One of the more pleasant Woody Allen projects, good music, fun story, 7 of 10 rating.

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2000)

"Sweet and Lowdown" is a mock-documentary about a 1930s Jazz guitarist who is "second best in the world", only the real guitarist, Django Reinhardt, being better. One of the comic threads here is that Sean Penn's character, Emmet Ray, is so intimidated by Reinhardt that even the thought of mmeting him causes Ray to faint.
This Woody Allen film is whimsical in the vein of "Purple Rose of Cairo", but so well done that you easily believe Emmet Ray was a real person. Samantha Morton does a good job as the mute "Hattie". Several other well-known actors - Uma Thurman, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol - have minor roles. Sean Penn does a marvelous job with his character and it is clear to me why he received an Oscar nomination for it.
I only give this movie a "7" because at 95 minutes, part of which is "talking head" snips of Woody and others, the theme is treated somewhat superficially. More character development and resolution of "what happened to Emmet Ray" could have made this a much better movie. Still, it is enjoyable and worth seeing.
A major complaint from me - the DVD version is in glorous "MONO" sound. What a waste and cheap way out, in this modern time of surround sound. However, the picture is very nice.