Movie Notes: A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy

June 24th, 2009

= 3 stars

Starring Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Jose Ferrer
Directed by Woody Allen

Synopsis

Set in the early 1900s, Nutty inventor Andrew (Woody Allen) invites several couples to a summer party at his house. Hilarity ensues.

The Good

• Charming period setting, featuring to some beautiful and romantic settings in a summer house and the nearby woods. Allen’s direction seems looser, solid, and ambitious, freed from the confines of his usual metropolis. The setting and plot are loosely based on Bergman’s Smiles Of A Summer Night. Once in the country, the couples become increasingly jealous of each other’s partners.
• The ubiquitous Allen character is now part of an ensemble rather than the main focus. This is the start of Allen’s arguably, best period, where he tries to find a balance between comedy and drama, largely abandoning the goofy comedy of his earliest films.
• First appearance of Mia Farrow, as Ariel, an old love interest of Andrew’s. Her role was originally meant for Diane Keaton.
• Great supporting cast of Mary Steenburgen, Julie Hagerty, Tony Roberts, and Jose Ferrer. Steenburgen plays a frigid wife, Roberts a cad, and Ferrer a pompous professor. Things really get cooking when everyone starts cheating on everyone else.

The Bad

• Despite some hints at a higher meaning (the difference between love and sex, life’s purpose, intellect vs. passion, and the slow decay of marriage), the balance of levity and drama feels a bit off. The Shakespearean overlay and period setting end up rather besides the point as all the relationship stuff piles on.

Conclusion

Worth a rental if you’re an Allen fan, in particular to see the start of his most creative period, but I couldn’t shake its rather trivial feeling in comparison to the larger Allen repertoire.

Next Woody Allen Movie: Zelig
Previous Woody Allen Movie: Stardust Memories

IMDB: A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy
Wikipedia: A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy
Rotten Tomatoes: A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy 70%