"The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is a romantic comedy/crime/mystery set in New York City of the 1940s which involves a love-hate relationship between veteran insurance investigator CW Briggs (Woody Allen) and his new boss Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt). One night, while watching the Magician's show with the rest of the employees, they are both hypnotized by a sinister hypnotist with a jade scorpion who later uses them into unknowingly stealing jewels for him. Had this comedy been written and directed by someone else, it would've been a disaster but Allen with his magic touch, had produced a funny and charming delight. That's what my husband called it after we enjoyed it together and I can't agree more. I love Ellington's music, the whole 40-th setting, and Woody's one-liners. His face in the scene where he and Helen Hunt were both hypnotized was simply hilarious - the guy knows how to do a physical comedy to perfection. I don't care if this picture has been called "a lesser Allen's movie" - it is still much better than majority of the comedies that come out every year. Even "lesser Allen" is enjoyable and memorable.
193 Reviews
Funny With A Good Cast
ccthemovieman-125 January 2006
Here's an entertaining crime story set in 1939 with nice atmosphere and colors and the normal Woody Allen wacky humor.
If you enjoy man-versus-woman insult exchanges, you'll love this as Allen and Helen Hunt trade clever barbs back and forth at a rate that reminded of an old Marx Brothers film. Many of the lines are funny with Allen, since it's his film, delivering most of them.
The story goes on a bit too long but overall keeps your interest. The women in here, from Hunt to the office girl (Elizabeth Berkely) to Charlize Theron playing a Veroncia Lake-lookalike are all glamorous.
Dan Akroyd, David Ogden-Stiers, Wallace Shawn and John Schuck are all veteran comedians who know their trade so the movie offers a lot of quality yuks. I'm surprised this movie isn't better known. I really enjoyed it the first time but laughed even more on the second viewing. Silly, but fun.
If you enjoy man-versus-woman insult exchanges, you'll love this as Allen and Helen Hunt trade clever barbs back and forth at a rate that reminded of an old Marx Brothers film. Many of the lines are funny with Allen, since it's his film, delivering most of them.
The story goes on a bit too long but overall keeps your interest. The women in here, from Hunt to the office girl (Elizabeth Berkely) to Charlize Theron playing a Veroncia Lake-lookalike are all glamorous.
Dan Akroyd, David Ogden-Stiers, Wallace Shawn and John Schuck are all veteran comedians who know their trade so the movie offers a lot of quality yuks. I'm surprised this movie isn't better known. I really enjoyed it the first time but laughed even more on the second viewing. Silly, but fun.
Good, old, funny Woody!
Funky A2 February 2002
So, Woody Allen is now old and it is hard to believe that a rich and attractive girl played by Charlize Theron could be attracted to him... If you were truly thinking about that while watching The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, then you should reconsider the way you watch a movie. Sure, Allen is now really old, but who can play his role as well as he does. He sometimes casts other actors in that role, such as John Cusack in Bullet Over Broadway, but even though they do the job very well, they can't be better than the old man with the big glasses himself. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is not a serious Woody Allen movie. It is not one of his most important movies that is clear. But its aim is to entertain and entertain it does. Jade Scorpion shares a lot with Woody's recent light comedies such as Small Time Crooks and Manathan Murder Mystery. And like these two, it is certainly not a new Annie Hall. But it does not try to. It is just a lot of fun to watch. The script is funny, the acting is charming, the plot is just hilarious, and on the whole, this movie puts a smile on your face from the beginning to the end. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is another very nostalgic movie, like Radio Days, Sweet and Lowdown, Everyone Says I Love You and Bullets Over Broadway, but once again, Allen makes us forget for 103 minutes that he is basically doing nothing he hasn't done before. But the man once again shows his gift to entertain. And what more can you ask from an aging genius?
77%
77%
The best movie Bob Hope never made
erikpsmith18 July 2004
Most people seem to consider "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" a failure, either because of casting or the joke-a-minute script. But I think they're wrong about that. It's just that it was made about sixty years too late. It's really an homage to the sort of comedy/mysteries that were produced in the early forties -- the same time period in which the movie is set. Seems to me most people didn't get that. Maybe people these days don't watch enough old movies.
Everyone was correct, of course, when they said Woody Allen was miscast (and since Woody Allen did the casting, he deserves the blame). But it's not that great a sin. Basically, this is a movie that should have been a vehicle for Bob Hope, but since Bob Hope wasn't exactly available in the year 2001, someone had to stand in for him. I daresay there isn't an actor in Hollywood these days who can do a good Bob Hope, and since there isn't, I have to say Woody Allen isn't such a bad substitute.
Actually, I remember reading somewhere that Bob Hope was a major inspiration for the young Woody Allen, and he was stung in the late sixties when Hope told a few mean-spirited jokes about him. Maybe, all these years later, Woody Allen decided that all was forgiven.
Anyway, don't let yourself be bothered by the fact that the lead actor is about 30 years too old for the part. Also, try to forget that nasty business with Soon-Yi. Just relax and let yourself laugh at the one-liners. Better yet, try and imagine that the lines are being delivered by someone with a ski-jump nose. You may see this movie for what it is -- a screamingly funny comedy, and the best movie Bob Hope never made.
You know, someday Hollywood might find another actor who can play a role the way Bob Hope did, back in his heyday. And when that happens, this movie would be an excellent candidate for a remake.
Everyone was correct, of course, when they said Woody Allen was miscast (and since Woody Allen did the casting, he deserves the blame). But it's not that great a sin. Basically, this is a movie that should have been a vehicle for Bob Hope, but since Bob Hope wasn't exactly available in the year 2001, someone had to stand in for him. I daresay there isn't an actor in Hollywood these days who can do a good Bob Hope, and since there isn't, I have to say Woody Allen isn't such a bad substitute.
Actually, I remember reading somewhere that Bob Hope was a major inspiration for the young Woody Allen, and he was stung in the late sixties when Hope told a few mean-spirited jokes about him. Maybe, all these years later, Woody Allen decided that all was forgiven.
Anyway, don't let yourself be bothered by the fact that the lead actor is about 30 years too old for the part. Also, try to forget that nasty business with Soon-Yi. Just relax and let yourself laugh at the one-liners. Better yet, try and imagine that the lines are being delivered by someone with a ski-jump nose. You may see this movie for what it is -- a screamingly funny comedy, and the best movie Bob Hope never made.
You know, someday Hollywood might find another actor who can play a role the way Bob Hope did, back in his heyday. And when that happens, this movie would be an excellent candidate for a remake.
Pretty enjoyable Woody Allen film
AlsExGal29 August 2020
It was a take on a bunch of film noirs from the 1940's (one that most likely influenced this one was The Big Sleep). The rest of the leading cast was Dan Aykroyd, the manager of an insurance firm in which Allen works, and Helen Hunt, Aykroyd's secretary who always has time to insult Allen (if you know anything about old films, you'll probably realize just how close these two are, and I don't mean just in the office).
The film follows this insurance firm as they all try to search for a bunch of lost jewels, not realizing that someone in the office is borderline guilty. The group goes to a nightclub to celebrate Wallace Shawn's 50th birthday, and the entertainment is a "magician" who ends up putting both Allen and Hunt under hypnosis and convinces them to do his will and also that they're in love with each other, with only the utterance of two words: "Madagascar" and "Constantinople" (gee, it'd be a shame if these two words were uttered later in the movie to advance the plot).
The film follows this insurance firm as they all try to search for a bunch of lost jewels, not realizing that someone in the office is borderline guilty. The group goes to a nightclub to celebrate Wallace Shawn's 50th birthday, and the entertainment is a "magician" who ends up putting both Allen and Hunt under hypnosis and convinces them to do his will and also that they're in love with each other, with only the utterance of two words: "Madagascar" and "Constantinople" (gee, it'd be a shame if these two words were uttered later in the movie to advance the plot).
OK Allen
preppy-327 August 2001
Comedy set in 1940 about an insurance investigator (Woody Allen) locking horns with an efficiency expert (Helen Hunt) while a string of suspicious jewel robberies are going on. Only average Allen comedy...but that's still 70% better than the typical Hollywood film.
