Description: Romance meets comedy in Woody Allen's first movie musical, and it's a glorious celebration of love that had audiences laughing and critics cheering. In intertwining stories, Joe's (Woody Allen) attempt to win the heart of Von (Julia Roberts) takes him to scenic Venice and Paris, while his ex-wife, Steffi (Goldie Hawn), and her current husband, Bob (Alan Alda), deal with erupting family matters in their swank but crowded Manhattan apartment. In the meantime, Steffi and Bob's daughter, Skylar (Drew Barrymore), is torn between two boyfriends (Edward Norton and Tim Roth), adding to the complications. But through it all, Allen's dream cast knows the perfect moment to express their emotions with a classic love song or a hilarious production number. Musical comedy has seldom been played with such wit, humor, and sophistication. Get ready to fall in love with love ... and to sing the praises of EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU!
Amazon.com: Writer-director Woody Allen has produced yet another challenging and funny film, this time taking on the musical genre and bending it to his own unique vision. The result is one of the most charming films in recent years, as Allen assembles a typically sterling ensemble cast to evoke the romanticism of years past. This time, the large cast (including Alan Alda, Drew Barrymore, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, and Tim Roth) not only turn in funny and touching performances, but they sing the classic songs of the 1930s and 1940s themselves, and sing them very well. The plot centers on an extended family in New York and their various romantic entanglements, including Allen's pursuit of Julia Roberts through the streets of Paris and the canals of Venice. The musical numbers are the film's high point, displaying wonderful choreography ranging from a room full of dancing Groucho Marxes to a dancing couple in flight at the banks of the Seine. Everyone Says I Love You is a witty and entertaining fantasy, and a truly romantic escape. --Robert Lane
No good deed goes unpunished This lovely-to-look-at and amazing-to-listen-to film was a major departure from the typical angsty Allen film....and because of that, it's unappreciated....Amazingly, it's unavailable on DVD...I hope that changes soon!
Satirical Musical I taped this movie a couple of months ago and didn't watch it right away because I read that it was a musical. I wasn't coming up with any good images of Woody Allen doing song and dance. Boredom prompted me to take a look and I liked what I saw.
The plot of the movie is standard Woody Allen; Relationships and their discontents. Whether drama or comedy, Woody does these very well and this movie is no exception. There is a particular farcical relationship that involves an ex-con that is hilarious. However, what makes this Woody Allen movie stand on its' own is the song and dance routines. The cast is not, to my knowledge, known for their musical talent but they all do a good to very good job. Check that; Woody's singing in the lone (thankfully) song he sang was dreadful. Apparently he knew this as well because he politely sang in a whisper. Three numbers in particular stood out for me. The best was a hospital scene that broke into a chorus of "Makin Whoopee". The dancing of the patients (in various states of immobility and/or injury) was a great spoof of song and dance routines. The funeral home was the scene of "It's later than you Think" preformed, if you will, as a spiritual. The final number worth citing was the Groucho ensemble dancing to "Hooray for Captain Spaulding". Someone put a LOT of time into the choreography for these numbers.
Woody has amazed me before on several occassions so I'm stingy with my "5 Star" ratings when it comes to his movies. "Everyone Says I Love You" doesn't quite reach that level but it's only a notch below.
Woody Allen loses his mind--to the audience's advantage Watching "Everyone Says I Love You," it is possible to conclude that Woody Allen has gone insane--charmingly and endearingly, but completely, bonkers. A typical Allen-esque New York comedy of love and romance is given a special charge by turning the film into a musical; though Allen has often used classic jazz and show tunes effectively in his other works (especially the Gershwin score of "Manhattan" and the lovely big band tunes in "Hannah and Her Sisters"), this is his first full-out musical with actors bursting into song to (more or less) further the plot. Some, like an endearingly game Edward Norton, shine almost in spite of themselves; some, like Julia Roberts, try valiantly but still go down fighting. (Score at the final: Roberts 6, song 2, audience 0.) And some, like Goldie Hawn, positively glow given the chance to show off all of her formidable comedic, singing, and dancing gifts in one package again. Bits of the plot are cribbed from other Allen films (the romances are from "Manhattan," a thread involving a "reformed" criminal echoes "Take the Money and Run"), but the actors--especially Tim Roth as the aforementioned criminal--seem to be having a ball. When Norton and a never-dewier Drew Barrymore are loose in a springtime New York so enchanting that even the store window mannequins have to strike a special pose for them, you get a happy, fizzy glow. And when a set of dancing ghosts causes a conga line at a memorial service, all bets are off; Allen may have officially crossed over from neurotic to delusional, but this adorably addle-pated film is never less than endearing.
Spare Me Allen's first all out 100% dud. Alas, not the last. The last ten years have shown a marked decline in Allen's interest in his own craft. The idea is to have a bunch of famous actors sing corny old romantic standards any time something romantic happens. Allen tries and fails to send up the romantic comedy and musicals genres in this irritating one-joke flop. Also, this is one of the few Allen movies where the acting is uniformly subpar. Julia Roberts, Drew Barrymore and Edward Norton are just the most glaring of the nonactor filmstars herein. Be wary of Allen's movies where he packs the stars in with a shoehorn. Shows he knows the material is weak and he's overcompensating.
Sweet and lovely and Easy to Love Lovers of the great American songbook (GAS)will recognize the title for my review. The same individuals will relish this homage by Mr Allen to the Hollywood musical and no one who has witnessed Mr James Stewart trying to get his tonsils around an Irving Berlin standard will object to any of the actors in EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU who do a commendable job of presenting some wonderful songs from the GAS. Two comments: the film positively drips with charm, and is drippy with the absurdities of those in love much like those in a Shakespearian comedy. A treat, and a GAS.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
