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In a summer filled with soaring superheroes and pirates in peril, a Woody Allen romantic-mystery may seem a little out of place—but it’s actually a refreshing change of pace. You won’t find any flashy special effects here—just a simple story and a talented cast.
Scarlett Johansson plays Sondra Pransky, an awkward college journalism major from New York who’s visiting friends in London. While attending a performance of the famous American magician, Splendini (Allen), Sondra volunteers to help out with one of his magic tricks. But while she’s standing in Splendini’s box, waiting for him to make her disappear, she’s visited by the spirit of recently-deceased newsman Joe Strombel (Ian McShane). During his boat ride down the River Styx, Strombel got the scoop of a lifetime from a fellow passenger—and he gives Death the slip so he can share it with a fellow journalist. London’s infamous Tarot Card Serial Killer, he informs Sondra, is Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), the playboy son of a lord. Then he leaves her to sort out the details.
Eager to make her big break as a real journalist, Sondra enlists the help of Splendini (also known as Sid Waterman) to help her get her story. But as Sondra gets closer to Lyman, she realizes that she’s starting to fall for him. And, after a while, getting her big scoop doesn’t seem quite as important as coming clean to Peter and living happily ever after.
Woody Allen definitely has an unusual sense of humor. It’s sometimes subtle and sometimes corny. At times, Scoop has a high school play feel to it (especially the scenes on the River Styx), and it’s so corny that it’s just plain brilliant—almost in a Monty Python kind of way. And while it might not work for everyone, it works just fine for me. Allen’s same old schtick just never gets old—and it’s never overdone. And his attention to details—like some of the jokes he throws in under his breath—adds to the fun.
This time, he’s picked the perfect on-screen companion in Scarlett Johansson. She can do dorky and insecure almost as well as Allen himself. And the two have such great chemistry that when Sid and Sondra pose as father and daughter, you might actually stop to wonder about Scarlett’s parentage.
A mind-blowing summer blockbuster it’s not, but if you’ve had your fill of explosions and battle scenes, Scoop makes for a great Saturday afternoon at the movies.
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