It's fairly well-acted...Allen is, frankly, way too old for this (he's 65 and he's getting women in their 20s and 30s??? PLEASE!) but he gives a good performance; Hunt is simply wonderful...she looks great in the 40s outfits and her verbal sparring with Allen was hilarious; Charlize Theron looks fantastic but is shamefully wasted and (in a huge surprise) Elizabeth Berkeley actually gives a halfway decent performance!
The script is OK if a tad unbelievable. And the movie looks fantastic...the costumes and the sets really evoke the 1940s. So, it's OK, but no great shakes.
It's fairly well-acted...Allen is, frankly, way too old for this (he's 65 and he's getting women in their 20s and 30s??? PLEASE!) but he gives a good performance; Hunt is simply wonderful...she looks great in the 40s outfits and her verbal sparring with Allen was hilarious; Charlize Theron looks fantastic but is shamefully wasted and (in a huge surprise) Elizabeth Berkeley actually gives a halfway decent performance!
The script is OK if a tad unbelievable. And the movie looks fantastic...the costumes and the sets really evoke the 1940s. So, it's OK, but no great shakes.
Very nice modern Allen
gian_9915 February 2021
I watched this on network TV last year on a Woody Allen special. It was a very funny comedy with a lot of references to classical noir movies of the thirties and forties. A typical Woody Allen love story comedy which I enjoyed a lot.
The style reminded me a bit of Hollywood Ending. Helen Hunt was also very good.
The style reminded me a bit of Hollywood Ending. Helen Hunt was also very good.
The Jade is a Gem
erniemunger4 December 2005
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.
Another Woody Allen film that was much better on re-watch...
TheLittleSongbird2 July 2014
The other one being Scoop, though that still had its fair share of flaws. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion has often been cited as one of Allen's worst(Allen even saying it being his worst) and while I would have said that on first viewing on re-watch definitely not. The ending is over too soon and is a cop-out, a lot of chemistry between the actors is quite bland- non existent between Hunt and Aykroyd- and Dan Aykroyd is completely wasted in an underwritten role. However, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is gorgeously filmed and the costumes and scenery are equally beautiful, one of Allen's better-looking later films. The upbeat and jazzy soundtrack matches the light bouncy mood of the film really well, while the script is very funny and smart with some intelligent touches and Allen's unmistakable style all over it and the story(while meandering towards the end) endears in its light-hearted approach, isn't too dull and doesn't waste its creative premise. The characters are not as relatable or as developed as other Allen films but other than Aykroyd's and to a lesser extent Charlize Theron's they do engage at least and like the script how they're written is distinctive of Woody Allen. Allen's direction hardly flounders and while he is in a way too old for his role he still gives a good account of himself, being purposefully neurotic, touchingly dithery and funny in a way that only he can be. Helen Hunt is wonderful, David Ogden Stiers plays with much lively gusto(if slightly hammy compared to everyone else but this is a case of that not being too much of a bad thing) and Elizabeth Berkley as well as looking beautiful is also surprisingly good. Like Aykroyd, Charlize Theron's character is very underwritten but her witty lines and her being at her sexiest more than compensate and she manages to be memorable at least. Overall, a decent film that could have been stronger but much better than its critical reputation and on re-watch. It's no Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanours, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Husbands and Wives or The Purple Rose of Cairo and it's not as ground-breaking as Zelig. But it is a long way from Allen's worst, What's Up Tiger Lily, Celebrity, To Rome With Love and Cassandra's Dream are worse, and panned films that I have yet to watch(re-watch in the cases of Shadows and Fog, September and Anything Else, all of which on first viewing didn't impress me) are likely to be even worse than them. 7/10 Bethany Cox
A delightful gem for Woody Allen fans
CombatShock27 August 2001
First of all, since I am such a loyal fan of Woody's films, this may not be the most objective critique in the world. I have since my 18th year thoroughly enjoyed his witty dialogue, his comedic and sometimes darker explorations into life, love, and death. In addition, I adore the variety of early jazz scores that he uses for his films. That being said, Woody at 66 years of age has showed no signs of slowing down in his flm career, delivering by far the brightest and wittiest comedy I've viewed this year, in "Curse of the Jade Scorpion". The film is a homage to the Pulp films of yesteryear. It's set in 1940, Woody plays the role of an aging detective in an insurance company. He has cracked many huge cases, receiving information from street contacts, and relying heavily on gut instinct and dumb luck. He can't stand the new efficiency expert (Helen Hunt) who is smarter than he is, younger than he is, poses a threat to his job, and can't stand him either. During a dinner party for a fellow detective's birthday, they are both hypnotized by the magician Zolton, who uses the powers of the 'Jade Scorpion' to make them fall deeply in love with one another. He snaps them out of it just as they are about to kiss, but Zolton never releases them from the key word that can at anytime send them deep into suggestive hypnosis. Later on, Zolton calls CW Briggs, hypnotizes him with the keyword, and uses him as a pawn to rob jewelry from rich estates.
The casting in the film was excellent. There are supposed film "experts" out there who believe that Woody is too old for the lead in this film, and that it is unbelievable how Charlize Theron or Helen Hunt would ever fall for him. I wholeheartedly disagree. Throughout the film, Woody's character is not displayed as a handsome or romantic gent, in fact quite the opposite. In it he is called grubby, an inchworm, and a cockroach, just to name a few. Theron only wants to have sex with him as an experiment, since she is used to handsome and muscular men, not shrimpy and ugly ones. Helen Hunt is hypnotized into loving him, and vice versa, but when they're not under Jade's spell then they absolutely loathe each other ( I won't go any further into this so I don't spoil the film's ending.) Although Woody is ageing, his performance was outstanding, not losing a step as he delivers wise cracks and witty comments, one after the other. Helen Hunt also performs flawlessly and was actually a treat to watch her. As for the rest of the cast, Dan Aykroyd is decent in a small yet significant role, as well as Charlize Theron and Elizabeth Berkeley.
The cinematography and the visual setting for the film in jazzy 1940 is absolutely exquisite, it is much more polished then his earlier works. The writing is excellent, as I've said before, Woody hasn't lost one step in his writing or his performance. The jazz soundtrack is, as usual, very pleasant and fits very well with the scenery. Overall, "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" ranks as one of my favorite Woody films. If you are a fan of his previous light comedies then you will definitely enjoy this little film. So what are you waiting for? Head up to the theatre and see it on the big screen.
The casting in the film was excellent. There are supposed film "experts" out there who believe that Woody is too old for the lead in this film, and that it is unbelievable how Charlize Theron or Helen Hunt would ever fall for him. I wholeheartedly disagree. Throughout the film, Woody's character is not displayed as a handsome or romantic gent, in fact quite the opposite. In it he is called grubby, an inchworm, and a cockroach, just to name a few. Theron only wants to have sex with him as an experiment, since she is used to handsome and muscular men, not shrimpy and ugly ones. Helen Hunt is hypnotized into loving him, and vice versa, but when they're not under Jade's spell then they absolutely loathe each other ( I won't go any further into this so I don't spoil the film's ending.) Although Woody is ageing, his performance was outstanding, not losing a step as he delivers wise cracks and witty comments, one after the other. Helen Hunt also performs flawlessly and was actually a treat to watch her. As for the rest of the cast, Dan Aykroyd is decent in a small yet significant role, as well as Charlize Theron and Elizabeth Berkeley.
The cinematography and the visual setting for the film in jazzy 1940 is absolutely exquisite, it is much more polished then his earlier works. The writing is excellent, as I've said before, Woody hasn't lost one step in his writing or his performance. The jazz soundtrack is, as usual, very pleasant and fits very well with the scenery. Overall, "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" ranks as one of my favorite Woody films. If you are a fan of his previous light comedies then you will definitely enjoy this little film. So what are you waiting for? Head up to the theatre and see it on the big screen.
From Constantinople to Madagascar.
rmax3048234 May 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This has gotten some crummy reviews but it's not all that bad, even if not among Woody Allen's best. One of the things that makes it watchable is that the plot GOES somewhere. Somewhere around this time, Allen was turning out thin plots full of rows but lacking good jokes, like "Manhattan Murder Mystery."
