Year:
2001
Studio:
DreamsWorks SKG, VCL
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
0/5
The Curse of the Jade
Scorpion is a Woody Allen film set in 1940 and done in the old
style. It's a comedic crime drama starring Allen as the
smart-mouthed CW Briggs, an insurance investigator with a stellar
record. CW has two problems in his life. The first is the new company
efficiency expert, Betty Ann (Helen Hunt) who he's clashing with
constantly.
The second problem and the main plot of the movie is that a series of
brilliant crimes is being commited and he has no clue who's the
culprit. They're all inside jobs targetting wealthy homes insured by
his company, with security systems installed by his company.
It's a mystery to him but not to the audience. Early on we find out
that stage hypnotist Voltan (David Ogden Stiers), who hypnotized CW and
Betty Ann during stage show, has never relenquished his hold over the
two of them. Voltan has been calling up CW and ordering him to commit
the crimes.
Meanwhile there's a romantic triangle subplot. Betty Ann is having an
affair with company president Chris Magruder (Dan Aykroyd) who keeps
telling her he's going to leave his wife real soon now. Voltan also
hypnotized CW and Betty Ann to be madly in love, but apparently it only
happens when they're under the influence which leads to lots of laughs
since they don't remember what happened while under hypnosis.
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Charlize
Theron appears in the movie as Laura Kensington, I think a screen
actress who is strangely attracted to CW because he spurned her while
under hypnosis. There's also Elizabeth Berkley playing Jill the
secretary.
It's an amusing story with a lot of witty and funny dialogue -- typical
of a Woody Allen film. The plot is rather flimsy but it is a good
example of a period plot. The romantic elements are only barely there
and it sort of ramps up too quickly. The montage scenes are hilarious,
a good part because of the theme music. Overall a nice film to watch.
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