Customer Reviews

Everyone Says I Love You [VHS]

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

First of all, allow me to say that I am not a Woody Allen fan. I find his screen persona to be whiny, scatter-brained, and somewhat grating on the nerves. And he seems to use the same persona in film after film after film. I don't think I've really enjoyed any of the few Woody Allen films I've seen.

That being said, also allow me to say that this film was one of my favorite films of the last ten years. From the very first song until the song-and-dance at the end, I couldn't stop smiling. The film was utterly delightful and harkened back to the golden days of the movie musical, where the fun and the the spirit of the musical were more important than big budget stereophonic extravaganzas. Woody Allen uses a whole batch of classic-if-somewhat-forgotten tunes to complement his light and fluffy love story. Practically everyone in the movie is given a chance to sing (except Drew Barrymore, who was dubbed). Some are better than others, but the overall effect is quite magical. My favorite tune was the simple ballad that Alan Alda sings to Goldie Hawn during their characters' anniversary. It was touching and just quite romantic. And it's quite amusing (in a good way) to watch Edward Norton(!) and Tim Roth(! ) sing. This is easily one of the best musicals to come out in an extremely long time. As for Woody Allen, he plays...Woody Allen, but for once, I didn't mind at all. I was simply too enthralled by the spell his film was casting over me.

As for the DVD, the transfer is quite acceptable. The picture looks good, and the sound, while monophonic, is crystal clear. Unfortunately, the DVD doesn't have an extras at all (typical of the early Disney DVDs). If the lack of extras doesn't bother you, and you love musicals as much as I do, then by all means get "Everyone Says I Love You" and you'll thank me!

Who is better qualified to comment on the absurdity of romantic relationships than Woody Allen? In this under-rated bauble, the king of neurosis confirms the answer to that question in the first person. The humor is typical Allen --- witty, droll and fast-paced --- and the parody is sufficiently far over the edge to make the point without beating it to death. The concept of a Woody Allen musical only adds to this glorious parody of Allen's New York.

Reading reviews that criticize this film because the singing is less than first-rate, I can only chuckle. The point of the film is absurdity. Pavarotti's rendition of "I'm Through With Love" wouldn't cut it. Oh, and by the way, corpses can't actually sing. Whatever flaws the actors bring to the songs help make the point.

So after a long day of trying to talk some sense into your boss or your goofiest relative, kick off your shoes, grab a good stiff drink and watch this film. You'll feel better.

Who woulda thought the Woodman could do something like this? Even as recently as 1996,when this film came out, Woody still had major chops, as witnessed by this perfect musical. This is a sublime blend of whimsy, romance, and wit. It's hard not to say that when you see a roomful of ghosts singing and rhumbaing to "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think"), or when a hospital staff and crippled patients sing and dance about love, marriage, and parenthood.

It's also touching to see Tim Roth as a tough escaped convict sing a love song to Drew Barrymore; the juxtaposition of these two opposites brings out the feeling much more than a singing citizen ever could have. And Woody and Goldie's flight-filled romantic rendition of "I'm Through With Love" on the banks of the Seine is utterly charming, making the heart float as lightly as Goldie does during her dancing.

Woody evokes Groucho Marx in an ensemble dance number about Captain Spalding (sung in French, no less!), and individually, when talking to Goldie, complete with glasses, eyebrows, and mustache--and he does a more than passing fair version of Mr. Marx himself.

One subplot about a girl in her twenties going through six or seven boyfriends in the course of the film is a hoot, and there's even a tinge of political satire as well--in the shape of a Young Republican who undergoes a magical transformation.

This will make you smile all the way through. If only Woody had the panache now that he showed so well in this film. This one's superb Woody Allen.

Lovers of the great American songbook (GAS)will recognize the title for my review. The same individuals will relish this homage by Mr Allen to the Hollywood musical and no one who has witnessed Mr James Stewart trying to get his tonsils around an Irving Berlin standard will object to any of the actors in EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU who do a commendable job of presenting some wonderful songs from the GAS. Two comments: the film positively drips with charm, and is drippy with the absurdities of those in love much like those in a Shakespearian comedy. A treat, and a GAS.

Rewatched "Everyone Says I love you" for the umpteenth time and it still manages to evoke a great sense of appreciation and enjoyment. This is truly Woody Allen at his late-stage/post-1990's best (along with "The Manhattan Murder Mystery" and "Curse of the Jade Scorpion") - impeccably interwined sub-plots showcasing a first-rate ensemble cast. While most viewers have voted the Captian Spalding's number as their personal favorite, my fave is the magical and superly choreographed song & dance by River Seine featuring Goldie Hawn as quite a dancer! Absolutely a must-have for not only Allen's fans but collectors of great musicals and movies alike!