Here Woody is an insurance investigator who looks into high-end jewel thefts. He works in a crowded office that is being rearranged by an efficiency expert, Helen Hunt, whom he hates. At a nightclub both Allen and Hayes are hypnotized and left with an open post-hypnotic trigger, the word "Constantinople" in Allen's case, and "Madagascar" for her.
The villainous stage performer, "The Jade Scorpion," calls them up at awkward hours of the night, triggers the hypnotic trance, and has them carry out heists for him. Allen becomes the chief suspect. And all of this mishigas takes place in a tangled web of relationships and buried lust of the kind that possesses Allen the film maker.
The air is filled with insults and wisecracks, mainly from Allen. Some are pretty enjoyable. Allen plays his familiar nervous wreck, stuttering, put upon, and thoroughly confused. The "girls" -- and what girls they are -- look appealingly 1940-ish. The three principal women look great -- Elizabeth Berkeley, Charlize Theron, and Helen Hunt. If there's a problem with them, it's that they wear too many clothes. Shame.
The musical score is of the genre that Woody Allen feels most comfortable with, period recording of Duke Ellington and the like -- "Sophisticated Lady," "How High the Moon," "Sunrise Serenade." I kind of like it too, so much more affecting than listening to some gangsta threaten to rip my head off and pee down my neck cavity.
You'll probably enjoy it and smile from time to time. I don't think it will bore you; it moves too quickly.
Here Woody is an insurance investigator who looks into high-end jewel thefts. He works in a crowded office that is being rearranged by an efficiency expert, Helen Hunt, whom he hates. At a nightclub both Allen and Hayes are hypnotized and left with an open post-hypnotic trigger, the word "Constantinople" in Allen's case, and "Madagascar" for her.
The villainous stage performer, "The Jade Scorpion," calls them up at awkward hours of the night, triggers the hypnotic trance, and has them carry out heists for him. Allen becomes the chief suspect. And all of this mishigas takes place in a tangled web of relationships and buried lust of the kind that possesses Allen the film maker.
The air is filled with insults and wisecracks, mainly from Allen. Some are pretty enjoyable. Allen plays his familiar nervous wreck, stuttering, put upon, and thoroughly confused. The "girls" -- and what girls they are -- look appealingly 1940-ish. The three principal women look great -- Elizabeth Berkeley, Charlize Theron, and Helen Hunt. If there's a problem with them, it's that they wear too many clothes. Shame.
The musical score is of the genre that Woody Allen feels most comfortable with, period recording of Duke Ellington and the like -- "Sophisticated Lady," "How High the Moon," "Sunrise Serenade." I kind of like it too, so much more affecting than listening to some gangsta threaten to rip my head off and pee down my neck cavity.
You'll probably enjoy it and smile from time to time. I don't think it will bore you; it moves too quickly.
A delight. Woody Allen in his classical style, as good as ever.
Spleen9 July 2002
I paraphrase from memory from Allen's speech at the 2001 Oscars: `When the Academy called me, I was surprised - as you know, my movie, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion', hadn't been nominated for anything. I thought maybe they'd called to apologise.' At the time, I thought this was just another self-deprecating joke. And I'm sure it was. But having seen the film, I'm starting to think he had a point, or at least, as much of a point as anyone who complains about being snubbed at the Oscars ever has.
In three of the categories which are ludicrously called technical' - art direction, cinematography costume design - Allen's picture had as much right to be included among the nominees as half of those that WERE included; it also had an original screenplay that had far more going for it than that of "Amelie" or "Monster's Ball" and it was at the very least above the AVERAGE quality of the films competing for the Best Picture award.
Really - it's one of Allen's better films, and I don't see how anyone could reasonably think otherwise. The early, pure comedies which some people supposedly still long for ("Take the Money and Run", "Sleeper") weren't actually any funnier; the obvious classics (like "Manhattan") weren't better structured, or cleverer, or more pointed. (Granted, "Manhattan", "Zelig" et al. had a divine spark which isn't, perhaps, to be found here, but you can't expect to be zapped by a divine spark every day of the week.) It's an old-time romantic comedy, set in the 1940s, which could ONLY be set in the 1940s (and Allen has a magic touch when it comes to 20th Century period pieces; don't ask me to explain it), in which several clichés - a contrived and unlikely plot involving (in this instance) hypnotism, a male lead decades older than the female lead, an odd couple who start by loathing each other and end up in love - are explained, given surprising depth, and pressed into serving new functions. When Briggs and Fitzgerald are arbitrarily HYPNOTISED into falling in love, it's like a comment on the absurdity of the way love strikes in romantic comedies ... but the story never fails to work perfectly when taken straight, too. All of Allen's implied second-order comments serve, in the end, to enrich the first-order story. It's as if he decided to show us that fiction crafted to debunk the conventions of other works of fiction CAN actually be good in its own right, when it's done by a true artist rather than some wanker with a theoretical axe to grind. The result: "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is diverting, pleasurable, and satisfying as not one film in a hundred succeeds in being.
Place this alongside "Sweet and Lowdown" and you'll wonder how the rumour that Woody Allen's powers are declining ever got started. I blame the modern addiction to novelty. Allen has been making movies for a while now, and even though his films today are no more derivative than they've ever been (less so, in fact), a Woody Allen picture is no longer a new KIND of thing. The same people who would argue that Haydn's 102nd symphony couldn't possibly be as good as his 80th because the latter happened to have been written and performed first (and there are people who WOULD argue this, the instant it became fashionable to do so), will tell you that "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is clearly inferior to, say, "The Purple Rose of Cairo", because it's in the same style and vein, and was made later. Put like that, the view sounds silly. And indeed it is.
In three of the categories which are ludicrously called technical' - art direction, cinematography costume design - Allen's picture had as much right to be included among the nominees as half of those that WERE included; it also had an original screenplay that had far more going for it than that of "Amelie" or "Monster's Ball" and it was at the very least above the AVERAGE quality of the films competing for the Best Picture award.
Really - it's one of Allen's better films, and I don't see how anyone could reasonably think otherwise. The early, pure comedies which some people supposedly still long for ("Take the Money and Run", "Sleeper") weren't actually any funnier; the obvious classics (like "Manhattan") weren't better structured, or cleverer, or more pointed. (Granted, "Manhattan", "Zelig" et al. had a divine spark which isn't, perhaps, to be found here, but you can't expect to be zapped by a divine spark every day of the week.) It's an old-time romantic comedy, set in the 1940s, which could ONLY be set in the 1940s (and Allen has a magic touch when it comes to 20th Century period pieces; don't ask me to explain it), in which several clichés - a contrived and unlikely plot involving (in this instance) hypnotism, a male lead decades older than the female lead, an odd couple who start by loathing each other and end up in love - are explained, given surprising depth, and pressed into serving new functions. When Briggs and Fitzgerald are arbitrarily HYPNOTISED into falling in love, it's like a comment on the absurdity of the way love strikes in romantic comedies ... but the story never fails to work perfectly when taken straight, too. All of Allen's implied second-order comments serve, in the end, to enrich the first-order story. It's as if he decided to show us that fiction crafted to debunk the conventions of other works of fiction CAN actually be good in its own right, when it's done by a true artist rather than some wanker with a theoretical axe to grind. The result: "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is diverting, pleasurable, and satisfying as not one film in a hundred succeeds in being.
Place this alongside "Sweet and Lowdown" and you'll wonder how the rumour that Woody Allen's powers are declining ever got started. I blame the modern addiction to novelty. Allen has been making movies for a while now, and even though his films today are no more derivative than they've ever been (less so, in fact), a Woody Allen picture is no longer a new KIND of thing. The same people who would argue that Haydn's 102nd symphony couldn't possibly be as good as his 80th because the latter happened to have been written and performed first (and there are people who WOULD argue this, the instant it became fashionable to do so), will tell you that "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is clearly inferior to, say, "The Purple Rose of Cairo", because it's in the same style and vein, and was made later. Put like that, the view sounds silly. And indeed it is.
Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Scarecrow-8824 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Underrated 1940s "noir comedy" among Woody Allen's resume, and he considers it one of his worst. As a fan of Woody's, agree to disagree. The period art direction, costumes, hair and makeup, characterizations, atmosphere, and sensibilities offer Allen fans a beautiful platform for his cast to work from. And what a cast assembled!
