Café Society Reviews

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have been following Woody Allen’s career for more than 20 years, I was still quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, even this movie wasn’t one of his worst, it wasn’t one of his best either. I mean, the whole thing was pretty neat to look at and it was probably one of his most gorgeous movies visually speaking (I’m not surprised that it turned out to be his most expensive movie so far). Unfortunately, even if the story was not completely boring, it was borderline weak and even lazy. For example, I thought there was some dramatic curve missing. Indeed, first, you get to see the main character going to Hollywood and, without too much effort, he gets a decent job and a very nice girl. Then, he goes to New York and, again, without too much effort, he gets an even better job and another very nice girl. Even later on when he meets again his former love, still nothing really dramatic occurred. At least, Jesse Eisenberg was a fine choice to play the lead, obviously representing a younger version than Woody Allen, but at least it wasn’t completely unbelievable that such girls like Kristen Stewart or Blake Lively would fall for him. On the other hand, I think it was the first time I saw Kristen Stewart playing in a period piece and, to be honest, she wasn’t really convincing. To make things worse, I don’t think that she had much chemistry with either Jesse Eisenberg or Steve Carrell. Concerning Carrell, I guess he was not bad but he didn’t really impress me either and I wish they stuck with Bruce Willis (who was apparently fired and replaced by Allen) who would have been an interesting choice for this part. Finally, for me, it was pretty much impossible to watch this movie without thinking about the shenanigans in Woody Allen’s private life as he famously married the adopted daughter of his girlfriend. With this movie, it seems that he once again tried to argue that, when you are in love, there is nothing you can do about it and that it can happen to anyone at any moment in time. In this case, he completely downplayed the fact that Vonnie was constantly switching between an older man and his nephew. Seriously, there is not a single moment during which she paused to acknowledge the fact that what she was doing might be slightly messed up. In my opinion, it was rather awkward but it was also quite reminiscent with Allen’s own behavior. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was another forgettable effort from Woody Allen, I guess it is still worth a look but only if you are really interested in this director. 

Thoughts Before Watching This:
1. This will be my first encounter with a Woody Allen film.
2. Not sure why I just never got around to his other stuff yet.
3. It has a decent enough cast.
4. Honestly I don't know much about it, but the plot seems interesting.
5. I swear Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart seem to do well together given they do so many films together.
6. Anyways time to get this show on the road.

Thoughts While Watching This:
1. The way it starts does remind me of films in the 30s.
2. Steve Carell is definitely a much better choice for the role than Bruce Willis would have been.
3. Their family is actually pretty interesting.
4. Mmm Potato Pancakes!
5. Okay that is just too funny.
6. I wonder if those were the real houses or just replicas.
7. Of course!
8. Dang there was no chill with that.
9. The acting is a bit corny sometimes.
10. Because of course it did.
11. If there isn't trouble because of this later then I'll be shocked.
12. Well it happened even quicker than expected.
13. I was wondering when the slip would happen.
14. About time that happened.
15. Fickle-mindedness is so unattractive.
16. At least he got a better deal.
17. Yeah you don't mess with a mobster's family.
18. That's trouble definitely.
19. Kind of bittersweet if you ask me.
20. Oh dang that sucks.
21. Well that was such a simple ending.

Thoughts After Watching This:
1. Honestly I was pretty bored with almost all of it.
2. The only really interesting part of it was the subplot stuff with Ben.
3. The acting was wishy washy.
4. I expected more from Jesse Eisenberg, but it's what I expected from Kristen Stewart.
5. Everything was just so simple.
6. Are all of Woody Allen's films like this?
7. Anyways I just didn't think it was my kind of movie.

If you don't want spoilers, you've probably read too much already.

It's a very well-thought out movie, about arguably a quietly painful experience.

It shows you things that you can learn about lots of topics, from what it's like to hobnob with rich people, what it's like to have friends who are Jews, what the Jazz age was like, why violence and organized crime is part of society, what are the limits of what money can buy you, what is the relationship between youth and age, and whether people ever get what they really want out of life, and probably more.

But ultimately I think whether or not you enjoy the movie or merely respect it but still somehow just wish it to be over, is the relationship you have, the stance you take, towards that romantic melancholy at the end.

I would have rated this movie higher to reflect the respect I have for it, but I also wanted to reflect that it broke my heart. 

I guess I would prefer all that happening to absolute stillness, maybe, but still, somehow, it broke my heart.

You have to choose your stance towards the melancholy at the end where you just have to live with your sadness.