Alice

Plot synopsis:
Synopsis by "Cult Movies" author Danny Peary...Fifteen years ago, Alice (Mia Farrow) gave up her fashion career to marry the wealthy Douglas (William Hurt). Now they live in a fancy East Side apartment, with their two kids and several servants. She spends her time shopping, heaving beauty treatments, and being a good wife/mother. Raised a Catholic - her idol is Mother Teresa - Alice feels guilty just for being madly attracted to Joe (Joe Mantegna): a sax player and single father whose kids attend her kids' school. She is too shy to talk with him. Having a painful back, she goes to Dr. Yang (Keye Luke): a weird acupuncturist-herbalist, who realizes that her problem is caused by her attraction to Joe. Yang gives her a special herb. The next day she uninhibitedly flirts with Joe and they make a date. But later she feels to guilty and scared to keep it. She takes more of Yang's potions. One potion makes her invisible: she watches Joe make love to his ex-wife (Judy Davis). Another potion allows Alice to be with the ghost of her first love, Eddie (Alec Baldwin), of whom Joe reminds her. After several false starts and near break-offs, Alice and Joe consummate their love. When invisible, Alice goes to Douglas's office and catches him making love with a coworker. He has been unfaithful for years. Alice breaks up with him and goes to Joe, who sadly tells her that he is returning to his ex-wife. Yang gives Alice a potion that will make any man love her completely. She can choose between Douglas and Joe, but decides on neither. Instead, she goes to Calcutta and works with Mother Teresa. With better values, Alice returns to New York and happily brings up her kids alone.

Tags: romantic, flashback

Review:
Alice Tate (Mia Farrow) is living in New York City, married to Doug (William Hurt), a man from a wealthy family.
Through his extremely unorthodox treatments, Alice gradually transforms her life.Although there is a fair amount of light humor in Alice, and it is relatively upbeat and hopeful, the bulk of this film is much more in the vein of director/writer Woody Allen's more "serious" straightforward dramas, ala Interiors (1978), September (1987) and Another Woman (1988).
This probably has some significance for Allen outside of his life in film, although it is difficult to say whether its because he's undergone hypnotic treatment himself or whether he just sees it as a metaphor for digging beneath public facades which one has fooled oneself into believing, too.Dr. Yang's treatments either result in encountering some important person or event from Alice's past and/or tapping into some unrealized potential.
Sometimes this is very overt, as when Dr. Yang's office transforms into an amusement park midway (the slowly strobing red light was particularly exquisite, with red also symbolizing caution), and often it is subtler, as with the tracking shots of Alice and Vicki (Judy Davis) seen through various glass-like surfaces, or Alice and Joe (Joe Mantegna) through a fence as prison bars, or Alice and Dr. Yang with a wall in between them as the camera pans from one to the other, and so on.Of course the performances are good--Allen can even get admirable performances out of actors whom I usually do not care for, such as William Hurt.
In other words, this is a typical post-Annie Hall (1977) Allen film, so if you like his style, Alice is a safe bet, and if you already know you dislike his style, you're probably not even reading this far..
I think if people happened upon this movie not knowing it was a Woody Allen film, they would be more than pleased with it.
Compared to a film like "Crimes and Misdemeanors" it's a bit of a lightweight, but taken on its own terms "Alice" is an enjoyable portrait of a woman trying to find herself and her spiritual center.
All I'll say is watch for Bob Balaban (the dead guy in "Deconstructing Harry") in the party scene late in the film.This film also marked the first time Allen worked with the amazing Judy Davis, who would make more of an impression in "Husbands and Wives" two years later..
Alice begins to question her religious faith amidst an upper-class Manhattan setting and intellectual friends--in other words, she plays a female, Catholic version of the character Woody Allen has played in many other movies.
Alice (9 out of 10)Woody took my disbelief and suspended it high above Manhattan, so I could peer down upon Mia's Chinese-herb-aided exploration of infidelity, family and Catholicism.Allen here is clearly more in touch with both yin and yang than Kubrick in Eyes Wide Shut.
She goes to an herbal doctor, Dr Yang, who gives her herbs that, in a variety of ways, help her in her voyage of self-discovery.I'm a keen fan of Woody Allen but hopefully not to the point where I can't call a dog a dog!
