I have this inkling that She’s Funny That Way may not get the attention it deserves. To many, it may feel like an early Woody Allen film, when he was at his best, which should actually draw viewers into the movie theatres. But then again, too many people have seen too many Woody Allen films and may feel they’ve had enough. On the other hand, for fans of Hollywood screwball comedies, this one will surely remind them of good old classics by Ernst Lubitsch — think Cluny Brown and you’ll get part of the picture.
Featured in Venice last year, She’s Funny That Way is a fine romantic charade that marks the return of comedy master Peter Bogdanovich after a 13-year hiatus. It’s produced by no less than Wes Anderson and Noah Bumbach, and has a cameo appearance by Quentin Tarantino. So, you see, it really is the kind of film that deserves all the attention it can get — even if it’s not nearly perfect and it doesn’t rank among Bogdanovich’s best.
The story goes pretty much like this: Arnold Albertson (Owen Wilson) is a Los Angeles-based theatre director who’s staging a new play, A Grecian Evening, which stars his actress wife Delta (Kathryn Hahn) and her ex-lover and now famous star Seth (Rhys Ifans), and is written by Josh (Will Forte), a mellow and nice fellow. Incidentally, Arnold goes by “Derek” when having extramarital affairs, such as when he meets Isabella (Imogen Poots), a gold-hearted Brooklyn call girl whom Arnold gives US$ 30,000 the night he meets her so she can start a new life as an actress. See, he gets his own personal high every time he does this with different girls ever since … who knows?
Unaware of the identity of the director, Isabella auditions for A Grecian Evening, much to Arnold’s surprise. And what do you know? Josh falls for her almost instantly. Now you have a situation going here — remember Arnold’s wife is watching the audition as well. And there’s more: Jane (Jennifer Aniston), is a psychopathic therapist and Josh’s girlfriend, old Judge Pendergast (Austin Pendleton) is a patient of Jane’s who’s obsessed with Isabella (he used to be a regular client of hers), and there’s also an old detective (George Morfogen), who’s hired by Judge Pendergast to follow Isabella everywhere, and who also happens to be Josh’s dad. Nice web of desire, isn’t it?
So now you have everything you need for mayhem to explode in every single way. With snappy and witty one-liners, perfectly tuned physical comedy, and nervous rhythm, She’s Funny That Way advances in a precise and cohesive manner. Bogdanovich shows, once again, how gifted he is at coaching his actors who, despite shortcomings in the script — for instance, there’s not much of a development of their personalities other than what the stereotypes mandate — do wonders to give nuances to their characters. In this regard, kudos to Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, and Austin Pendleton are in order. In fact, this is probably Aniston’s best comic role and performance ever since… Friends?
As for Wilson, well he’ll surely remind you of his character in Midnight in Paris, which is not necessarily a bad thing considering how effective his performance was in that Allen film.
You could also argue that in comedy terms there’s much of a build-up and perhaps not enough of a pay off. And it may be true. You have an addition of funny and very funny circumstances and situations that in the end never get to have a grand climax — the final rehearsal where everybody is gathered is meant to be it, but it doesn’t function quite that well as doesn’t feel that fresh and surprising.
Then again, considering the shape of today’s contemporary comedy, She’s Funny That Way is more than a decent throwback to the golden days. It’s honestly amusing. That calls for some kind of celebration.
Production notes
She’s Funny That Way (US, 2014). Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Written by Peter Bogdanovich, Louise Stratten. With Imogen Poots, Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Will Forte, Illeana Douglas, Austin Pendleton, Quentin Tarantino. Cinematography: Yaron Orbach. Editing: Nick Moore, Pax Wasserman. Running time: 93 minutes.
