On January 26, 1997, I saw Woody Allen's new movie Everyone Says I Love You at the Downer Theater. He has created a hilarious musical-comedy which embraces all of the elements of classic movie-musicals, while at the same time spoofing the genre. To help me better appreciate the movie, I read reviews by Tom Keogh and Peter Brunette (Film.com website. http://www.film.com/). My report is written with the insights gained from these two sources.

The plot of the movie is actually several stories woven together, all about people falling in and out of love. Joe, who has poor luck with women, tries to develop a relationship with Von, a lady he meets in Paris. Joe becomes the man of her dreams by knowing her fantasies, which his daughter DJ has told him, but still gets dumped in the end. DJ is ready to marry every guy she meets, and happily helps out with everyone else's relationships. Joe's ex-wife, Steffi, is married to a rich attorney, Bob, and they have four children. Their son's Republican views clash with their own, while their two youngest daughters spend their time falling in love with young hunks. Their eldest daughter, Skylar, is engaged to the likeable Holden, but their relationship has to deal with her uncertainty of what she wants and her sudden liking of an ex-convict, Charles. Steffi is a liberal, and campaigns for the oppressed criminals behind bars. She frees a gangster, Charles, who wastes no time getting into trouble. Bob, whose happy marriage to Steffi is about the only constant throughout the movie, ends up in the middle of almost everything, and tries to maintain his sanity.

To truly appreciate Everyone Says I Love You, you have to understand Allen's intent. Of course, the various themes within the movie are important, but they are only secondary when you look at the movie as a whole. Allen's purpose, to show the humor of the classic movie-musical, is the motivating factor behind every scene.

When people think about life, do they sing about it while they comb their hair? Do people suddenly burst into song and dance whenever they feel the need to express themselves? And even if they do, does a host of singers and dancers come along and create a show out of it? Of course, not. But that was how movie-musicals were, and when you look at them through modern eyeglasses as Allen does, the humor of it just spills out. Knowing what the classics were like, and then seeing one in a modern setting, brings out the best - and brings it out in a funny way.

The music for Everyone Says I Love You was a combination of songs from old movie-musicals and original pieces written expressly for this film. But in keeping with Allen's intent, the style, tone, and rhythm of all the new songs were the same as the old ones. It was especially clever how the lyrics, regardless of when the song was from, perfectly matched the mood of the scene or conveyed what the character was trying to say. There was no instrumental overture, but the opening song ("I'm Through With Love") did introduce the movie's theme and was sung by nearly every major character at one point or another. The solo by Itzak Perlman, playing himself, was of this same song. He played with his fancy signature style and it sounded wonderful, but I could not tell if that was the super job it was supposed to be or if he was intentionally being dramatic to fall in character with the rest of the movie.

All of the main actors (except for Hawn) possessed talking voices rather than singing voices, and you could hear it when they sang. They were able to follow a tune and sounded fair, but they would never be cast for a true musical. This was even more evident because the chorus singers and dancers had wonderful singing voices that blended and harmonized with each other. But that is the exact point that Allen had in mind for using this technique.

Some of the funniest scenes in the movie were set to music, and a good portion of their humor came from that music. While Skylar and Holden are at the emergency room, they witness the staff and patients break out in a hilarious version of "Making Whoppee." At the funeral parlor, dead spirits rise and belt out an upbeat version of "Enjoy Yourself, It's Later Than You Think." When Holden goes to buy a ring for Skylar, the jewelry store personnel join in "My Baby Just Cares For Me," complete with a man jumping rope with a set of pearls. Because it was sung in French, I cannot name the song that was sung at the Groucho Marx ball, where dancers and singers imitated his famous movements and poses in their own moves. My favorite scene was when the children came over on Halloween and sang for some treats. Seeing that little girl sing "Chiquita Banana," dressed up just in a complete banana costume with her little side men, was fantastic.

The dialogue between the characters was excellent, and it provided many laughs. However, there were several scenes when there were a lot of people in one area (for example, at family meals, at the funeral parlor), and it became very hard to pick out what everyone was saying since everyone was talking at once. Yet it was humorous because that is the way it happens in real life. Also, when I was able to catch a snippet of what someone was saying, it was funny, which makes me curious to see those scenes again and catch all that was said.

Woody Allen was excellent as Joe, a second-rate novelist who cannot seem to keep a relationship going. His short height, thick glasses, and frizzy, grey hair are right in character with the struggling Joe. He is very insecure, and runs to his ex-wife whenever a relationship goes sour (at which time he is also ready to kill himself). Joe and Steffi may not have been right to marry each other, but their friendship helps each deal with their problems. Although he sounded nervous, when Allen talked he was understandable and clear, but when he sang, it was more like someone mumbling and it was barely audible. His Groucho Marx impersonations were wonderful.

Julia Roberts is known as a good actress, and her portrayal of Von showed why. She is quiet, and does not talk as much as Allen does, but her facial and body expressions told a lot. Her nervousness and apprehension about Joe could be seen in her eyes and the way she moved. Roberts' character may have lacked the energy of some of the others, but I think that was how Von was supposed to be.

Hawkeye from M*A*S*H seems to have grown up into Bob, only with greyer hair and less of it. That makes perfect sense, for Alan Alda brings along Hawkeye's humorous personality in his portrayal of Bob. He has no problem with Joe and Steffi's friendship, and even though he thinks that Joe will never find the right woman, he tries to help. Bob was able to handle (barely) most of the crazy people and things that were in his house, but his son's political views gave him so much grief that he was ready to erase Scott from the will!