He doesn't always make strict comedies, though, and this movie proves it.Mia Farrow and William Hurt are married, have two children, and live the high-life.
As always in Woody Allen movies, there's a large cast, and this one includes Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Cybill Shepherd, Joe Montegna, June Squibb, Julie Kavner, Bernadette Peters, Gwen Verdon, and Bob Balaban.
Not one of Woody Allen's best films, "Alice" is nonetheless far better than what he's been turning out lately.
Only Woody Allen can direct such a great film with fantastic actors from the 1940's to the present day STARS!
Mia Farrow,(Alice),"Angela Mooney",'96, was a mixed up Catholic gal who was struggling with herself and also her husband, William Hurt,(Doug),"The Blue Butterfly",'04, who is very rich and spoiled his wife in every way possible except in BED!
Alice visits a Dr. Yang,(Keye Luke),"The Falcon's Brother",'42, who gives her all kinds of herbs which helps her find herself and at the same time Alice has some hot romance with Joe Mantegna on the way to becoming a normal, happy Gal. It was great seeing a former great veteran actor,Keye Luke, who use to play #1 Son to Charlie Chan back in the 40's and many other actors who appear in the picture from out of nowhere!
I personally think this movie is one of Woody Allen's greatest pieces along with "The Purple Rose Of Cairo" and "Great Aphrodite".
Mia Farrow is "Alice" in this 1990 Woody Allen film.
Here, Allen borrows from "Juliet of the Spirits" and "Alice in Wonderland" to make a delightful movie about an unhappy woman trying to find herself.Alice (Farrow) married a wealthy man (William Hurt) and gave up a career in fashion.
Yang keeps hitting Alice up with potions: one makes her invisible, so she can watch Joe with his psychiatrist ex-wife (Judy Davis); another reunites her with the ghost of her first love (Alec Baldwin).
But one of the potions helps her to find something out that she not only didn't know, but that changes her life.Mia Farrow does a good job as Alice; in my opinion, other than "Rosemary's Baby," she did her best work with Allen.
Mia Farrow is charming (as usual) playing a New York City wife and mother whose visit to a Chinese herb doctor sets her on a journey of self-discovery.
Keye Luke is perfectly cast as the unconventional medico who helps Alice change her outlook on life, and the film picks up a bit at the 60 minute mark with other nice turns by Bernadette Peters and Blythe Danner.
Mia Farrow turns in her best performance ever (after voicing THE LAST UNICORN that is) and her supporting cast fleshes out this potentially not interesting assortment of Woody Allen types.
William Hurt and Alec Baldwin, in particular give fine performances, and Bernadette Peters is a scream for the five minutes of screen time Allen gives her (I'd like to say something about both Blythe Danner and Judy Davis, who are two fine actresses, but it's hard when they basically do nothing in the movie).
Joe Mantegna turns out good work too, although to a lesser extent he could have been better used, while Keye Luke, Cybill Shepherd and particularly Bernadette Peters and Alec Baldwin(in the most colourful supporting roles) make up an excellent supporting cast.
I love a lot of Woody Allen's lesser-known works (Shadows and Fog, Stardust Memories) but being honest with myself, I can't find a lot to like in Alice.
I always love the endings of Woody Allen movies and I found this one to be a particularly pleasant surprise while also being very encouraging and uplifting.William Hurt, Joe Montangea and Alec Baldwin are all good as the men in her life, and Bernadette Peters is especially great as the Muse.A must-see for Woody Allen fans who keep their expectations down..
But for younger people who long for more romance or comedy or long for more true to life drama there are a lot of much better Woody Allen films out there..
After watching this I can't help but wonder what a fantasy horror film written and directed by Woody Allen would look like..
