De-constructing Woody (includes a warning)

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2014)

A nice pleasant way to spend time, one of his best, and with a clever twist on the time travel theme. That has been covered in the other reviews. However two things have been missed by the other reviewers. (WARNING: if you are a die-hard no-questions-asked Woody fan, stop reading here because you are not going to like what follows. Or, if you prefer, just bang the NOT USEFUL key a few dozen times in advance and you will feel better.)
1. Ever since he became too old to star himself in his films Allen has been using (abusing) his power as Director to cast other actors who essentially "play" Woody Allen. If you can, watch the film a second time and note how Wilson looks and acts from scene to scene. Everything from the ambling awkward walk, to the unruly haircut, to the hand-gestures, to the clothing, to the perpetually surprised and/or ironic glances, is pure unadulterated Woody. (And this reviewer saw WHATS UP TIGER LILY in a theatre, for money, and has been watching Woody for a very very long time). The irony is not merely that no one notices this odd vanity, but it relaunched Wilson's career, so this was win-win
2. Woody makes more films than he should. This is not a put-down, just a fact. The key to the mystery is that Woody is one of the last living writer-directors in the game, so he can bring to the studio a very attractive financial package from the start, and his name in turn attracts other actors. Therefore to the studio he is a guaranteed money maker, with a low up-front, and he gets to make more films. Whether he should, or not.