MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT
Written and Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Colin Firth, Emma Stone, Hamish Linklater, Jacki Weaver, Simon McBurney, Dame Eileen Atkins

The Cote d’Azur, the excess of the roaring twenties, an adorable red-headed starlet everyone loves and Mr. Darcy; what could possibly be wrong with any of these magical ingredients? Turns out, a bunch. Writer-Director Woody Allen’s underwhelming romantic comedy MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT combines all of these wonderful things to churn out mediocrity on the Mediterranean.

Wei Ling Soo is a horribly racist caricatureEngland’s premier magician, who just happens to be egotistical Englishman Stanley Crawford’s (Colin Firth) secret alter ego. At the height of his success, Stanley’s fellow magician pal Howard (Simon McBurney) beseeches him for help. Howard needs his former act partner to discredit a potential – and very cute – con woman, clairvoyant Sophie Baker (Emma Stone), who’s been staying with her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) in the uber-wealthy Catledge family’s manse on the French Riviera. You see, Sophie has managed to work her way into the family home on the pretense she can contact Grace Catledge’s (Jacki Weaver) dead husband. And it just so happens that when she does the seemingly undoable, she also works her way into wealthy heir Brice’s (Hamish Linklater) heart. Presenting himself as import/ export magnate Stanley Taplinger, Stanley’s on a mission to unmask her…but it’s really him who’ll be tested.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a lackluster Woody Allen film. So much so, it pains me to even say the word “mediocre” when talking about Allen’s work. YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER was probably the last one to qualify for that title – and even then that film had its moments. Though MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT isn’t totally dreadful (Anne Seibel’s production design, Sonia Grande’s costume design and Darius Khondji’s cinematography are all highlights), Allen’s narrative is predictable and a smidge misguided. Let’s begin with the latter. At the heart of it, Allen wants us rooting for Firth (54) to get together with Stone (26). Granted this kind of casting isn’t exactly unheard of (e.g. Bogie and Bacall, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, even Audrey Hepburn was frequently paired with older love interests) and MAGIC does a sufficient job echoing some of the screwballish antics of those classic romcoms from the 40’s and 50’s. Probably meant to be an homage, that kind of old Hollywood sensibility doesn’t totally work here. Listen, I would root for Firth to get together with a squirrel if that’s what his heart so truly desired – he’s just that good. And Stone and Firth really do have cracklin’ chemistry together, le sigh, it just feels like Allen’s pushing his own personal agenda. Sure, it’s a debatably endearing hallmark of his films, but it takes center stage here, unlike other films in Allen’s oeuvre where it functions a c-story line. Maybe if the script had been jazzier, livelier and zanier, I could have ignored this.

Now about the film’s plodding predictability. Allen thinks he’s subverting rules of formulaic romcoms by flipping the script. But MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT isn’t refreshing since it comes off looking just as trite as every other traditionally structured romcom that’s come before it. The stereotypical genre tropes and hallmarks all apply here – including the manic pixie dream girl and act two’s “You lied to me” moment. Given the fact Allen has been on a hot streak since MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, why not change things up more? And unfortunately, as a result of the predictable story beats, act three is a veritable endless slog. Even though the film runs at about an hour forty, there are quite a few scenes that should have been wrapped up much quicker – specifically act three’s conversation between Aunt Vanessa (Dame Eileen Atkins) and Stanley. The film also suffers when my boo Linklater isn’t around to pep things up with his beautiful pipes, old-timey swim trunks and vibrant buoyancy. He’s certainly swoon worthy as the innocent boob.

2.5 out of 5

MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 25.