A magician (David Ogden Stiers) places an insurance investigator (Allen), under anxiety due to a recently hired office "organizer" (Helen Hunt) who has urged the company boss (Dan Aykroid) to use outside PIs in an independent investigation firm instead of the current in-house detectives on the payroll, under hypnosis, encouraging him through a trigger word to steal jewels held by his employers (or behind security for clients to protect their jewels). It happened while Allen was attending a birthday function for a fellow co-worker in a club with Stiers performing his hypnosis act. Hunt is also under hypnosis and later when Allen is unavailable, Stiers will use a trigger word on her to commit the same type of jewel heists.
How this "wronged man" plot gets Allen off the hook is most amusing, but for me it is the traded barbs/insults/remarks between him and Hunt is what most entertained me personally. I realize Allen felt he was miscast in the lead, but the cockroach or weasel insults towards someone else wouldn't have had the same impact as when Hunt demeans him. The "don't have a coronary" or "don't choke" or "be careful not to be hit by a truck" conclusions to finished dialogues from Hunt to Allen make up some of the "flirt" later to give credence to their unlikely romance and alliance later. The case that develops against Allen is damaging but how Wallace Shawn and Brian Markinson learn of his hypnotic entrapment, rescuing him in the process, proves to be his salvation. Charlene Theron is a sultry and naughty femme fatale caricature, John Shuck is an opinionated employee who works at the company, and Elizabeth Berkeley landed a plum part as a stunning but supposedly airheaded secretary at Allen's company. The description of Allen's apartment by Theron, Allen conceding to Hunt after considering her a cipher that she is worth confiding in, and Allen giving Hunt as much as he takes offer rich dialogue exchanges and humorous quips to giggle at. Just lots of fun. The setting enhances the cast and words. A sleeper in Allen's oeuvre.
A magician (David Ogden Stiers) places an insurance investigator (Allen), under anxiety due to a recently hired office "organizer" (Helen Hunt) who has urged the company boss (Dan Aykroid) to use outside PIs in an independent investigation firm instead of the current in-house detectives on the payroll, under hypnosis, encouraging him through a trigger word to steal jewels held by his employers (or behind security for clients to protect their jewels). It happened while Allen was attending a birthday function for a fellow co-worker in a club with Stiers performing his hypnosis act. Hunt is also under hypnosis and later when Allen is unavailable, Stiers will use a trigger word on her to commit the same type of jewel heists.
How this "wronged man" plot gets Allen off the hook is most amusing, but for me it is the traded barbs/insults/remarks between him and Hunt is what most entertained me personally. I realize Allen felt he was miscast in the lead, but the cockroach or weasel insults towards someone else wouldn't have had the same impact as when Hunt demeans him. The "don't have a coronary" or "don't choke" or "be careful not to be hit by a truck" conclusions to finished dialogues from Hunt to Allen make up some of the "flirt" later to give credence to their unlikely romance and alliance later. The case that develops against Allen is damaging but how Wallace Shawn and Brian Markinson learn of his hypnotic entrapment, rescuing him in the process, proves to be his salvation. Charlene Theron is a sultry and naughty femme fatale caricature, John Shuck is an opinionated employee who works at the company, and Elizabeth Berkeley landed a plum part as a stunning but supposedly airheaded secretary at Allen's company. The description of Allen's apartment by Theron, Allen conceding to Hunt after considering her a cipher that she is worth confiding in, and Allen giving Hunt as much as he takes offer rich dialogue exchanges and humorous quips to giggle at. Just lots of fun. The setting enhances the cast and words. A sleeper in Allen's oeuvre.
Nice to look at, but actually pretty boring.
lndc9821 March 2002
This film was dull. But it was great to watch. What I mean is that, as usual, Allen is able to recreate the feel and idiom of another era. I thought he did this to perfection in Zelig. How does he recreate the colors, the atmosphere? Where does he find the coffeepots, the sequined turban? It probably all comes from growing up in the late 40's to early 50's. Then, memories of the immediate past (and what a past!) were very clear, 30's and 40's movies were still "new", and people still saw 30's educational films in the schoolroom. I see a combination of all this in Scorpion.
Well, all that is great. So, I ended up enjoying the film only as a series of "stills", a series of vignettes, and a series of impressions. Though I admire the artifice a lot, the film as a whole was not so great. The plot idea was charming. But the execution was poor.
Well, all that is great. So, I ended up enjoying the film only as a series of "stills", a series of vignettes, and a series of impressions. Though I admire the artifice a lot, the film as a whole was not so great. The plot idea was charming. But the execution was poor.
Delightful tribute to films of old
steevo19673 September 2001
Warning: Spoilers
I usually do not read movie reviews prior to actually seeing a film. This has a tendency to influence what I think, or even how I watch a movie. I made the mistake of reading a few reviews of The Curse of the Jade Scorpion before I watched it. As I watched Woody Allen's latest opus, a tribute to the quick-witted screwball' comedies of the late 1930's and early 1940's, I found myself mentally arguing with the reviewers. The very issues they had with this movie were some of it's greatest features. The plotline for Scorpion is simple. Allen portrays an old school' insurance company detective with a fantastic record for solving his cases. Helen Hunt is a `streamlining expert' brought in to bring the insurance company in-step with the `modern world' of the 1940's. Allen and Hunt's characters are like water and oil. The two are hypnotized (with a Jade Scorpion used to induce the trance, hence the title) in a stage show, and later the hypnotist calls on Allen to steal the very jewels his company insures; Allen has no knowledge he has done this. The fun ensues as Allen attempts to find the person responsible for the thefts. While this is an over simplification of the actual story, the actual story is perhaps too simple and predictable as well, but this is not the reason people go to Woody Allen movies. It is the well written dialog that fits each person delivering the lines; the meticulous attention to detail of a period movie that works like a time machine transporting the audience on a trip to sixty years in the past; the unpredictable humor that fills each predictable twist. These are things that makes this movie work.
One review criticized the casting of Allen in the lead role. Allen, now 66, `was not believable in a romantic lead', and the critic went on to suggest that another actor should have been used. This thought was swimming through my mind throughout the two hours of the movie. Allen was perfect for the role. His character, C.W. Biggs, is an aging insurance investigator, with few redeeming characteristics. He is not supposed to be handsome or attractive. Yes, the Wood-Man is getting old, but it works for the movie. There are some unflattering shots where we see his Godfather-like jowls. This is not the same thirty-something guy from Bananas or Sleeper; he is a sixty-something old man. We need to accept this. It is apparent that the filmmaker has accepted this for himself, and tailored the film to work with this in mind. Helen Hunt's Betty Ann Fitzgerald can't stand C.W. in any way, and it is only after Volton (David Ogden Stires) hypnotizes her in a magic show does she not show that she loathes him. Sexy and rich socialite Laura Kensington, portrayed by the beautiful 26 year-old Charlize Theron, is attracted to Biggs because he the antithesis of her past conquests: something new and different. Sure, he could have cast someone else, perhaps Jason Alexander, into his Biggs role. While it would have certainly made an entertaining movie, there would have been something lost. Woody needs to be in Woody Allen movies. It just works.
Another critic panned the casting of Elizabeth (Saved by the Bell, Showgirls) Berkley with such actors as Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Wally Shawn, et al. True enough, Berkley's acting talents do not match up with the names I mentioned; but the casting of Berkley for the minor role of office secretary Jill' is perfect nonetheless. Allen's attention to detail cannot be overlooked. I first noticed in his 1987 film, Radio Days, just how detail oriented he can be. As a musician, and something of an aficionado of vintage musical instruments, I always look for anachronisms in period movies when a band is featured. I can usually tell the year a wind instrument was made just by looking at it. Not only were all of the instruments true to the time portrayed, the label on the mute (a Humes and Berg Stonelined') used by a trombone was correct for the period. One off the shelf in a music store today looks identical, except for small differences in the label. I was amazed that this level of detail was made. I am convinced this level of detail was made in the casting as well. This movie is not only set in New York in 1940, but also as a Hollywood movie made in 1940; clichés common to movie making of the time abounded. I believe the casting of Berkley in her role is another one of these details. A movie made in that time would have featured headliners from the stable of lead actors from a movie studio, or perhaps one loaned from another. These would be people in the roles Allen, Hunt and Aykroyd had. The role of the office secretary would not have been filled by a star, but by one of the studio's contract players sent to the production by central casting. There were many young, gorgeous actresses with questionable acting talent that were picked up by a studio in hopes of her developing into the flavor-of-the-week, or maybe for just a ride on the casting couch. Elizabeth Berkley filled this role flawlessly. She hit her marks, said her lines, and that's about it. I think it is just what the writer / director wanted.