Goldie Hawn played Steffi, and although she was integral to the movie, I did not think of her as a standout character. With the exception of her political expeditions, Hawn seemed to pull Steffi into the background and make the other characters interact with her, not she with them. She does not believe that Joe will ever find a woman to be with long term, but her friendship with him, as it exists now that they are divorced, compels her to help him anyway.

DJ, Joe and Steffi's daughter, narrated the movie, but never spoke directly to the camera. Although she is a senior at Columbia University, she looked much younger with her wavy brown hair and causal dress. Her age does not seem to be an issue because nearly everyone asks her advice, and she speaks with authority and knowledge of all subject matters. It seems that DJ is ready to marry every guy she meets, only to dump him because she has found someone else. A fitting end to her flings happened at the Groucho Marx ball, where she fell for a Harpo look-alike.

Skylar, played by the beautiful Drew Barrymore, had red hair and a gorgeous figure. Normally, her clothes were what comfortable people would wear, but she wore a stunning dress when Charles came over. She talked with a soft voice, but I read in Peter Brunette's review that her singing was dubbed in, and I noticed this when I watched her. The thing that seems strange is that since Allen wanted the stars to not sing well, why would he dub in someone else's mediocre voice when Barrymore could have used her own? Regardless, Barrymore did get to do a classic movie scene; dressed in a white slip, she sat in her bedroom combing her hair, wondering what she wants and if Holden is right for her. At times she struck me as ditsy (how do you swallow an engagement ring, twice?!), but other times she was only a confused girl.

Edward Norton brought character to Holden, Skylar's fiance. His dark brown hair, clean shaven face, and boyish good looks make for the ideal son-in-law, while his funny romantic advances would win over any girl's heart. He is deeply in love with Skylar, and was willing to overlook her faults. Although he does not have a trained singing voice, his singing was enjoyable to listen to and I could sense true feeling in it.

Tim Roth did an great job playing Charles, the gangster who Steffi has compassion for and helps out of jail. His suit was of a modern cut, but he looked like he had just stepped out of The Untouchables. Steffi and the family (excluding Scott) may have thought that Charles was a nice guy, but as soon as he came over his true self came out and he was all over the place. He openly smells women, feels them up, and looks leerily at them. His eyes are always shifting, looking for the person who wants to knife him in the back. He willing describes in detail how he likes to handle his "friends."

Some of the other characters were Bob and Steffi's hormone-driven daughters, Scott, their conservative Republican son (whose political views were completely opposite that of his liberal parents'), Bob's senile grandfather, and a family maid with a Nazi personality. Although these characters had small roles, they were integral to the family unit and the plot.

The choreography of the actors was extremely important to this movie. The dance sequences must have required a lot of skill to put together. There were many people flying all over the place, yet it did not look like a mess but rather a piece of visually stunning art. Dance, a part of almost every song, was in some cases classically done (for example, the jewelry store scene), while in others innovatively mixed in with what was going on (in the emergency room, at the Groucho Marx ball, the mannequins in the store window). Just as essential as dance was the placement of people in particular scenes. How Skylar and Charles moved around each other was as well laid out as how Charles mills (and feels) around the family. Even Holden's fumbling dance steps among a tide of jewelry dancers were carefully set up.

The final dance scene between Hawn and Allen was beautiful. Special effects made her appear to float and soar while they danced by a bridge along the banks of the Seine in Paris. Those flighty sensations seemed very appropriate for Joe and Steffi, two people who have the feeling that they are right for each other. Something I picked up because of one of the ballet films we watched was that like ballet, Allen had more of a supportive and background role, with not even some minor dancing. On the other hand, Hawn drew our focus to her, with a lot of help from those special effects.

Jumping between Manhattan, Paris, and Venice, Everyone Says I Love You shows us some of the most beautiful scenery these cities have to offer. In Venice we see the canals, rivers, and ancient streets lined with classic buildings. In Paris we see the Eiffel Tower, a gorgeous view from Joe's apartment, and the grand ballrooms where parties are held. Manhattan offers a view at the hustle and bustle of city life, colossal structures called skyscrapers, the homes of the well-to-do, and the beauty of its parks.

I saw Everyone Says I Love You with about fifty other people. Some of them were middle-age, but most were college students who had come in pairs. The theater looked like it could have been part of a ballroom, with its high ceiling and wood crossbeams. Pillars rise to meet the crossbeams, and appeared to be made of marble. Both the crossbeams and the pillars have intricate carvings, which are overlaid in gold. A deep red, patterned carpeting (the same as the floor) hangs in between the pillars on the walls. Lights, which have a gas/oil lamp look, protrude from the walls. The seats were narrow and not particularly comfortable. Overall, the Downer is much nicer than most modern theaters, and has a fancy, formal feel which is in line with its art-film selections and sophisticated patrons.

Arthur Freed was the master of the movie-musical. Everyone Says I Love You has the look and feel of a Freed classic, only that it is set in modern times. This is precisely why it was so enjoyable to watch. I imagine that if Freed could see this movie today, he would either be extremely proud of it or be trying to choke Allen to death!

Mordechai Cohen
HS 495U Musical Theater
Professor Dyskow
31 January 1997

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