Crisis in Six Scenes

"Crisis in Six Scenes" is a lot of fun.

Woody is just as sharp and hilarious as he's ever been (today, in our embattled world, we need his genius and wit more than ever), and he's ably abetted by another legend, Elaine May, who is also in top form. Miley Cyrus, also turns in a wonderful performance: Allen's trademark dialogue is great when he's saying it himself, but it can sometimes sound a little stilted when it comes from other actors, but Cyrus totally sells it and makes her proto-Patty Hearst-esque character believable and real.

If there's a problem with "Crisis," is that it's a hilarious ninety-minute Woody Allen movie that's been stretched out to two-and-a-half hours, to equal the running time of a six-episode streaming series, and it kind of peters out somewhere around episode four. The fault, I think, isn't with Woody Allen, but with the Amazon streaming service that required him to add unnecessary length, and to wit, the show is padded out with a few dialogue scenes that seem long and/or repetitive.

(The script also has some anachronisms in it, and in that regard, maybe Allen should have given it one more pass through the typewriter: Elaine May invites her friends over to participate in her "book club," but the series takes place in the late '60s before book clubs became popular, and these women would have probably been more inclined to play bridge or mah-jongg; Woody and Elaine's house is alarmed, but this wouldn't happen in those days, because people back then used to routinely keep their doors unlocked; there's also a scene in which Woody pitches an idea to a network, but I'm not sure if this kind of pitch meeting was commonplace back then; and in another scene, Woody and his agent dine at a deli, and the agent has ordered a taco, which I'm pretty sure you wouldn't see in NYC in the late sixties.)

On the trite "1 to 10 scale," I give "Crisis in Six Scenes" a six, because it's got a lot of filler in it, but if Allen ever decides to whittle it down to ninety minutes, there is definitely a solid "9" or "10" hiding inside of it.

I absolutely loved this. Everything starts a little slow, but the pacing increases up to the last episode, where everything becomes really fun and with a great rhythm (really laughing out loud in the end... I don't remember the last time I did like that watching a comedy)... like one of the most messed up movies of Allen from the 70s, but with less nonsense. I can't understand the bad reviews. Maybe it's because I'm an Allen fan (but not an "hardcore one"), maybe it's because I'm 40, maybe the italian dub was way better than the real actors (it was good, but not amazing...)... I don't know. It's not a movie, so you won't find that kind if production values. It's not a huge series with hundreds of episodes (game of thrones, breaking bad...). It's a sort of "theatrical" movie. I registered on IMDB just to post this review.

But I definitely hate Miley Cyrus, she doesn't fit in any good movie (series).

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.

I'm a Woody Allen fan, but I wasn't sure what to expect when I read some of the reviews. Now that I'm finished, I honestly can say that I don't understand why this got slammed by the critics. Is it on the level of Annie Hall? Of course not. But I thought it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Woody Allen's character is very Woody Allen and fun to watch him fumbling around. Elaine May and her gaggle of book club friends are amusing, but the funniest scene is with Trooper Mike in the last episode.

I think the weak point is probably Miley Cyrus. I just didn't buy her as Lenny.