The ensemble cast all delivered credible performances. Like a film of the time, the only performances that stand out are those of the leads; it is Woody Allen and Helen Hunt's movie, as it should be. (William Powell and Myrna Loy stand out in front of the cast of 1934's The Thin Man, who remembers Nat Pendleton or Minna Gombel?) Dan Aykroyd plays an adulterant Insurance Company C.E.O. in much the same way as his dramatic performances in Driving Miss Daisy or My Girl: understated and credible. He allows the writing to do the comedy for him, without having to work at it. Charlize Theron's (Cider House Rules, The Astronaut's Wife) roll is smaller than her on-screen presence. She makes for a perfect 1940's screen vixen. David Ogden Stires always gives a good performance, and was able to shake the shadow of M*A*S*H's Maj. Winchester for a dead-perfect evil magician. Wallace Shawn in a Woody Allen movie is like having ice cream on a slice of cherry pie; always a welcome presence. You may also see a familiar face or two but can never place the name; John Schuck, a veteran movie and television actor (Sgt. Charlie Enright on TV's McMillon and Wife) is one of them. It is apparent that the writing was crafted for the star players, and terrific casting took care of the rest.
Movies can be many things. Some can inspire, some can be extremely poignant. Others can just simply entertain. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion falls under the entertaining types. A perfect diversion as a weekend matinee, or as a follow-up to a nice dinner out, Scorpion does not make use of low-brow humor and stays true to the 1940's flair the movie, itself, portrays.
With romantic interests like Helen Hunt and Charlize Theron, Woody Allen gives all men hope as we get older.
One review criticized the casting of Allen in the lead role. Allen, now 66, `was not believable in a romantic lead', and the critic went on to suggest that another actor should have been used. This thought was swimming through my mind throughout the two hours of the movie. Allen was perfect for the role. His character, C.W. Biggs, is an aging insurance investigator, with few redeeming characteristics. He is not supposed to be handsome or attractive. Yes, the Wood-Man is getting old, but it works for the movie. There are some unflattering shots where we see his Godfather-like jowls. This is not the same thirty-something guy from Bananas or Sleeper; he is a sixty-something old man. We need to accept this. It is apparent that the filmmaker has accepted this for himself, and tailored the film to work with this in mind. Helen Hunt's Betty Ann Fitzgerald can't stand C.W. in any way, and it is only after Volton (David Ogden Stires) hypnotizes her in a magic show does she not show that she loathes him. Sexy and rich socialite Laura Kensington, portrayed by the beautiful 26 year-old Charlize Theron, is attracted to Biggs because he the antithesis of her past conquests: something new and different. Sure, he could have cast someone else, perhaps Jason Alexander, into his Biggs role. While it would have certainly made an entertaining movie, there would have been something lost. Woody needs to be in Woody Allen movies. It just works.
Another critic panned the casting of Elizabeth (Saved by the Bell, Showgirls) Berkley with such actors as Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Wally Shawn, et al. True enough, Berkley's acting talents do not match up with the names I mentioned; but the casting of Berkley for the minor role of office secretary Jill' is perfect nonetheless. Allen's attention to detail cannot be overlooked. I first noticed in his 1987 film, Radio Days, just how detail oriented he can be. As a musician, and something of an aficionado of vintage musical instruments, I always look for anachronisms in period movies when a band is featured. I can usually tell the year a wind instrument was made just by looking at it. Not only were all of the instruments true to the time portrayed, the label on the mute (a Humes and Berg Stonelined') used by a trombone was correct for the period. One off the shelf in a music store today looks identical, except for small differences in the label. I was amazed that this level of detail was made. I am convinced this level of detail was made in the casting as well. This movie is not only set in New York in 1940, but also as a Hollywood movie made in 1940; clichés common to movie making of the time abounded. I believe the casting of Berkley in her role is another one of these details. A movie made in that time would have featured headliners from the stable of lead actors from a movie studio, or perhaps one loaned from another. These would be people in the roles Allen, Hunt and Aykroyd had. The role of the office secretary would not have been filled by a star, but by one of the studio's contract players sent to the production by central casting. There were many young, gorgeous actresses with questionable acting talent that were picked up by a studio in hopes of her developing into the flavor-of-the-week, or maybe for just a ride on the casting couch. Elizabeth Berkley filled this role flawlessly. She hit her marks, said her lines, and that's about it. I think it is just what the writer / director wanted.
The ensemble cast all delivered credible performances. Like a film of the time, the only performances that stand out are those of the leads; it is Woody Allen and Helen Hunt's movie, as it should be. (William Powell and Myrna Loy stand out in front of the cast of 1934's The Thin Man, who remembers Nat Pendleton or Minna Gombel?) Dan Aykroyd plays an adulterant Insurance Company C.E.O. in much the same way as his dramatic performances in Driving Miss Daisy or My Girl: understated and credible. He allows the writing to do the comedy for him, without having to work at it. Charlize Theron's (Cider House Rules, The Astronaut's Wife) roll is smaller than her on-screen presence. She makes for a perfect 1940's screen vixen. David Ogden Stires always gives a good performance, and was able to shake the shadow of M*A*S*H's Maj. Winchester for a dead-perfect evil magician. Wallace Shawn in a Woody Allen movie is like having ice cream on a slice of cherry pie; always a welcome presence. You may also see a familiar face or two but can never place the name; John Schuck, a veteran movie and television actor (Sgt. Charlie Enright on TV's McMillon and Wife) is one of them. It is apparent that the writing was crafted for the star players, and terrific casting took care of the rest.
Movies can be many things. Some can inspire, some can be extremely poignant. Others can just simply entertain. The Curse of the Jade Scorpion falls under the entertaining types. A perfect diversion as a weekend matinee, or as a follow-up to a nice dinner out, Scorpion does not make use of low-brow humor and stays true to the 1940's flair the movie, itself, portrays.
With romantic interests like Helen Hunt and Charlize Theron, Woody Allen gives all men hope as we get older.
Good, clean fun with laughs to spare! Another score for Woody!
mattymatt4ever3 September 2001
A week ago, I went to see "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," which I must say is the filthiest movie ever made. Nothing but dirty jokes and tons of profanity. The kind of film that simply shows the decline in cinematic society, rather than the advancement. Watching "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" I was relieved. I've always been a fan of Woody and though this is not a hysterically funny comedy that will deliver a laugh a minute, it delivers good, honest laughs and that's what I appreciated most about it. If we were living in the 1940's or 50's, a comedy like this would be no big deal. Actors and actresses in those eras knew how to make people laugh, without even uttering a minute sexual reference. Because they were professionals and they were talented and they knew what comedy was all about. Despite heavy regulations on censorship, they delivered hilarious gags with the greatest of ease. Showing us it isn't the least bit necessary to use sex or bodily functions to make audiences laugh. "COJS" is like an old-fashioned comedy and it happens to be set in the dawning of the 1940's.
For all you Woodyphiles expecting those grand Woody zingers--you won't be disappointed. One of his biggest gifts is witty dialogue. In this movie the dialogue is not only witty, but incredibly intelligent. So even if this is not the funniest movie ever, I'm certainly not going to say this is one of Woody's minor works. The chemistry--or should I say, non-chemistry--between Woody and Helen Hunt (his nemesis) is sharp. They build up a great tension--angry and sexual. I also liked the sexual innuendos between Woody and Charlize Theron, who plays the seductive Laura Kensington. Some say that Woody purposely wrote those scenes into the script so that he can have a couple of steamy scenes with the beautiful actress; I think not. The innuendos between them are very honest and she even admits at one point that she's used to strong, muscular men. Those scenes between Woody and Charlize are some of the film's funniest moments.
