Gurlyndrobb
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Adeel Hail
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
moonspinner55
In late-1960s upstate New York, an elderly writer and his wife, as well as their impressionable houseguest who's about to be married, are all given a crash-course in political radicalization by a young woman on the run from the police and FBI. She's of the Constitutional Liberation Army, rebelling against the Vietnam War, imperial fascism and the U.S. government; the wife, an acquaintance of the girl's grandmother, invites her to stay in their house against her husband's wishes until she can escape to Cuba. Writer-director Woody Allen's six-episode series for Amazon Studios (each installment lasting about 23 minutes) is one of the loosest, craziest projects the filmmaker has delivered in a long time. He's assembled an unusual cast, including Elaine May as his spouse and Miley Cyrus as the radical. The series has some lapses in timing and occasionally a geriatric pace (this is a white-haired Woody Allen whose character wears a hearing aid, after all); nevertheless, the funny one-liners are there and the characters are colorful and ingratiating. Allen publicly commented on how surprised he was at the work involved in seeing this project through, and yet he has another film for Amazon on the way.
Strega Granger
First reason is that this is the first and the last Wood Allen series ever, so it should be watched just to see what it is about and how it has been made. But remember, if you are not a Woody Allen fan you better skip it and save you suffering; although the series is really short, just 6 episodes of 20 minutes each, meaning that in 3 hours you are done with it.Keeping up with the style, this series takes place in the 60s and the two main characters are the old couple played by Wood Allen himself and Elaine May, who by the way are really hilarious in their roles, as we are used in his films. They play and old married couple, she more receptive to changes and he is against changes, the perfect combination. Then, their life is changed when Miley Cyrus character appears, a hippie against Vietnam War, and then the couple's world in completely changed.The series has its funny moment, some understandable some a bit more unrealistic, but nonetheless funny. It has also drama, because we must not forget the topics that are discussed and shown in the background (it's the sixties, Vietnam War, Peace and Love….) are something that were daily matters on the age of change.It must not be his best work; no "Annie Hall" in here, but it is also not his worst; I still can recover myself after that "Vicky, Christina, Barcelona" thing. It is just a longer movie that you can pause every 20 minutes.
Charles Herold (cherold)
I liked the first scene in this series, with Woody Allen getting a haircut from an insulting barber. And throughout this series, there are really funny bits, like Miley Cyrus sleep talking in front of the police, or a couple debating their unusual approach to sex, or an elderly book club expressing its radicalism. Between these funny scenes are less funny ones. There is a lot of typical Allen dialogue with two people just talking about politics. The story takes a couple of episodes to get going and has a lot of filler, but I think you could edit this into a solid 90-minute movie. I don't know why Allen decided to make this into a mini- series, though; he clearly only had enough material for a movie.The cast varies. Elaine May is great, Allen is fine, and Miley Cyrus is ...I'm honestly not sure what to make of Cyrus. I know she was an actress in some tween sitcom or something, but I thought she was just kind of unlikable. To some extent, this is because she's playing a left-wing radical who spouts a bunch of left-wing clichés. But one character describes her as charismatic, and she really isn't. It's hard to believe in her as someone who could radicalize those around her.The thing is, she's a lot like a character like this would be. She's unpleasant, self-centered, has a deep, shouty voice, and exhibits little personality beyond zeal for the cause. And I think her character would work really well in some gritty drama about a group of obnoxious radicals on the run. But I feel she just doesn't work at all in this part. I don't know if it's her acting, or Allen's direction, but she just doesn't work.I don't mean to suggest that a better casting would make this series all that much better, although it would help a little. I just find this an interesting example of miscasting.Should you watch this? I would say don't bother unless you're an Allen completionist, but it's pretty watchable, and if you're a fan of one of the stars or just want to catch the series' occasional good bits, go for it.
drednm
This 6-part series has it's ups and downs in a story about a sedate couple (Woody Allen and Elaine May) in the 1960s who get thrust into a world of radical politics when a fugitive (Miley Cyrus) breaks into their suburban home one evening. Over the course of the 6 episodes she radicalizes everyone in sight, including May's old-lady book club, while verbally jousting with Allen and stealing his fig newtons.Co-stars include Joy Behar, John Magaro, Rachel Brosnihan, Lewis Black, Michael Rappaport, Deborah Rush, Christine Ebersole, Rebecca Schill, Margaret Ladd, Judy Gold.Builds to an hilarious final episode that recalls the Marx Brothers.Certainly worth a look.
