Cafe Society * * * *

I've heard Flip's reviewing this, so don't screw it up, okay guys.

Woody Allen films almost come with a guarantee. He is one of America’s finest Writers and Directors and the quality of his work always shines through. Even though this isn’t his finest work, Cafe Society is no exception to his high standard.   

  It looks spectacular.  Set in the 1930’s it is chock full of Art Deco splendor, beautiful interiors and costumes.

  Jesse Eisenberg stars as Bobby, a young man from New York.  His Uncle Phil (Steve Carell)  has made good on the other coast as a Hollywood Film Producer.  Disenchanted at the prospect of working in the family business Bobby asks Uncle Phil if he can work for him.  He moves to LA and is taken on as an errand boy and general dogsbody.

  Bobby is attracted to Uncle Phil’s secretary Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), and a warm friendship develops between them, which blossoms into romance.  But Vonnie harbours a devastating secret.

  Meanwhile, we are given insight into the rest of Bobby’s family: his brother Ben who is making a good living as a gangster, his sister who has married an extreme left wing bookish fellow, his Mom, who worries about everything, and his Dad with his jewellery business and refusal to behave like a “proper jew”.  (Yes, in true Woody Allen form there are plenty of Jewish jokes).

    Like many Woody Allen films, voice over narrative - with many witticisms -  is used to move the story along, but regrettably this device is also used to ask us to take a huge leap at one stage: and we find ourselves back in New York a couple of years on, and a complete change of life for Bobby - complete with another Vonnie (Blake Lively) who has come into his life.  The leap seems to take some of the energy out of the film and it takes a while to find itself again. But it does, with scenes of Bobby's new career managing Ben’s Nightclub, and the blossoming romance between Bobby and the new Vonnie.

   Surprisingly, it seems to seek its conclusion by resolving the issues of secondary characters rather than the principal characters.    For Bobby and Vonnie and Uncle Phil life just seems to go on, which in some ways, leaves them (and us) no choice but to accept the life and circumstances they have designed for themselves.

  I wouldn’t say this is  Woody’s best work.  But Woody Allen is so good that even when he doesn’t hit the mark his films are much better than many other comedy dramas out there.