I'm guessing Woody used a slightly bigger budget that usual to produce this comedy, which you can consider a period piece. He really brings out a great aura of 1940's New York. Of course, I wasn't around during that time period, so I can't exactly scribble down every anachronism on a notepad and submit them in the "goofs" section. But judging by films I've watched, which took place during that era, I think the look was dead-on.
The film runs just a little long, and it slightly drags at points, but overall it's a feel-good romantic comedy with a good heart. There are even some good moments of mystery, which kept me intrigued. I liked the ending, which wasn't forced at all. It was an imaginative conclusion that suited the fate of the two leads, and it made me smile. Nothing like a typical Hollywood ending. This is the kind of sharp writing that existed before the film industry became a haven for money-hungry shysters. I admire Woody for continuing to make films that don't appeal to any particular demographic. This is a zestfully clean PG-13 comedy that probably won't do wonders at the box office, because there's no crude or sex-related humor, no nudity and no profanity--but Woody's an artiste and he's not about to let this explosion of gross-out comedies affect his integrity as one of our most talented writer/directors. If your IQ is in the double-digits, this probably won't be the film for you. I know (most) young people aren't used to thinking when they watch a comedy, so they may as well pass on this one and save themselves from a migraine. But for those in the mood for a fun, adult comedy--brace yourself for the Jade Scorpion. Comedies like this are becoming extinct--may as well watch as many of them as you can before they banish completely.
My score: 7 (out of 10)
For all you Woodyphiles expecting those grand Woody zingers--you won't be disappointed. One of his biggest gifts is witty dialogue. In this movie the dialogue is not only witty, but incredibly intelligent. So even if this is not the funniest movie ever, I'm certainly not going to say this is one of Woody's minor works. The chemistry--or should I say, non-chemistry--between Woody and Helen Hunt (his nemesis) is sharp. They build up a great tension--angry and sexual. I also liked the sexual innuendos between Woody and Charlize Theron, who plays the seductive Laura Kensington. Some say that Woody purposely wrote those scenes into the script so that he can have a couple of steamy scenes with the beautiful actress; I think not. The innuendos between them are very honest and she even admits at one point that she's used to strong, muscular men. Those scenes between Woody and Charlize are some of the film's funniest moments.
I'm guessing Woody used a slightly bigger budget that usual to produce this comedy, which you can consider a period piece. He really brings out a great aura of 1940's New York. Of course, I wasn't around during that time period, so I can't exactly scribble down every anachronism on a notepad and submit them in the "goofs" section. But judging by films I've watched, which took place during that era, I think the look was dead-on.
The film runs just a little long, and it slightly drags at points, but overall it's a feel-good romantic comedy with a good heart. There are even some good moments of mystery, which kept me intrigued. I liked the ending, which wasn't forced at all. It was an imaginative conclusion that suited the fate of the two leads, and it made me smile. Nothing like a typical Hollywood ending. This is the kind of sharp writing that existed before the film industry became a haven for money-hungry shysters. I admire Woody for continuing to make films that don't appeal to any particular demographic. This is a zestfully clean PG-13 comedy that probably won't do wonders at the box office, because there's no crude or sex-related humor, no nudity and no profanity--but Woody's an artiste and he's not about to let this explosion of gross-out comedies affect his integrity as one of our most talented writer/directors. If your IQ is in the double-digits, this probably won't be the film for you. I know (most) young people aren't used to thinking when they watch a comedy, so they may as well pass on this one and save themselves from a migraine. But for those in the mood for a fun, adult comedy--brace yourself for the Jade Scorpion. Comedies like this are becoming extinct--may as well watch as many of them as you can before they banish completely.
My score: 7 (out of 10)
Helen Hunt and Woody have limited chemistry
SnoopyStyle10 June 2015
It's 1940. CW Briggs (Woody Allen) is an insurance investigator who cracks a lot of cases. Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt) is his new boss working under the owner Chris Magruder (Dan Aykroyd) who she's having an affair with. She's constantly butting heads with CW while reorganizing the office. They are at a company diner. CW and Betty Ann are hypnotized by magician Voltan to be used later for robberies. Then CW is given a robbery case on Laura Kensington (Charlize Theron) that he himself unknowingly robbed.
It has marginally funny lines from Woody. I don't think Helen Hunt and/or her character works that well. Her affair with the boss keeps her from having any romantic chemistry with CW. It's good that they hate each other because it comes across the screen. They are more bitter and not funny together. Their eventual turn is unconvincing. This is a passable effort from Woody especially the period piece aspect. There are funny moments but the central chemistry is lacking.
It has marginally funny lines from Woody. I don't think Helen Hunt and/or her character works that well. Her affair with the boss keeps her from having any romantic chemistry with CW. It's good that they hate each other because it comes across the screen. They are more bitter and not funny together. Their eventual turn is unconvincing. This is a passable effort from Woody especially the period piece aspect. There are funny moments but the central chemistry is lacking.
The man makes funny films
christopher-underwood13 February 2007
Very funny film. Not very deep, not very significant, not very complicated. In fact this is set in and around a 1940's insurance office that looks very much like the more usual newspaper offices of the original screwball comedies. And that's what this is no more and no less a simply plotted, single central devise and lots and lots of great one liners. Woody Allen and Helen Hunt have the central roles of the two warring office colleagues who suffer the repercussions of a hypnotic stage act. Both leads are superb and if Dan Aykroyd is a little pedestrian this is hardly noticed with all the other back up throughout the cast. There are films that come out seemingly on a weekly basis and we are assured they are the funniest and they are not, Woody Allen turns out yet another that is and rarely gets the credit he deserved. The man makes funny films.
Who Knew 1940 Was Such Fun!
barendbkj23 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001, comedy crime film, written, directed and starring Woody Allen. The film also features renowned actors; Helen Hunt as Miss Fitzgerald, Dan Aykroyd as Mr. Magruder as well as a very young Charlize Theron.
The film is set in New York in the year 1940, gambling, larceny, addiction and infidelity is at the core of these characters and the film. We follow the story of CW Briggs who is an insurance investigator at North Coast Insurance. Later on Briggs and a group of people as well as his possible love interest Miss Fitzgerald go to see a hypnotist where they get programmed to react a certain way when a certain word is used. They are not aware of the fact that the hypnotist wants to use this control to his advantage. They suddenly become puppets in his master puppeteer's plan. The film seems to look like an old black-and-white Noir film, just in colour this time, and the witty banter and comments exchanged between characters, especially that of Briggs and Fitzgerald, makes them more lovable towards the audience.
In the foreground we see characters living in the mid-ground of apartment buildings and the insurance company. They join the background when we see Briggs going out to do as the Hypnotist said. Allen stays to the traditional linear storyline, following only one story line (which is that of Briggs) clearly staying to the recipe of cause-and-effect, logic and rational.
Allen cleverly uses contrast in the execution of the characters. Briggs is seen as a more hyper character saying what's on his mind in the most creative ways, as well as covering his own behind in the most clever of ways. The other characters being more calm and collected in their lines and execution of their character. It is also definitely seen in the difference in behaviour between when Fitzgerald and Briggs jump from being themselves to being controlled by the hypnotist.
We also see the actors and actresses giving not only giving great work, but also giving such theatrical performances that at some stage it felt like I was watching a theatre piece and not a film. By keeping the look of the film warm and almost retro, the director succeeds in creating a film that is visually as enjoyable as the story itself.
The film is also presented as a satirical Noir film. The use of warm colour and mundane shapes make this film easy to watch, and almost sooths you as you go along for the ride. There are crimes being committed, investigations being held, our protagonist confronted with beautiful women and his own hormones, just in this case our hero is not your normal Noir hero, he's the underdog, the loser. They guy who has wanted attention his whole life.
Like in most of Allen's films, such as 1977's Annie Hall, 2013's Blue Jasmine and 2014's Magic in the Moonlight, we are clearly aware of the space in which the story takes place, as well as which perspective from where the story is told from, in this case the character of Briggs.
The title of the film and the content of the film go hand in hand. Fitzgerald and Briggs are under the control of the Jade Scorpion. Doing as the hypnotist wishes and not asking anything. It makes you think that maybe we are all just puppets in the hands of a great or evil puppeteer. Aren't we all just instruments? Then there's the recurring carnival music that plays when Briggs or Fitzgerald goes into their larcenist hypnosis. This makes me feel like he's putting the people on display, saying humans are made to be viewed and made to be manipulated, because in the end their minds are stronger than their bodies, but it is so easy to hack those minds, thus so easy to control those bodies.
