"SCOOP" - A SUPER POOPER

“SCOOP” – A SUPER POOPER

After several decades of prolific, witty, often profound writing and movie-making, up to and including “Match Point,” Woody Allen has hit a wall with “Scoop.” The perennially neurotic but adorable character Allen perfected as a young man in a dozen many films, is barely functional, much less amusing, as a senior citizen. His stumbling speech patterns seem less like anxiety and more like Alsheimers Disease.

The scenes look improvised rather than scripted, with both the direction and the editing fail to highlight what might otherwise have been an interesting plot.

Scarlett Johansan, voluptuous and attractive as ever, simply dies as a college journalist following the trail of a big murder story. As a young temptress she is irresistible, but as a quirky, post-pubescent youngster searching for a straight path she is totally out of place.

Hugh Jackman, as the suspected English murder is . . . handsome.

Not since “Ishtar” have so many stars tried so hard to produce so little.

One foot on either side.

1 XCZR