your "early, funny" movies.)

So. Stop casting yourself. Unless you can achieve something novel.

Thank you and good night.

[–] sashamenon 11 years ago

He hasn't done a role in one of his movies for a while...you're clueless.

[–] leeney_b 11 years ago

Are you kidding me? He was one of the best parts of this movie. He is phenomenal at playing neurotic characters...that's his signature style. How can you even question Woody Allen in a WOody Allen film? If you dont like him....easy, dont watch his films.

[–] gridoon 11 years ago

Considering that he was far funnier in this movie than anyone else, I would say the OP does not know what he's talking about.

[–] filipelli 11 years ago

The OP is a douche.

[–] bootblack987 11 years ago

Woody was BRILLIANT in this movie. Luckily he had a good writer and director behind him. :-)

[–] epibee 11 years ago

It must be difficult to post something against Woody Allen here on this board which is infested by fans who will start calling you douche and stupid and all kind of names.

But I agree with OP. The main problem with Woody's casting was his age. He looked too old to have a daughter of Alison Pill's age.

The next problem was his arm movements. When I learnt a bit of acting, I was taught to be in terms with my arms and not move them too much while talking. Allen certainly did not follow that lesson.

Lastly, Allen's character looked like a shaky and doubtful old man good for his older characters, but definitely not a retired record producer who can organize million dollar opera concerts in a foreign country at a short notice.

[–] lastmidnite2 11 years ago

And yet I laugh out loud at every gesture and every word out of his mouth. I have been for 40 years. He just cracks me up.

[–] kaream 11 years ago

The next problem was his arm movements. When I learnt a bit of acting, I was taught to be in terms with my arms and not move them too much while talking. Allen certainly did not follow that lesson.

It's a joke. He's in Italy. The cliché is that Italians can't talk without using their hands and arms.

[–] rochelle-rochelle 11 years ago

OP...go jump into a lake and shut up! Woody was AWESOME in this movie and was funny. He hasn't been in his previous five or six films (since Scoop, 2006). He also isn't in his current movie, Blue Jasmine. Comparing Woody to M. Night is a joke, and you lost all credibility doing that and not realizing that he hasn't been in his own films in years.

---
Wonderful, but forgettable. It sounds like a film I've seen. I probably wrote it.

[–] Greenteeth 11 years ago

I saw the movie last weekend and was shocked at how bad Woody looked.

[–] WarpedRecord 11 years ago

Woody's barely in this film, and when he is he's barely noticeable. This is simply a subpar Woody Allen film, and I can't hinge anything on his presence in it.

[–] withdiamonds 11 years ago

I agree. I think most people that would argue against the OP are obviously fans of Woody and have seen him in his earlier films. So for them, he can do no wrong. However, as someone who has never seen anything he has starred in, I was not impressed. Disappointed, really.

[–] ItalianGreyhound 10 years ago

I disagree strongly with the o/p. I thought his character/performance was the best part of the movie. The last time he had appeared in his own movie previously was six years earlier in "Scoop".