The characters in this film are also a lot older than me at this stage and they all have been married at some stage, but none of it turned out the way they wanted it to be. People cheat on each other and even when they judge the act of infidelity we have two characters, Fitzgerald and Magruder engaging in a heated affair. This comments strongly on the legitimacy of marriages, what do they really mean, when people are so eager to break them.
We see people who are filled with addiction, Briggs with his gambling with the horses, Fitzgerald who has tequila at 10 in the morning, downing a bottle in a matter of seconds, as well as a bullpen filled with drifting smoke from the smoking staff.
We are also faced with the idea of mental illness, what is reality, if we are all just puppets in the hands of a master pupeteer... We see Fitzgerald wanting to jump out of the window just when Magruder, (who has a wife) tells her he can't be with her. The film also highlights the power of the human mind and the senses of the human as strong and durable. Because there was nothing Briggs could do on his own about the hypnotist and his assistant, because he didn't know what was going on and it was his mind that made him do what he was doing.
We also see a slow and steady love story that makes us realize that maybe the one you were meant to be with was right under your nose, because even when their feelings for each other don't come out until the end, Briggs and Fitzgerald behave as if they are an old married couple. In the end we see them together, but only after Fitzgerald's secret word is said. I then started to ask myself, what is love, is it just an infatuation that can't last, or are we so hypnotized by the idea of love or a strange love story that we are willing to settle, like most of the characters in this film? How intoxicating or toxic is love actually? Because in the end all the characters are playing games with each other, this is shown much more clearly with the sly way the hypnotist uses hypnosis to force people to do what he wants, Magruder holding Fitzgerald on a line, postponing to talk to his wife, but rather keeping Fitzgerald under wraps and not letting anyone know what's really going on.
We also see a film about men being attracted to strong women, men like Briggs, and women seeking independence and adventure as with the characters of Fitzgerald and the erotic supreme queen, Laura Kensington.
On an imitational level the film succeeds to create a story that doesn't only feel plausible, but it creates a world that was so long ago, but it feels so real and tangible right now.
On a formalist level, we don't see Allen really playing around with symbolic composition, the film's composition is as real as possible. He intuitively uses the elements of a realistic, yet theatrical, film.
And then on an emotional level we see the film excelling in making us feel sympathetic towards the characters, in the way the music flows from one scene to the next. The way Allen and Hunt so carefully and steadily create their chemistry on stage, as well as the believability of the whole situation, even though he threw in something as strange and odd as hypnosis.
In the end I found myself really enjoying this film. It's not one of my favourite films, but it's definitely not one of my least favourite.
You start to wonder if Allen is really playing a character, or if he's just being himself and living out his own life frame for frame. In the end it made me feel hopeful about life and love, saying that you have to take chances on yourself and other people, and that sometimes just the right word can change your whole life.
The film is set in New York in the year 1940, gambling, larceny, addiction and infidelity is at the core of these characters and the film. We follow the story of CW Briggs who is an insurance investigator at North Coast Insurance. Later on Briggs and a group of people as well as his possible love interest Miss Fitzgerald go to see a hypnotist where they get programmed to react a certain way when a certain word is used. They are not aware of the fact that the hypnotist wants to use this control to his advantage. They suddenly become puppets in his master puppeteer's plan. The film seems to look like an old black-and-white Noir film, just in colour this time, and the witty banter and comments exchanged between characters, especially that of Briggs and Fitzgerald, makes them more lovable towards the audience.
In the foreground we see characters living in the mid-ground of apartment buildings and the insurance company. They join the background when we see Briggs going out to do as the Hypnotist said. Allen stays to the traditional linear storyline, following only one story line (which is that of Briggs) clearly staying to the recipe of cause-and-effect, logic and rational.
Allen cleverly uses contrast in the execution of the characters. Briggs is seen as a more hyper character saying what's on his mind in the most creative ways, as well as covering his own behind in the most clever of ways. The other characters being more calm and collected in their lines and execution of their character. It is also definitely seen in the difference in behaviour between when Fitzgerald and Briggs jump from being themselves to being controlled by the hypnotist.
We also see the actors and actresses giving not only giving great work, but also giving such theatrical performances that at some stage it felt like I was watching a theatre piece and not a film. By keeping the look of the film warm and almost retro, the director succeeds in creating a film that is visually as enjoyable as the story itself.
The film is also presented as a satirical Noir film. The use of warm colour and mundane shapes make this film easy to watch, and almost sooths you as you go along for the ride. There are crimes being committed, investigations being held, our protagonist confronted with beautiful women and his own hormones, just in this case our hero is not your normal Noir hero, he's the underdog, the loser. They guy who has wanted attention his whole life.
Like in most of Allen's films, such as 1977's Annie Hall, 2013's Blue Jasmine and 2014's Magic in the Moonlight, we are clearly aware of the space in which the story takes place, as well as which perspective from where the story is told from, in this case the character of Briggs.
The title of the film and the content of the film go hand in hand. Fitzgerald and Briggs are under the control of the Jade Scorpion. Doing as the hypnotist wishes and not asking anything. It makes you think that maybe we are all just puppets in the hands of a great or evil puppeteer. Aren't we all just instruments? Then there's the recurring carnival music that plays when Briggs or Fitzgerald goes into their larcenist hypnosis. This makes me feel like he's putting the people on display, saying humans are made to be viewed and made to be manipulated, because in the end their minds are stronger than their bodies, but it is so easy to hack those minds, thus so easy to control those bodies.
The characters in this film are also a lot older than me at this stage and they all have been married at some stage, but none of it turned out the way they wanted it to be. People cheat on each other and even when they judge the act of infidelity we have two characters, Fitzgerald and Magruder engaging in a heated affair. This comments strongly on the legitimacy of marriages, what do they really mean, when people are so eager to break them.
We see people who are filled with addiction, Briggs with his gambling with the horses, Fitzgerald who has tequila at 10 in the morning, downing a bottle in a matter of seconds, as well as a bullpen filled with drifting smoke from the smoking staff.
We are also faced with the idea of mental illness, what is reality, if we are all just puppets in the hands of a master pupeteer... We see Fitzgerald wanting to jump out of the window just when Magruder, (who has a wife) tells her he can't be with her. The film also highlights the power of the human mind and the senses of the human as strong and durable. Because there was nothing Briggs could do on his own about the hypnotist and his assistant, because he didn't know what was going on and it was his mind that made him do what he was doing.
We also see a slow and steady love story that makes us realize that maybe the one you were meant to be with was right under your nose, because even when their feelings for each other don't come out until the end, Briggs and Fitzgerald behave as if they are an old married couple. In the end we see them together, but only after Fitzgerald's secret word is said. I then started to ask myself, what is love, is it just an infatuation that can't last, or are we so hypnotized by the idea of love or a strange love story that we are willing to settle, like most of the characters in this film? How intoxicating or toxic is love actually? Because in the end all the characters are playing games with each other, this is shown much more clearly with the sly way the hypnotist uses hypnosis to force people to do what he wants, Magruder holding Fitzgerald on a line, postponing to talk to his wife, but rather keeping Fitzgerald under wraps and not letting anyone know what's really going on.
We also see a film about men being attracted to strong women, men like Briggs, and women seeking independence and adventure as with the characters of Fitzgerald and the erotic supreme queen, Laura Kensington.
On an imitational level the film succeeds to create a story that doesn't only feel plausible, but it creates a world that was so long ago, but it feels so real and tangible right now.
On a formalist level, we don't see Allen really playing around with symbolic composition, the film's composition is as real as possible. He intuitively uses the elements of a realistic, yet theatrical, film.
And then on an emotional level we see the film excelling in making us feel sympathetic towards the characters, in the way the music flows from one scene to the next. The way Allen and Hunt so carefully and steadily create their chemistry on stage, as well as the believability of the whole situation, even though he threw in something as strange and odd as hypnosis.
In the end I found myself really enjoying this film. It's not one of my favourite films, but it's definitely not one of my least favourite.