Maybe it's just because I'm a Woody Allen fan. Maybe it's because it was a Sunday night and I was in the mood for a good, original, non-Hollywood-run-of-the-mill movie. Maybe it's just because good movies are hard to come by so when I see something on the TV guide menu that says "Woody Allen Movie", I stop and check it out.

Whatever the reason, I loved this movie. I loved that Woody Allen combined his usual genius humor with an even larger stroke of originality by making this movie also a musical. I loved the movie's whimpsical expression of the trials and tribulations of the cast through music. I loved the quirky and perfectly chosen cast comprised of some of my favorite actors and actresses: a younger, pre-'Closer' Natalie Portman (and Julia Roberts), an exuberant Alan Alda, Goldie Hawn, Edward Norton, and, of course, the incomprable Natasha Lyonne.

The story lines were the usual Woody Allen: funny, relateable, and interspersed with the classic Allen neuroses. The musical performances (several performed by the actors themselves) were originally offbeat in a way that only Woody can do, and right up my street- fun, endearing gershwin/ellington/cole porter-esque familiar melodies that even the most hardened ear can appreciate. They had me singing and tapping my feet right along with the cast. I laughed especially hard in the 'taxi cab scene' as well as 'the kitchen scene' where Natalie Portman swears off love, both scenes in which Woody's comedic use of the musical genre were particularly spot on.

What can I say- I have a soft spot for Woody Allen's movies and this movie hit that spot. I wish there were more movies like this in Hollywood. Woody Allen rocks.

Can I just say that I was 12 years old when I first saw this film, and had no remote idea as to who Woody Allen even was? After viewing this delight of a movie, I completely fell in love with his style and wit, and I quickly rented his other works such as "Manhattan", "Annie Hall", and "Celebrity". Some were good, some were mediocre, and some were just plain boring. But none of them were like "Everyone Says I Love You".

Famous for his all-star casts, "Everyone" starts off with - what else? - a couple: Drew Barrymore as the charming Skylar and Edward Norton as the neurotic, albeit determined Holden. Shot in a grainy, peculiar style reminiscent of the 1960s and '70s musicals, the film quickly establshes itself as a romantic musical comedy, and you know you are headed for a magical ride when the mannequins displayed in the posh store windows start singing along with the principal actors.

Narrated by the wonderful up-and-coming actress Natasha Lyonne (in one of her first roles!), the film's plot mainly revolves around a not-so-average Park Avenue family. Kind of a "Brady Bunch" for the Manhattanite crowd, the family is both dysfunctional, peculiar, and wildly entertaining. Goldie Hawn plays the liberal mother, married to Alan Aldas, the charming stepfather, and then there's their barrel full of kids. Some, like Drew and Natasha's characters, are from Goldie's previous marriage to Woody's character, a writer living in Paris. Others, like Lucas Haas, Gaby Hoffmann, and Natalie Portman, are children of Hawn's current marriage. And of course, there is the wandering, cranky Grandpa and the foreign dictator of a maid. Playing the part of Drew's fiancee is the sweet Norton. Julia Roberts also makes an appearance as Allen's dream lover. Of course, he knows everything about her from his daughter, who regularly listens in on her therapy sessions.

"Everyone Says I Love You" features a strong cast, solid performances (an especially great one by Tim Roth, who shows up as a hilarious felon eager for Drew's affection), and wonderful, nostalgic songs from the '30s and '40s (think Marx Brothers). As always, Allen's loving relationship with NYC shines through, and scenes filmed in Venice and Paris are breathtaking. Did I mention this film is magical? Expect singing ghosts, a levitating Goldie Hawn, and a Marx fest at the end. Don't let the weirdness dissuade you - it takes awhile to get into, but the end result is satisfying. If only all films could be as creative and dazzling as this one.

When people are very happy or sad, they do weird things. This is what happens in this Woddy Allen movie: they sing. People in `Eveyone Says I Love You' sing to show their happiness to the world; or to get over with their sadness. And, boy, how good this sing is.

The plot --as if there were one -- follows the ups and downs in love life of a New York family and their friends during the period of one year. The story is narrated by Dj, one of the members of this family. She shows us her stepsister who is about to marry an yuppie, but follows for an ex-con; her daddy who lives in Paris and cannot commit himself for too long, despite falling in love all the time; her mother and stepfater who have an apparently perfect marriage; her two little sisters who falls for the same kid; and she herself loves every new boy she meets. And that is how things go.

The film takes place mostly in New York City, which is beautifully shot through the course of the four seasons in one year. Part of the action trips to Paris and Venice, which are also so beautiful that makes this film a present for the eyes --and, of course, for the ears. And so does the cast, that includes Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Nathalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Edward Norton, Tim Roth, Nathasha Lyonne and, of course, Woody Allen.

