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IMDbPro

Whatever Works

  • 20092009
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
75K
YOUR RATING
Larry David in Whatever Works (2009)
An eccentric older man (David) encounters a Southern belle (Wood) and promptly falls in love. But how will the couple, her family, and his New York City friends mix?
Play trailer2:18
1 Video
69 Photos
ComedyRomance
A middle-aged, misanthropic divorcé from New York City surprisingly enters a fulfilling, Pygmalion-type relationship with a much younger, unsophisticated Southern girl.A middle-aged, misanthropic divorcé from New York City surprisingly enters a fulfilling, Pygmalion-type relationship with a much younger, unsophisticated Southern girl.A middle-aged, misanthropic divorcé from New York City surprisingly enters a fulfilling, Pygmalion-type relationship with a much younger, unsophisticated Southern girl.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
75K
YOUR RATING
    • Woody Allen
    • Woody Allen
  • Stars
    • Evan Rachel Wood
    • Larry David
    • Henry Cavill
    • Woody Allen
    • Woody Allen
  • Stars
    • Evan Rachel Wood
    • Larry David
    • Henry Cavill
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 196User reviews
    • 194Critic reviews
    • 45Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Whatever Works
    Trailer 2:18
    Watch Whatever Works

    Photos69

    Patricia Clarkson in Whatever Works (2009)
    Larry David and Marcia DeBonis in Whatever Works (2009)
    Larry David, Conleth Hill, and Michael McKean in Whatever Works (2009)
    Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)
    Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)
    Ed Begley Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Conleth Hill, Olek Krupa, and Michael McKean in Whatever Works (2009)
    Henry Cavill and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)
    Larry David and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)
    Patricia Clarkson and Conleth Hill in Whatever Works (2009)
    Henry Cavill and Patricia Clarkson in Whatever Works (2009)
    Henry Cavill and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)
    Woody Allen, Henry Cavill, and Evan Rachel Wood in Whatever Works (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Evan Rachel Wood
    Evan Rachel Wood
    • Melody Celestine
    Larry David
    Larry David
    • Boris
    Henry Cavill
    Henry Cavill
    • Randy
    Adam Brooks
    Adam Brooks
    • Boris' Friend
    Lyle Kanouse
    Lyle Kanouse
    • Boris' Friend
    Michael McKean
    Michael McKean
    • Boris' Friend
    Clifford Lee Dickson
    • Boy on Street
    Yolonda Ross
    Yolonda Ross
    • Boy's Mother
    Carolyn McCormick
    Carolyn McCormick
    • Jessica
    Samantha Bee
    Samantha Bee
    • Chess Mother
    Conleth Hill
    Conleth Hill
    • Brockman
    Marcia DeBonis
    Marcia DeBonis
    • Lady at Chinese Restaurant
    John Gallagher Jr.
    John Gallagher Jr.
    • Perry
    Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman
    Willa Cuthrell-Tuttleman
    • Chess Girl
    • (as Willa Cuthrell Tuttleman)
    Nicole Patrick
    Nicole Patrick
    • Perry's Friend
    Patricia Clarkson
    Patricia Clarkson
    • Marietta
    Olek Krupa
    Olek Krupa
    • Morgenstern
    Ed Begley Jr.
    Ed Begley Jr.
    • John
      • Woody Allen
      • Woody Allen
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Woody Allen claims that he cast Larry David because David is one of the few comedians that makes him laugh.
    • Goofs
      Melody says she is from Mississippi and that her parents moved there from Louisiana. She also refers to living in Plaquemines County. There is no Plaquemines County is Mississippi. In Louisiana, where there are parishes instead of counties, there is a Plaquemines Parish.
    • Quotes

      Boris Yellnikoff: That's why I can't say enough times, whatever love you can get and give, whatever happiness you can filch or provide, every temporary measure of grace, whatever works.

    • Connections
      Featured in The 81st Annual Academy Awards (2009)
    • Soundtracks
      Hello I Must Be Going
      From the Original Soundtrack Animal Crackers (1930)

      Written by Bert Kalmar (as Bert Kalmer) & Harry Ruby

      Performed by Groucho Marx and Cast

      Courtesy of Universal Studios

    User reviews196

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    "I'm not a likable guy..."
    Woody Allen's alter ego, Boris (a bitterly good and sardonic Larry David) makes this statement to the audience rather early on in "Whatever Works". The truth is, no matter how misanthropic, sarcastic and neurotic Woody Allen is, he ultimately is a pretty likable personality...if you like that type. Allen's return to Manhattan after three stays in London and a wonderful stop-over in Barcelona is yet another niche film. Fans of Allen, as well as fans of Larry David's "Seinfeld" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (which not so ironically should be the same folks) will find plenty to laugh at here, while others will inevitability whine, "I don't care for Woody Allen...and oh, that Larry David! Can't stand him!"

    The plot of "Whatever Works" is irrelevant. Boris is some sort of genius-level physicist trying to speed his way to death, though those metaphors are never explored as poignantly as they should be. It all just serves as a soap-box for Allen (through David) to funnel his usual dialogues about relationships, love, luck and the meaning of life. It's all very broad and obvious this time around, but it's sometimes nice to still be laughing at the same old feel-good shtick. It should come as no surprise that Boris also tells the audience this isn't a movie designed to make you feel good, unless you're Allen fans, and then you'll feel pretty swell afterward. Leave it to Allen to infer moviegoers are inherently morons, but we're sophisticates for watching his films.

    Apparently this is a re-worked screenplay from the 1970's and the "Annie Hall" style monologues to the audience are evidence of that. In the jokes department you'll find old standards mocking the French and suggesting kids should attend "concentration camps" for the summer mixed with modern humor about the Taliban and Viagra. There's also one hilarious throw-away/blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to James Cameron's "The Abyss" that makes you wonder if perhaps the screenplay was first reworked in the 1980's before its final incarnation here.

    In the casting department we find Patricia Clarkson, yet again, is a delight in her curiously under-written over-written role (which is far too simply complex to explain in a traditional review) and continues to build a case for herself to be declared this generation's "Best Supporting Actress" twenty years from now. Evan Rachel Wood is cute-as a-button (oh, as her character might declare, what a cliché) as a Southern cutie-pie who runs away to New York City and meets up with the suicidal Boris. Allen, as always, is luminous with his photography of the "young lady." And unlike the similarly dumb motor-mouthed funny-voiced Mira Sorvino character from "Mighty Aphrodite", Wood's character is actually given an arc here and proves not to be as shallow and moronic as Boris originally assessed, which indicates maybe Allen is growing just a teeny bit in his view on women...or maybe not.

    Ultimately this is yet another testament to Allen's world-view, which is summed up here as do whatever works for you to trick yourself into believing you're happy in this miserable world. Sure, there are times when Boris' diatribes run a few lines too long, or when the film stops dead when he is not on screen, but for the most part, this is Allen doing what works best for him. No other director can call himself out on all his personal pratfalls and annoying quirks yet still find a way to endear himself to the faithful who are ever patient with him and his films. No other director can be so charmingly mean-spirited and self-deprecating yet still find a way to declare his alter ego a genius at picture's end. And that's why we've always liked you, Woody, for better and for worse. For what it's worth, when it comes to Allen's better and worse, "Whatever Works" falls happily in between and works just fine, thank you very much.
    helpful•141
    35
    • WriterDave
    • Jun 29, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 3, 2009 (United States)
      • United States
      • France
      • Mars Distribution (France)
      • Sony Pictures Classics (United States)
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • East Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Sony Pictures Classics
      • Wild Bunch
      • Gravier Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 33 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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