Mighty Aphrodite
Mighty Aphrodite
Directed by:
Woody AllenScreenplay:
Woody AllenCinematography:
Carlo Di PalmaCast:
Woody Allen, Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, F. Murray Abraham, Olympia Dukakis, David Ogden Stiers, Claire Bloom, Rosemary Murphy, Peter Weller (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
MIGHTY APHRODITE is Woody Allen's stab at Greek comedy/tragedy, and it is wildly successful. Allen stars as Lenny Weinrib, a sportswriter married to ambitious Amanda Sloan (Helena Bonham Carter), who desperately wants her own art gallery in New York City and is willing to play the game to get it. Amanda convinces a reluctant Lenny to adopt, and they end up with beautiful Max. Lenny soon becomes obsessed with finding out who Max's biological parents are, and he is not exactly happy when he discovers that the mother is a high-pitched actress wanna-be who is also a minor porn star and hooker (Mira Sorvino, in an Oscar-winning performance). Lenny is determined to turn her life around--but at the same time is forced to examine his own marriage, which is failing.Allen intersperses New York City vignettes with hysterical scenes of a Greek chorus, led by F. Murray Abraham, chiming in about Lenny's life, comparing it to Greek drama, and breaking out into song-and-dance numbers. The scenes in which the two worlds meet--both in New York and in the Greek theater, are wonderfully witty and incisive. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
A typical Woody Allen film, perhaps a little less neurotic this time, with the excellent Helena Bonham Carter in the role of a nagging wife, and above all the charming Mira Sorvino as a prostitute whom Woody tries to lead onto the right path. Together, it makes an attractive and pleasant film that I can always come back to. There is also the original use of the ancient chorus, which communicates with the director. Overall impression: 80%.
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A soothing film that I can recommend to almost everyone who is struggling with a worse to bad mood - it really manages to drive it away (tested on people). Not only does the comedy benefit from Allen's favorite relationship entanglements and winding paths of love/destiny, but a good dose of humor is injected by an antic chorus (a wonderful idea) and the charming Mira Sorvino.
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