Whatever Works

PG-13

Released Jun 19, 2009

1h 32m

Romance

Comedy

List

50%

169 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After a failed suicide attempt, brilliant New York misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) forsakes his posh upper-class existence for meager accommodations in Chinatown. He meets his exact opposite in Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a pageant queen from the Deep South who's long on sweetness but short on smarts. Surprisingly, Boris and Melody marry, but the sparks really fly when Melody's born-again Christian mother (Patricia Clarkson) arrives and finds liberation instead of damnation.

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Critics Consensus

Based upon a script written in the 1970s, Woody Allen's Whatever Works suffers from a lack of fresh ideas.

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Cliff V

Huge fan of Woody Allen, but he has hits and misses...this might be his biggest miss ever!

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/13/24

Full Review

Daniel G

Pleasant enough Woody Allen movie, with some smiles and even short laughs along the way. The misanthropic protagonist does get on one's nerves after a while, as does the young lady's apparent naivité or acceptance of his truth as hers. Though a short movie, it seemed a bit too long after a while. And the ending obviously was too neat.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/24

Full Review

Reggie P

It works; dialogues are crispy, every character is well drawn and makes sense.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/27/23

Full Review

Alexsander F

Filme gostoso demais. Atuação brilhante de Larry David quebrando a "quarta parede" , é só mais um ingrediente para o filme ser espetacular.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/08/24

Full Review

Marc Z

I think the biggest issue is that you would expect a synergy of Woody Allen and Larry David to provide a staggeringly funny film. This film is good, but not of that proportion. David plays, essentially, the same curmudgeon he normally plays, which is a merger of his and Allen's personality. Unlike the David of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm the issue with this David is his demeanor is a little forced. Also, he is a little more aggressive than David actually is in a non-appealing way. It has the structure of an Allen play, and many of the positive aspects of Allen movies. I liked the characters and there are some laughs, but too much left on the table for me.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/30/23

Full Review

Matteo M

TV star Larry David brings the screen in a romantic comedy among NY's streets with a restricted cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, Ed Bagley jr., Micheal McKean and Henry Cavill. Under Allen's direction (for once only behind the screen) Whatever works plays with human's strangeness and explores Great Apple's suburbs that Hollywood usually ignores. Furthermore, despite the passing years, Woody never loses his sarcasm and humor, softening the difficulties of life. Moreover the movie, shot in 2008, is the first after the European period (Match Point, Scoop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and others): Boris Yelnikoff, a misanthropic former quantum mechanics professor at Columbia University, after another suicide attempt, leaves his wife and decides to live in a small apartment in the suburbs teaching chess in the park. He usually escapes from people because of their ignorance and spends his time talking with his few friends, and with his bizarre habits, like washing his hands singing "Happy Birthday". One night before entering at home a simpleminded praises him of giving her a help: he accepts and starts to share his house with Melody (Wood) , a 21-years old girl escaped from her rich parents in Missisippi because of their religious fundamentalism. He is old and tired of life, hates everything and everyone, while she's young, full of dreams and excited to live a new life across NY's little universe: their continuously fight is absolutely exhilarating. In the meanwhile, her mother Marietta (Clarkson) finds her and decides to mover her from Boris' house, but a little detail blocks her plan: Boris and Melody indeed had married after her's emphasis (she really loved him). Thus Marietta, who decides to completely revolution her life by opening herself to NY's freedom and absence of moral impositions, devises a plot in order to make fall in love Melody with Randy (Cavill), a guy that has tried to approach her. At the end, like for the funny and confused Melody's father John (Ed Bagley Jr.), destiny's (or God?) has a hidden plan for all of us that slowly comes out and realizes itself with or without our plain support. Passing by the usual curated jazz score, I want to mention the work behind the setting, almost always inside apartments, bars and art galleries that gaves the idea of a gathered and restricted production, typical of Allen's, who never needs milions over milions in order to create good and enjoyable movies. To appreciate all the actors' performances.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

Full Review

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Woody Allen

Director

Larry David

Boris Yellnikoff

Evan Rachel Wood

Melody

Patricia Clarkson

Marietta

Ed Begley Jr.

John

Michael McKean

Joe

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David Ansen

Newsweek

This is fun, but it turns Boris's doomsday neurotic rants into mere cartoon caterwauling. Levant, who never got a happy ending, would no doubt sneer.

Feb 6, 2018

Full Review

Ed Koch

The Atlantic

Woody Allen is always exploring new avenues. While Whatever Works isn't close to his best films, it is far better than most of the current crop of romantic comedies, most of which are schlock.

Jan 17, 2018

Full Review

Joshua Rothkopf

Time Out

Rated: 2/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Sure, you’ve probably seen better Woody Allen movies, and it’s clear the ideas are recycled, but like most Allen fare, the formula works.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 4, 2023

Full Review

Jorge Montiel

Clarín

This excellent, entertaining, and intelligent film reaps the rewards of the stupendous acting of its ensemble. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/4

Sep 1, 2022

Full Review

Andrea Hubert

NME (New Musical Express)

The script is as tight as any Curb episode, as waspish, as bitchy and clever as it should be, and though there is no ground broken here, there is none lost either.

Rated: 3/5

May 19, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

After a failed suicide attempt, brilliant New York misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) forsakes his posh upper-class existence for meager accommodations in Chinatown. He meets his exact opposite in Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a pageant queen from the Deep South who's long on sweetness but short on smarts. Surprisingly, Boris and Melody marry, but the sparks really fly when Melody's born-again Christian mother (Patricia Clarkson) arrives and finds liberation instead of damnation.

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Vincent Maraval, Brahim Chioua
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Gravier Productions, Wild Bunch, Perdido Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Nude Images|Dialogue|Sexual Situations|Thematic Material)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 19, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.3M
Runtime: 1h 32m

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