You start to wonder if Allen is really playing a character, or if he's just being himself and living out his own life frame for frame. In the end it made me feel hopeful about life and love, saying that you have to take chances on yourself and other people, and that sometimes just the right word can change your whole life.
VERY sad waste of great cast - READ TO THE END
jeffdstockton8 March 2022
With virtually no chemistry between any of the actors/ characters, plus generally horrible delivery of the script, makes this unsatisfying from beginning to end. Performances seem much more like a 1st or 2nd run-through, rather than screen-ready by the actors but especially the director (Allen). The script itself is also stilted, made worse by the absence of nuance & timing in the performances. It's like the worst of community theatre, where everyone is waiting to say their lines, and not listening to or engaging with each other, not playing in the full context of the story.
Humor is lost in forced attempts at it.
With all the talent in virtually every role, and the great look, it's rightfully reviewed - including by Allen himself, as the worst of his films.
It's also a challenge to see Allen unconvincingly playing a character who would have to be 2 or 3 decades younger.
EDIT: everything above is valid, BUT, with a little more time, I realize the movie stayed with me. It's got a charm to its stylized manner. This is a great example of suspending disbelief, because of course, it's fiction. But, it's also an example of suspending expectations - expectations for a 'normal' movie, a typical Woody Allen film, etc. Taken 'as is', "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" offers some light comedy with a great (though not optimized) cast, great looking cinema, and a touch of fun. It's worth watching.
Humor is lost in forced attempts at it.
With all the talent in virtually every role, and the great look, it's rightfully reviewed - including by Allen himself, as the worst of his films.
It's also a challenge to see Allen unconvincingly playing a character who would have to be 2 or 3 decades younger.
EDIT: everything above is valid, BUT, with a little more time, I realize the movie stayed with me. It's got a charm to its stylized manner. This is a great example of suspending disbelief, because of course, it's fiction. But, it's also an example of suspending expectations - expectations for a 'normal' movie, a typical Woody Allen film, etc. Taken 'as is', "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" offers some light comedy with a great (though not optimized) cast, great looking cinema, and a touch of fun. It's worth watching.
homage to '40s screwball thrillers
maurice_yacowar14 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Even such a lightweight airy number by Woody Allen achieves a heft ordinary auteurs would strain to achieve.
In this delightful comedy Allen exercises his love for 1940s crowd pleasers. The film mixes screwball comedy and gumshoe thriller. The script hits a Billy Wilder pace. The music, settings and stock characters recall Howard Hawks at his best.
Allen's performance as the insurance investigator is arguably his clearest homage to Bob Hope. "She graduated from Vassar and I went to driving school. " The woman with a body that won't quit? "Quit? It won't take five minutes off for a coffee break." Does he want to see the siren's strawberry birthmark on her thigh? "Sure, when can I take the full tour?" And of course: "I may be a scummy vermin but I'm an honest scummy vermin."
Lengthening the tradition - the Allen and Helen Hunt characters are a modern Beatrice and Benedick as they wallow in an articulate antagonism that could only belie their essential love. In the fireworks kissing scene Allen exuberantly explodes the perennial cliche.
The film may lack the obvious philosophic underpinning of Allen's later work but it's cut from the same cloth.
As in The Purple Rose of Cairo, Alice, his New York Stories episode and the later Magic in the Moonlight, etc., Allen uses variations on magic to shift his characters into another mode of experience. Here hypnosis is ambivalent in its purposes. In the stage act it moves CW and Sally Ann into their antithetical relationship, love supplanting their antagonism. But as every opening brings vulnerability, the two also serve the jewel thief hypnotist's criminal purposes.
Hypnotism here serves as magic and art work for Allen elsewhere. It provides an escape from the "scummy...grungy" existence Allen always envisions the human condition to be, hungry for any possible escape or respite. The curse turns out to be a blessing.
Indeed this idea may animate all of Allen's compulsive returns to the music and film genres of the past. We're cursed with mortality. What healthier insouciance than to ensure the immortality of the genres by which we used to connect?
Yes!!!
michaeltrivedi31 December 2019
A good Allen film! I remember really enjoying this one. There's dark elements to it, and tons of laughs. It's a free for all almost. I think people got tired of Allen when he made films starring himself later in his career. But this one was a good one.
6 stars
6 stars
Enjoyable, better than expected - ignore the bad reviews
phd_travel13 March 2011
I really enjoyed this movie. Although it wasn't that well reviewed it was really very good if not his best work.
This is a charming comedy mystery which is original and well written. There are lots of very good one liners you have to concentrate to catch. Many of the situations are delightful to watch unfold.
The cast is good. Helen Hunt's deadpan insults are tailor made for her. Charlize is alluring - just wish she had more screen time.
The main fault is Woody is a bit old looking for the romantic part of the role. I guess that's why he hasn't been acting in too many more of his own movies.
This is a charming comedy mystery which is original and well written. There are lots of very good one liners you have to concentrate to catch. Many of the situations are delightful to watch unfold.
The cast is good. Helen Hunt's deadpan insults are tailor made for her. Charlize is alluring - just wish she had more screen time.
The main fault is Woody is a bit old looking for the romantic part of the role. I guess that's why he hasn't been acting in too many more of his own movies.
"I hate her just like I hate that German chancellor with the mustache."
PredragReviews7 May 2016
The plot is a homage to early American talkies and involves detectives, robberies, magicians, hypnotism, wise cracks and as always with Allen's films, dames. The latter are exquisitely represented through the fantastic Helen Hunt as Allen/Briggs' nemesis and love interest, and the sumptuous Charlize Theron as the femme fatale and fantasy woman, which Allen often likes to include in his films. Add to this potent mixture the usual highly complimentary music score, and you have a film which is entertaining, beautifully shot.
Allen put together a terrific supporting cast for this one, including John Schuck (Mize), Elizabeth Berkley (Jill), Wallace Shawn (George), John Tormey (Sam), Kaili Vernoff (Rosie), Brian Markinson (Al) and Peter Gerety (Ned). There's an inspired precision to this film, in the way Allen blends the story, characters and music (such a big part of creating that necessary atmosphere) that makes "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" something of a minor classic in the Allen canon. Aficionados of the classic films of this period will be especially delighted with this one, but anyone who appreciates a film that is well crafted and delivered and provides some solid entertainment will be satisfied, as well.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
Allen put together a terrific supporting cast for this one, including John Schuck (Mize), Elizabeth Berkley (Jill), Wallace Shawn (George), John Tormey (Sam), Kaili Vernoff (Rosie), Brian Markinson (Al) and Peter Gerety (Ned). There's an inspired precision to this film, in the way Allen blends the story, characters and music (such a big part of creating that necessary atmosphere) that makes "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" something of a minor classic in the Allen canon. Aficionados of the classic films of this period will be especially delighted with this one, but anyone who appreciates a film that is well crafted and delivered and provides some solid entertainment will be satisfied, as well.
Overall rating: 7 out of 10.
Few hits; many misses
howardeisman10 October 2009
This looked like an attempt to do a slight but breezy Bob Hope comedy of the 1940s. In fact, it is set in 1940. A good idea for Woody who did do this well before. This one fails. Why? It was not crisp. Scenes were played with bad timing, incongruous acting styles and performers who seemed to have some difficulty in remembering their lines or recognizing their cues. Sloppy.
There is supposed to be a thread of eroticism in the film, but the only performance with any sexual juice was Elizabeth Berkley as a sweet virginal office worker. She had charisma, but her part was small and she had no real significance in the plot.
Woody Allen wasn't necessarily too old for his role; he was the wrong kind of old. The neurotic shtick that was so funny when he was young doesn't work for someone of his age. His character hasn't learned anything about life. He doesn't seem bumbling and cute; he seems old and dumb.
There is supposed to be a thread of eroticism in the film, but the only performance with any sexual juice was Elizabeth Berkley as a sweet virginal office worker. She had charisma, but her part was small and she had no real significance in the plot.
Woody Allen wasn't necessarily too old for his role; he was the wrong kind of old. The neurotic shtick that was so funny when he was young doesn't work for someone of his age. His character hasn't learned anything about life. He doesn't seem bumbling and cute; he seems old and dumb.
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