New York has never been so musical. Everybody sings and dance everywhere -- even the corpse in a funeral. That's why the film is so sunny -- even though when the snow is falling -- and funny. Mocking with the musicals in general, made Allen not to be commited to make a `serious' movie. Many times characters stop doing whatever they are doing in order to start singing, very out of the blue. And definitely, this is where lies most of the charm of the film.

The songs themselves are a show. Allen had the ideia of giving a new groove to old romantic musics. So you may have heard it before, but not in this way. They perfectly match every scene they are in. Virtually, the entire cast sings -- barring Drew Barrimore whose songs were sang by an amateur singer in order to not be so different from the others. Of course, the most strange moment is when Woddy Allen sings -- we have to addimit: he doesn't have a tenor's voice--, but he deliveries very fine.

All in all, `Everyone Says I Love You' is a declaration of love to Love. The songs express many different ways of love and loving. You will smille and laugh. And I dare you to sit still and not sing and dance along.

I found this film witty and entertaining. It initially caught me off guard to hear Edward Norton and Julia Roberts singing. There are some really great sequences like the tap number in the jewelry store.

It's typical cynical Woody Allen humor and if you like that and/or you like musicals, check this one out.

By now, Woody Allen fans have learned to take the long view in evaluating his, uh, oeuvre. Those of us who remember such early efforts as BANANAS or TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN--which we loved but no one was about to try and pass off as great cinema--also remember when almost out of the blue, Allen became a filmmaker to be reckoned with. LOVE AND DEATH was sharp, literate and suggested that could put together a well crafted film. But ANNIE HALL caused genuine excitement, garnered deserved critical acclaim and (although Allen purportedly could not have cared less) Academy Award nominations. It seemed, at the time, a quantum leap in terms of sophistication. It also hinted at artistic problems that would start to surface in later films.

One of the key differences between ANNIE and the earlier comedies was the lightly self-referential touch. If Allen had always played a nebbishy everyman in his early comedies: he now played--truer to his actual life experience certainly--a nebbishy successful filmmaker and comedian. The change was crucial. He was no longer a little man. Alvy Singer may have been a neurotic mess, but, like Woody Allen, he was a real player.

By the time we get to EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU some 20 years later, Allen's milieu is clearly defined--and extended. The single and childless Alvy and Annie have been replaced by the multi-married, no longer together Joe and Steffi (Goldie Hawn) and their array of children from their various marriages, blended, by all appearances, more or less successfully. Like so many of Allen's later films, it takes place in a glowing, warm upper middle class Manhattan (when we're not off to Paris or Venice). It's a world most of us can only dream of (as was true of the young and struggling Woody Allen once).

If EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU's setting is a kind of fantasyland, its characters are probably equally fantastic. Sophisticated, sweetly neurotic, but hardly desperate, these are people who remain best friends with former spouses, with no lingering "issues" rearing their heads at odd moments. College aged children play cupid for their own parents, and go, with a nod and a wicked wink, way beyond innocent PARENT TRAP territory. But nothing is done maliciously. Intentions are sort of good even when they involve such unethical behavior as eavesdropping on a private therapy session.

As warm and engaging as the characters are, and as attractive as their world seems, placing it all in the context of an old-style "burst into song" kind of musical belies all that. If the similar milieu of HANNAH AND HER SISTERS seemed like a possibility (a real world that we're just not fortunate enough to inhabit), this film's setting is pure fantasy. It is tempting to say that in his post-Mia period, Allen is projecting a vision of the kind of social world where forgiveness and reconciliation are not only possible, but are a virtual given.

It's probably not wise to rely on a psycho-analytic approach to Woody Allen's films. It's hard to ignore the fact though that both in real life and in his films, Allen went from dyed-in-the-wool bachelorhood to having an extended, perhaps eccentric family situation. It cannot be surprising that themes of family and forgiveness should appear in his later films. What's fascinating here is that these themes are addressed in a normally light-entertainment mode (musical comedy). It makes the yearning for innocence all the more profound in a way.

The music is pretty good too. Yes, the untrained voices of the actors work only in the context of the movie and no one's going to rush out looking for the soundtrack, but in that context, the device does work fairly well. Call it a little "alienation effect" or an "Allen-ation" effect. I find the songs effective for the most part, and certainly no more disturbing than some of the more traditional bits of surrealism in Woody Allen films (e.g. Marshall McLuhan jumping out from behind a movie display board in ANNIE HALL to lecture some pretentious buffoon about the real significance of his work). ANNIE was a great film, EVERYONE SAYS isn't quite on that level. But in the overall context of his work, it's certainly merits our attention--and our affection.