| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
A- |
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| Visuals: |
B+ |
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Thoughtful, but Fun for all Viewers
by Adam (movies profile)
Jun 3, 2006
1
of
1 people found this review helpful
This halirious parody of mobster films marks Woody Allen's first outting as an actor/director. Take the Money and Run is also the second film that Woody Allen directed (He directed an English over-dubbed version of the Senkichi Taniguchi's Japanese film What's Up Tiger Lily? previously). This, therefore, is the film that introduced mainstream American audiences to Woody Allen.
Take the Money and Run is the story of Virgil Starkwell, a career criminal who is no good at being a criminal. Virgil begins his life of crime at an early age, and makes a mess of it to begin with. Virgil is constantly being caught and put in prison, on a chain gang, or having his glasses taken off and stepped on by someone as a form of intimidation. Virgil gets married and attempts to go straight and become a businessman, but is blackmailed by a woman in his office and has to convert back to crime. The various events in the life of Virgil Starkwell make for a very humorous time for the viewer.
This film is silly in the way that a Mel Brooks film is silly. Take the Money and Run is filled with nonsensical humor that is fun for the everyone. Their are few dirty jokes or words in this film, which is a breath of fresh air in light of all the "toilet humor" that Hollywood as produced in the last 25 years. Allen brings Virgil Starkwell to life with the same tongue in cheek humor that he would become known for in later films such as Annie Hall. More importantly, however, is the fact the Allen's script and direction in this film leaves the viewer with the impression that he is not looking for cheap laughs, but using intelligent and well thought-out jokes as the base of the humor in this film.
The script is packed with sharp, crisp jokes that, added with the physical humor of the film, make this film so hilarious. Naturally the script of the film also provides a strong backbone for Allen's style of directing. Seeing as how this film is directed in Allen's typical style of direction, there is a lot of room for the humor that the script provides. As always, the combination of a Woody Allen film with a Woody Allen script is an unbeatable pair.
The acting of the film is decent as well. With a Woody Allen film, the script is so strong that the acting only has to be decent to be memorable. Because of Allen's dedication to his craft, actors in his films only have to pull off a presentable performance once they get the script as most of the details are in the script, direction, and score.
Overall, I believe that everyone can enjoy this film because of the silly and physical humor that it employees. I do, however, believe that active thinkers will enjoy this film more than the average Joe because of the intelligent references that Allen has hidden throughout the film. |
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