Woody Allen is one of the luckiest filmmakers when it comes to casting, and he always seems to get the best and hottest actors available. Many consider his latest European-centered films an improvement from his previous outings this decade, and while that is true for the most part, it should be noted that his recent casting choices are the reason why. Vicky Cristina Barcelona was very enjoyable, but the success of the film is due in large part to the actors. The script for VCB wasn't nearly as good as Allen's best, but Bardem, Cruz and Hall exploded with chemistry and created something special.
Allen has similar success (to a lesser extent) with his latest, Whatever Works. This time he has the benefit of Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Clarkson, and Henry Cavil (of The Tudors fame). They all do wonders with a mediocre Allen screenplay supposedly written way back in the 1970s .
This article appears in Jul 8-14, 2009.