Of all things, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a smart piece of unadulterated nostalgia. Replete with false bottoms, this endearing and highly subjective homage to pre-War screwball comedy is a treat for anyone who thinks that cinema has something to say about collective representations and the substantial role it has played therein, and continues to do. Claiming that 60-year-old Allen is an unconvincing womanizer comically misses the point, just like the oft-repeated criticism of the pervasive anachronisms (as, most notably, in the lingo). For Allen surely never intended to come up with a "historic" movie that had an "authentic" feel. After all, and thank God or Allen's mother, Allen is not Spielberg. How could any of these dim-witted critics have missed the point that the plot revolves around a magician, an epitome of the fake? Allen's 1940s setting is nothing less than a compendium of the collective (conscious and unconscious) imagery associated with that time, shaped by the emerging medium of that time and its subsequent self-representations. By an irreverent reversal of proof, you could say that the film ultimately reflects the bitter-sweet view of an aging filmmaker on the goings of his trade, which is all the more worthy considering the current state of mainstream American cinema. Grant you that the dialogues are in part redundant, as are some of Allen's and Hunt's antics, and that the "message" (love strikes blind) is of no groundbreaking consequence, but if you are interested in the history and workings of film (and actually TV series), this Jade is a gem.
Review of The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
