May 26, 2003
Curse of the Jade Scorpion
Woody
Allen's movie from 2001, Curse of the
Jade Scorpion is something of an homage to the 1940s film noir and
even screwball comedy movies. It has Woody playing a surprisingly
successful insurance investigator for a big insurance company, who is
getting pressured by the newly installed "efficiency expert", Betty
Ann Fitzgerald, played ably by the reliable Helen
Hunt. They unwittingly get involved in a number of high profile
jewel heists, all the while hating each other's guts.
After clashing a few times in the beginning, they all head off to a birthday party, where Woody and Helen get hypnotized. Afterwards, they remember nothing, but the magician, ably played by David Ogden Stiers, calls Woody back, puts him into a trance, and sends him off to steal jewels from a house where he installed the alarm system! His knowledge comes in handy and he gets clean away. Of course, when Voltan calls him back and snaps him out of it, Woody remembers nothing. More hijinx follow, until the crime is solved and Woody goes away with Helen. We think.
In the end, it was a perfectly nice little film. For some reason, Helen Hunt never really seemed to comfortably inhabit her character. I'm not sure she's cut out to play the "tough broad", but rather the softer woman with the backbone of steel, like in As Good As it Gets or even Twister. Jade Scorpion also didn't have all that many good laughs, although there were a few. It was filmed in a real interesting tinted picture, very evocative of the 40s, without stooping to black and white. I wouldn't rush out and buy it, but it certainly will do the job as a rental on some rainy evening.
The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion
Woody Allen, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt, Wallace Shawn, Dan Aykroyd, David Ogden Stiers
Insurance investigator C.W. Briggs prides himself on being able to crack any insurance caper by getting into the mind of the thief...but what if he's the one he's looking for? Posted by jdarnold at May 26, 2003 9:14 AM
