Category Archives: Alec Baldwin

Movie Review: Blue Jasmine

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“Blue Jasmine” begins as Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) lays out the entire exposition of her life. It’s a little odd because she’s not talking to anyone. She’s not even talking to the camera. She’s just talking to herself, in hopes that some random passerby will accidentally be dragged into her delusional vanity.

Woody Allen has a drawer filled with hundreds of ideas in his room. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just handpicked one at random every year. However, this seemed like a nearly perfect time to release “Blue Jasmine.” It’s context is the Financial Crisis. It came out far enough away to not seem like a cheap, timely story but close enough to it where it is still relevant.


Despite this, “Blue Jasmine” is about people, not politics. After the imprisonment of her investment banker husband Hal (Alec Baldwin), a swindler akin to Bernie Madoff, Jasmine is thrown into the real world for the very first time. She trades a ritzy Manhattan apartment for a significantly smaller one in San Francisco with her sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins). And for the first time in her life, she finds herself looking for a job. While doing this, her anxieties and neuroses slowly begin to take hold of her.

As Jasmine, Cate Blanchett gives a wunderkind performance. It’s the kind of acting that breaks a lot of hearts and wins a lot of awards. Watching her here is like watching an emotionally unstable child: you never know when she’s going to snap. It is this part of her performance that ends up being so heartbreaking, because nobody knows less about what is going to happen to Jasmine than Jasmine herself. At a few points, she even partakes in the Kubrick Stare.

Blanchett is joined by an ensemble as good as any seen in a Woody Allen movie. As usual, Baldwin can be a menacing figure even when he’s being nice. As Ginger’s ex-husband Augie, Andrew Dice Clay provides some of the film’s most surprising moments of comic relief. No surprise, Louis C.K. is a standout here. Surprisingly, it’s for a much more serious role. As Ginger’s romantic fling, C.K. is sweet and vulnerable, displaying a very different persona than the one he presents to the world onstage.

 “Blue Jasmine” is one of the darkest films Woody Allen has ever made, and he’s made ones where people are murdered right in front of our faces. In “Blue Jasmine,” some of the most horrifying things are simply implied. “Blue Jasmine” reminded me of a similarly titled film, “Blue Velvet,” which pulled back the curtains on suburbia and exposed the darkness beneath. Similarly, “Blue Jasmine” pulls back the overly expensive curtains on the upper class and exposes the pain, shallowness, and phoniness. According to “Blue Jasmine,” materialism can actually drive a person insane.

Woody Allen has been well known throughout his career for writing excellent female characters. I believe it is partly because he seems to know women so well. But also, he puts little pieces of himself into all of his characters. Jasmine’s fears might just be a more elevated version of anything Alvy Singer was thinking about in “Annie Hall.”

There is an inherent sadness to many of the female characters in “Blue Jasmine.” While they are strong characters, they are also victims of circumstance and deceitful men. It’s as if they are in a sleepwalking mode of helplessness. And once both Jasmine and Ginger awaken for the first time, they both get sucked back in. Dependence is a deadly trap but for them, dependence equals comfort without question.

Woody Allen likes to make films that tell two stories at once that both reflect on one another. Whether it is “Crimes and Misdemeanors ” which tells two separate stories, one as a comedy and one as a drama, or “Blue Jasmine,” which reflects on two different characters similar mistakes in the past and present. Sometimes, it is hard to tell which story is which, because they blend so well together.

Through this film, Allen beautifully expresses the struggle of comfort versus happiness, and whether or not they can go hand-in-hand, or if they are mortal enemies. As the film moves along, Jasmine’s mental illness overtakes her. But the crazier she becomes, the more she seems to be able to see the truth. It’s like in “Silver Linings Playbook,” that those who best understand the world are those who are maybe a little bit crazy. At one point in the film, Jasmine says she got her name from the eponymous flower, which only comes to life in darkness. Woody Allen would probably make fun of me and call me a “pseudo-intellectual” for looking to far into that statement, but Jasmine definitely becomes enlightened as her life spirals further out of control.

Movie Review: To Rome with Love

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Besides a few new shooting locations, Woody Allen hasn’t changed a lot during the span of his career. Not that he has to. Every one of his films open with the same white font against a black background as classical music plays. It never gets old.

