Woody Allen continues to make films his own way, and that is a major feat for an artist who has yet to have a major box-office success since "Hannah and Her Sisters." I am not sure "Small Time Crooks" will change all that, but let me be the first to report that it is one of Allen's funniest and most endearing films since "Bullets Over Broadway."
Playing a loser for the first time since I can remember, Allen stars as Ray Winkler, an ill-judged bank robber married to his manicurist wife, Frenchy (Tracey Ullman). Ray has a new plan to change his life from his current dishwashing activities - to rob a bank vault by tunnelling from an abandoned store's basement. The idea is that the store will be turned into a bakery and Frenchy will run it, along with her cousin, May (Elaine May). The surprise is that the cookies they sell become the talk of the town, and so successful that Frenchy and Ray become rich. Only problem is that their taste in clothes and furniture is garish at best ("Go on honey, show them your collection of leather pigs," quips Ray). Thus, Frenchy enlists the help of a British art dealer (Hugh Grant) who will teach her about class and elegance, and education. Naturally, Ray prefers the life he had and gets the impulse to steal all over again by scheming with May to get a priceless necklace.
"Small Time Crooks" made me laugh from start to finish, and I must thank the great writer-director Woody Allen (a comic genius, in my view). His sharp observations about these colorful brand of characters inspires many memorable one-liners, particularly the droll humor involving the typically relaxing charm of Hugh Grant and the high-pitched Ullman (some of it recalls the naive Annie Hall's dedication to reading more books and taking college courses). Also worth noting is the early appearance of Michael Rapaport (who was also in "Mighty Aphrodite") as a bumbling crook, John Lovitz as a possible entrepreneur who has burned down buildings to support his children's education, and the pleasant air of Elaine May's presence (she last appeared on screen in 1990's "In the Spirit") - she gives her character May a rich array of nuances and perfect comic timing. Her character begs the question - is she really smart or is she as ditsy and naive as we might think? The naysayers who feel that the 64-year-old Allen has been dealing with much younger female leads, such as Elisabeth Shue, will applaud the choice of the 60-year-old Elaine May. Frankly, this is of little importance to me - I would still love to see Allen use Sharon Stone as a lead or foil.
Scrawny Allen is as always scrawny Allen, but here he has a slight edge ("I'd like to flatten you, just once") complemented with the adoration of his wife, Frenchy, and makes his character the most magnetic he's played in some time. Tracey Ullman runs hot and cold for me, but she gets to play a trashy, talkative, sprightly woman with an affection for her husband - we somehow know that things will work out between them despite her affinity for the suave Hugh Grant.
"Small Time Crooks" is not laugh-out loud funny (though there are many sidesplitting moments but I could have done without the faux news segment) but it is smooth and refined, as we might expect post-"Crimes and Misdemeanors" or "Husbands and Wives." It is far more relaxed and kinder than Allen's early slapstick comedies such as "Take the Money and Run" or "Sleeper." I would love it if Allen returned to his more serious Bergmanesque period but as sheer entertainment and pointed humor, it is far more lively and less overstuffed than "Sweet and Lowdown" or "Celebrity." Small time business, to be sure, but you will have a grand time.
For more reviews, check out JERRY AT THE MOVIES at http://buffs.moviething.com/buffs/faust/
E-mail me with any questions, comments or complaints at jerry@movieluver.com or at Faust667@aol.com
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