Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

When he discovers his adopted son is a genius, a New York sportswriter seeks out the boy's birth mother: a prostitute.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Pamela Blair, Rene Ceballos, Woody Allen

Won 1 Oscar. Another 13 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pamela Blair	...	Greek Chorus
Rene Ceballos	...	Greek Chorus (as René Ceballos)
Elie Chaib	...	Greek Chorus
George De La Pena	...	Greek Chorus
Joanne DiMauro	...	Greek Chorus
Denise Faye	...	Greek Chorus
Marian Filali	...	Greek Chorus (as Marianne Filali)
Angelo Fraboni	...	Greek Chorus
Scott Fowler	...	Greek Chorus
Seth Gertsacov	...	Greek Chorus
Patti Karr	...	Greek Chorus
Fred Mann III	...	Greek Chorus
John Mineo	...	Greek Chorus
Christopher Nelson	...	Greek Chorus
Valda Setterfield	...	Greek Chorus

Storyline

Lenny and Amanda have an adopted son Max who turns out to be brilliant. Lenny becomes obsessed with finding Max's real parents because he believes that they too must be brilliant. When he finds that Linda Ash is Max' real mother, Lenny is disappointed. Linda is a prostitute and porn star. On top of that, she is quite possibly the dumbest person Lenny has ever met. Interwoven is a Greek chorus linking the story with the story of Oedipus.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | adopted son | greek chorus | adoption | new york | 

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Taglines:

The new comedy from Woody Allen

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and sex-related material

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Poderosa Afrodita

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,700,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sweetland Films, Magnolia Pictures, Miramax Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR (Mono)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Mira Sorvino, after a month of filming, Woody Allen wanted her to change the high-pitched voice she was using for her character but she refused.

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Goofs

The Belmont Park race caller announces that the last-place Eager Beaver is fading when Eager Beaver was actually gaining ground, and finishes the race a length-and-a-half behind the horse in front of him.

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Quotes

Lenny Weinrib: I'm sure that you're a state-of-the-art fellatrix.

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Crazy Credits

The Greek Chorus does the "When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles At You)" song-and-dance production number over half the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Hongos (1999)

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Soundtracks

"You Do Something to Me"
(1929)
Written by Cole Porter
Performed by the 'Dick Hyman Chorus & Orchestra' (as Dick Hyman Chorus)

User Reviews

Charming, imaginative look at fate, heredity and love

This is a charming movie - particularly the parts played by the boxer-onion farmer, and prostitute/porn star, and their two scenes together. Allen's character's efforts sense of what happier direction the prostitute's life could take and his efforts to reform her, are also exactly what most of us would do if we discovered that she was the biological mother of our adopted child.

Allen has such imagination - and such an understanding of how people of varying education and background, talk and move, and what they care about.

I did feel the subplot involving Helena Bonham-Carter, her career and Peter Weller, was less imaginative, less interesting. I've always had trouble warming to Bonham-Carter - perhaps it's just how unlikeable virtually all her roles have been - and this role didn't help.

Mira Sorvino's character sounds amusingly like Victoria Jackson from Saturday Night Live - her figure is so eye-popping, and her sweetness so endearing that she definitely is the memorable character for anyone who sees the movie. "Oh, that's the one with Mira Sorvino" is undoubtedly how people would remember this movie. However, the Greek chorus was a wonderful idea - and Jack Warner in a small role as a blind seer, and F. Murray Abraham as the principal chorus member/conscience of the movie is also wonderful.