“To Rome with Love” opens in this same way. However, this time around, classical music will become a pertinent part of the film. The film opens with a crossing guard on a busy street in Rome, who is the first narrator introduced. As is the typical narrator in a Woody Allen film, he directly addresses the camera while in front of it, instead of only existing as a voice offscreen. This makes sense, as Allen’s films seem to be a way of letting his odd subconscious run wild. “To Rome with Love” doesn’t come near the same territory that “Midnight in Paris” dwelled in, yet it is almost always exciting and funny. “To Rome with Love” is told in four vignettes which never interlock, and never should. Three of them thematically fit together. Another one is kind of just there and has just a few inventive moments. 


The film opens as a young Italian couple (Alessandro Tiberi and Alessandra Mastronardi) get off of a train and get ready to start their new life together. Antonio (Tiberi) is hardworking businessman who is always nervous about something. While his wife Milly just wants a haircut that will make her look young and hip, Antonio worries that she won’t make it back on time to meet his family. She gets the same terrible directions to the salon from every Roman she encounters, and ends up lost and without a cellphone. While wandering the streets of Rome, she bumps into her favorite actor, dines with him, and then faces a moral dilemma. Antonio, meanwhile, is involved in a classic mixup, and a prostitute with a sharp and dirty sense of humor named Anna (Penelope Cruz) is sent to his room. She poses as his wife, since his family has yet to meet Milly. However, Anna doesn’t look like much of a Milly, but she plays along. Milly’s story becomes one of the story’s most amusing. Of course Anna is on speed dial for every businessman at a fancy party Antonio attends. Both Antonio and Milly learn how to be better lovers from other lovers. Antonio and Anna’s story feels inconclusive, but Allen definitely doesn’t take it down the predictable road.



Another vignette stars Allen himself as Jerry, a now retired music executive with too much ambition who is itching to go back to work. Allen is a welcome presence after being absent from the screen since last acting in “Scoop.” It is only natural that he enters this film complaining about turbulence. Despite Jerry’s claim that no psychiatrist has ever been able to diagnose him, it is easy to see where some of his neuroses come from. His wife (Judy Davis, in deadpan glory) is constantly trying to analyze him. In a very Woody Allen joke, the typical Freudian model of id, ego, and superego doesn’t work on him because he is a man with three ids. But I digress. The couple heads to Italy to meet Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti), the new boyfriend of their daughter (Alison Pill). The interesting story is not the budding Italian love affair, but rather the hidden talent that Michelangelo’s father possesses.

Next, there is John (Alec Baldwin), a renowned American architect who has sold out and now builds mini-malls. Instead of seeing the ruins for the hundredth time with his wife, he decides to go for a stroll. Going for a stroll and finding something unexpected seems to be a big theme in Allen’s European chapter in his career. On a side street, John meets Jack (Jesse Eisenberg) a student studying architecture in Rome with his architect girlfriend (Greta Gerwig) and living in the same place John once lived. John becomes quite interested in retracing his old footsteps, and finds that Jack is making similar mistakes he once did, as he falls in love with his girlfriend’s best friend Monica (Ellen Page). The conversations between John and Jack at times appear to only be happening in Jack’s head. However, if this is his subconscious, then the other characters at times seem to have the ability to communicate with it. However, this is one of those outlandish elements that is never explained and doesn’t need to be, like the time-travel in “Midnight in Paris.” As John constantly criticizes Jack and gives him life advice, they talk to the audience without directly addressing them, saying that they know as well as we do that this story will not end well.


This unaware self-awareness might be Allen’s way of saying he knows that this story has been played out. After all, this vignette contains a very similar story to “Match Point,” which was already basically the same story as “Crimes & Misdemeanors.” This definitely feels like the most familiar Allen story, and it even contains one of the archetypes that he basically invented (the pseudo-intellectual). The kind-of inner monologues and speaking back-and-forth to the audience between Jack and Jessie never do carry quite the same spark as, say, Marshall McLuhan’s drop-in in “Annie Hall.” Allen is at his best when he is expanding on his most common ideas, rather than just repeating them.