Morse (Editor)Cast includes: Alec Baldwin (Eddie), Blythe Danner (Dorothy), Judy Davis (Vicki), Mia Farrow (Alice Tait), William Hurt (Doug Tait), Keye Luke (Dr Yang), Joe Mantegna (Joe Ruffalo), Bernadette Peters (Muse), Cybill Shepherd (Nancy Brill), Gwen Verdon (Alice's Mother)Academy Award nomination: Original Screenplay; Golden Globe nomination: Actress - Musical/Comedy (Farrow)"A younger man and a bolder woman."A neglected, unfulfilled housewife (Farrow) fantasises about having an affair with a divorced musician (Mantegna), when she is made to reappraise her life on visiting a Chinese acupuncturist (Luke, in his final film) for a bad back, and is instead prescribed magic herbs that allow her to lose her inhibitions, turn invisible, and communicate with a dead ex-boyfriend (Baldwin).Overfamiliar elements - Farrow (back then), jazz soundtrack (plus, in this case, subject matter), very Allen-esque dialogue (though without the man himself appearing) - combine with a gentle romance demonstrating a nice change of pace for normally tough-guy Mantegna.Important lesson - disregard trivialities in favour of what's important - emerges from this lightweight Allen.Blu-ray Extras: Trailer.
One thing I especially love about Woody Allen films is that even in his films that the majority of audiences don't view as highly, there is always something unique to the director within the film, making even a "lower tier" Woody Allen film feel very "Woody-ish".Alice (Mia Farrow) has been married to her husband Doug (William Hurt) for nearly 16 years.
Then Mr. Yang gives her invisibility powder.Mia Farrow plays a neurotic romantic which is often Woody Allen's role.
Woody Allen infuses elements of magic and fantasy into 'Alice' but at the same time the story stays human all the way.
It could be described as a typical Woody Allen-Mia Farrow film.'Alice' is whimsical and is a good mixture of comedy and drama.
Joe Mantegna, Judy Davies, Blythe Danner, William Hurt, Alec Baldwin, Keye Luke and Bernadette Peters provide great support.The elements of fantasy give 'Alice' a 'Christmas Carol', 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Peter Fan' feel.
I doubt one could go wrong with a Woody Allen-Mia Farrow collaboration, that is, if you like this style of film..
This is one of those lightweight Woody Allen comedies with magical realist overtones that he makes while treading water in between his more serious and better films.
Mia Farrow plays a housewife who's reevaluating her life, and the movie is stuffed with a bunch of famous faces in small roles, playing the various people she comes in contact with during her modest little soul-discovery journey.Farrow is a very underrated actress, and she's very good here, but she suffers from what many an actor has suffered in Woody Allen movies -- too often his films feel like caprices and they're not developed enough to let any one actor really sink his/her teeth into the material.
And it yanks people into its story from straight off of any given New York City block, like the title character, played by Mia Farrow in her most becoming performance next to The Purple Rose of Cairo, the wife of a millionaire with two kids, but terribly unhappy.
In this movie we can ask what is love after observing the behaviour of the woman (one of the best roles of Mia Farrow), her husband and her lover.
Having Woody Allen serve as the writer and director of this film and including a cast list that usually guarantees big box office success would initially lead one to believe that Orion's 1990 release, "Alice" would sound like the one that would resurrect Allen's somewhat flagging career.
It's hard to believe that a supporting cast including William Hurt, Joe Mantegna, Keye Luke, Alec Baldwin, Cybill Shepherd, Blythe Danner, Gwen Verdon, Bernadette Peters, Judy Davis, Julie Kavner, Holland Taylor, Bob Balaban, and Elle Macpherson could come together and be reduced to their roles in a film like this.
I  particularly liked the scene where the, formerly reticent Alice, played  by Mia Farrow, is picking up an attractive saxophone player at her  daughter's school.
Mia Farrow, in her best ever role for Woody Allen is attractive  and amusing as the scatter-brained Alice.
Usually  this is effected by the immature women being taken under the wing of a  mature man, played by Woody Allen, but in this case it is the Chinese  doctor who has the Svengali role as facilitator of Alice's process of  self-actualisation.
Alice (a charming and sometimes affecting Mia Farrow) has to change by her own accord, but is assisted by these 'herbs' that make her invisible, see her dead lover (Alec Baldwin in a great supporting role) in the same room with her, fly high in the sky, and speak with her sister at their old family home in her mind (whether that part is from the opium, if it even is opium, is hard to say), and a potion that will make any men fall desperately in love with her, which makes for the climax of the picture.Meanwhile, she tries to find herself, her creative spirit as a writer (if it's even there) and a possible lover in musician Joe Mantagna plays.
But the film is satisfying as something light and fluffy, some satire of the rich and their petty concerns thrown in, and some existential 'Woody' angst thrown in for good measure.It's not a major work by any means, and I think Allen is content with it that way.