The fourth story follows Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), an average, middle class Roman. You can tell from his gleeful strut to work everyday that he is totally satisfied with where he is. As long as he can eat breakfast with his children, gaze at the beautiful young woman in the office, and understand movies slightly better than his friends, life can’t go wrong. Then one day, he is pulled out of obscurity, put on a newscast, and becomes the most famous man in Rome. He is pestered by swarms of paparazzi all day long and is constantly asked to make a statement on subjects such as the weather and shaving. Leopoldo comes to realize that it’s not always so good to be in the public eye.
Leopoldo’s story is not necessarily the most complex nor the best of the four stories. However, in the end, it feels the most satisfying and leaves no loose ends dangling. Benigni gives his best performance since “Life is Beautiful” all those years ago. And yes, it does make sense that an ordinary schmuck (his words) like Leopoldo could end up becoming famous over night for doing nothing at all. He’s not much like a Hilton or a Kardashian. He is more like Joe the Plumber, as he is famous simply because he has an opinion on whatever you ask him about. Newscasters want everyone’s opinion but what “To Rome with Love” shows is that not everyone’s opinion actually matters.
“To Rome with Love” is at its best when it embraces visual slapstick that is oddly philosophical. For example, it asks why people sing under the shower with the obvious answer that everyone sounds better under a shower head. This observation is then taken to the next level when Michelangelo’s father becomes a renowned opera singer by bathing himself while onstage during shows. Things like this work because it fits very well into the world that’s been invented, where everyone becomes fully exposed in the public eye. Woody Allen is the quintessential intellectual everyman.
Still, the greatest pleasure of “To Rome with Love” is seeing Woody Allen act again. Before he is even seen, his recognizable voice is heard, and the whole audience I experienced the film with immediately burst out into laughter. It was a familiar kind of laughter, the kind that welcomes back an old friend who can make our lives just a little more entertaining. 
If you liked “To Rome with Love,” then you should check out these similar Woody Allen films: Sleeper, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Annie Hall, Small Time Crooks, The Purple Rose of Cairo

Movie Review: It’s Complicated

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After I saw “It’s Complicated,” I pondered one of the greatest questions of all: what makes a solid comedy? The answer is complicated. Though it does contain a few good gags, “It’s Complicated” doesn’t totally answer the question.

I hope this opening doesn’t sound too harsh, because in the end, “It’s Complicated” is a decent comedy, but not a great one.
“It’s Complicated” is what can be described as nothing more, and nothing less, than a typical romantic comedy. The film centers around the divorced couple of Jake (Alec Baldwin) and Jane (Meryl Streep). Since the divorce ten years earlier, Jake has remarried the much younger Agness (Lake Bell) while Jane remains single. After reuniting at their son’s (Hunter Parrish) college graduation, the two inadvertently rekindle their love and embark on a long, troublesome affair.
It’s also worth noting that Steve Martin is in it as Jane’s love interest. It’s important to note this as the actors are truly what make the story work. The actors that make the story work are the trio of Baldwin, Streep, and Martin.
As usual, it’s a pleasure to watch Baldwin’s relaxed intensity. His sternness always seems to make for the best humor. He shows this skill most on “30 Rock,” and it truly carries over here.
Streep, meanwhile, is great as usual. Here she again proves that she is one of those rare actresses who can conquer any genre. It’s amazing to think she can be in something as serious as “The Deer Hunter” and something as silly as “It’s Complicated.” Streep even shows off the acting skills that a great comedian would have. These skills are visible in her body language and line delivery.
At times, the chemistry between Baldwin and Streep is almost magical. When Jake talks to Jane as she soaks in the tub, the two seem so believable as a married couple. It was a rare scene in the film that could’ve kept going and I wouldn’t have minded.
While Baldwin and Streep rarely seem to go wrong, this is probably the best performance Martin has given in years. He proves to audiences why he was once hailed as one of the greatest comedians out there. All he has to do is roll his eyes a certain way and you’re already laughing.
While this trio of actors essentially is the movie, they don’t totally steal the show. John Krasinski (“The Office”) proves himself to be an amazingly promising comedic talent.
I wish I could talk about how great the actors of “It’s Complicated” are for the rest of this post. However, I can’t ignore the film’s weak points. Its main weakness is its writing. While the film certainly has its funny moments, I can’t pinpoint one hilarious line that I could repeat for weeks to come. Also, the film doesn’t become funny until some way in and there are many long, humorous stretches. A great comedy should be consistently funny throughout. And while the film is only 118 minutes long, it feels much longer than that.
It also goes without saying that the story of “It’s Complicated” is something of a cliche and many parts of the plot line are very predictable. Then again, this is likely what the average viewer was expecting when they came into this movie: an entertaining, predictable romantic comedy. But some comedies can be good by being typical; some can be even better when they try to be smart and original. Take this year’s “The Hangover” and “Adventureland” for example.
Overall, “It’s Complicated” is funny and entertaining at times, but it relies too much on its acting, and too little on its writing. While great acting helps, the best comedies are bolstered by writers, not actors.
Note: While I normally try to keep my hatred toward the MPAA out of my reviews I thought it was important to mention here. “It’s Complicated” is rated R. There is no graphic sexuality, violence, or even explicit language. The only thing that got it an R was a very funny scene involving marijuana. Believe me, an intelligent 13-year-old could handle this.