The scenes are very bad- luckily when he leaves, the film picks up again but stumbles right along to the end.Woody incorporates catholic angst in the movie and into Alice, but the scenes are incredibly false.
When Mia and her new lover become invisible, they take a cab and as they depart make the comment- "Nothing fazes New York cab drivers."  In a matter of seconds, he cheapens the experience of the movie to grab a "Bananas" like laugh- he would do this later also in "Everyone Says I Love You."  If Woody himself doesn't feel enough involvement in the characters he created to keep out jokes that have no bearing to the story as it is presented, then why should I sit through it at all?
The magic should be around the characters, not within the confines of the conversations!I feel sorry for Farrow- she gave it a good try and some of the best scenes are the result of her comic ability- there are laughs that Farrow herself gives the movie, like her smoking the pipe.
Typically Woody Allen would play the neurotic character, as that is all he knows (by his own admission) but as the part required a female, he probably thought Mia Farrow was his female equivalent.William Hurt nails the aloof, too-rich-to-care, stuck-up husband, though his character is quite irritating.
Good support from Joe Mantegna, Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis and Cybill Shepherd.Overall, OK but certainly not a must-see, even if you are, like me, a Woody Allen fan..
It fails at all three.Alice (Mia Farrow) is a restless middle aged woman who has married into great wealth and leads a life of aimless luxury with her rather boring husband and their two small children.
Mia Farrow does a good job in the role with a kind of Woody Allen-like obsessiveness at times and the story for the most part keeps you interested.
Some of the fantasy scenes go a bit too far, like when she's flying with Alec Baldwin in the sky, but the storyline isn't as bad as some of the movies that I have seen from Woody Allen lately.
There are some good actors in this film, like William Hurt and Joe Mantegna, but it's mostly based around Farrow who was quite dull.
This might well be described as a "bad" Woody Allen movie, so it might just as well be described as a mediocre film, overall.
But 45 minutes into the film, I decided I couldn't sympathize with Mia Farrow's character Alice, whom she portrayed as a timid, almost ditzy, blonde rich lady with two kids, a good-looking husband, a fabulous apartment in New York, and still enough money for househelp, spa time, and boutique shopping.
Anyway, Alice is not as good as his best films simply because the dialogues are not as brilliant as usual, the story is a little bit hackneyed...which it wouldn't matter, as I said, if the dialogues were as sharp as always, and if Woody were on the film playing his usual character.
Although this is not her best collaboration with Allen- that was probably "Hannah and Her Sisters"- Mia Farrow makes a likable heroine and there are also good performances from Alec Baldwin as the ghostly Ed and William Hurt as Doug.
In both of these films, Allen effortlessly walks a fine line between drama and comedy, and although "Alice" appears to be a smaller, simpler film compared to "Crimes", the viewer gradually realizes that the central dilemma - will Mia Farrow cheat on her husband or not ?
Alice (Mia Farrow) is a guileless rich New York housewife who shops looks beautiful for her husband Doug (William Hurt) and takes care of her kids from time to time.She encounter Joe Mantenga at her children's school and is smitten...through the help of a Chinese acupuncturist herbalist hypnotist she embarks on a magical odyssey and discovers what her real values are.It is a unique and creative movie where by Alice appears invisible is able to fly with ghosts and other things much like Alice in Wonderland.There are a couple funny lines but this is not a comedy...it treats with a light touch matters such as fidelity in a far more palatable manner (in my opinion) than the contemporary dreadfully serious (and lousy) film by Allen entitled: Another Woman.Prepare to be entertained and left also with feelings a drama might leave as well...
In one sense a movie about cheating couples, this is another of Woody Allen's great character studies but with the added fillip of a Chinese herb doctor (outstandingly played by Keye Luke) who understands just what Alice (Mia Farrow) needs for the various developments in her midlife crisis and has just the right herbal medicine that she needs.
Not Woody Allen's best but an adequate role for Mia Farrow.
Though Woody isn't in the film, and it is all about Alice (or Mia Farrow, as the case may be) it is as if he is speaking through all of the characters, as the unseen scribe behind the scenes, the author of the drama.
It was like The Muse was inserted for Woody to tell Mia that she should stick to acting, and leave the writing to him.The main metaphor of the movie is Dr. Yang, and his office functions as the looking glass through which Alice enters her Wonderland.