Magic in the Moonlight

2014
PG-13
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

72K

YOUR RATING

Colin Firth and Emma Stone in Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.

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Comedy Drama Romance

A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.A romantic comedy about an Englishman brought in to help unmask a possible swindle. Personal and professional complications ensue.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

72K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination

Trivia
Wei Ling Soo, Stanley's on-stage persona, is a reference to Chung Ling Soo, the stage name of William Ellsworth Robinson (1861-1918), a popular magician in the U.S. and Europe for many years. Chung Ling Soo also tried to debunk spiritualists, and even wrote a book about it in 1898. A major difference is how carefully the men protect their Chinese personas. In this movie, people seem to be aware of Stanley's role as Wei Ling Soo. Robinson, very careful to protect his stage persona, lived as Chung, never breaking character while in public. He died on March 24, 1918 when a bullet catch trick went wrong. "My God, I've been shot!" were his last words and the first English words he had spoken on stage in nineteen years.

Goofs
In the first scene, during Wei Ling Soo's performance, the Chinese words on the backdrop are simplified Chinese characters, which were introduced in 1935 and not officially used in mainland China until the mid-1950s.

Quotes
Stanley: I can't forgive you, only God can forgive you.
[He begins to walk out the door]
Sophie: But you said there is no God.
Stanley: [stopping and turning for effect] Precisely my point.

Connections
Featured in Half in the Bag: 2014 Movie Catch-up: Part 1 (2014)

Soundtracks
You Do Something To Me
Composed by Cole Porter
Performed by Leo Reisman and His Orchestra
Courtesy of RCA Records by arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User reviews203

Review

Featured review

7/10

Pleasantly delightful... or delightfully pleasant

I find all of woody allen flicks interesting. Always an interesting subject no matter how good bad ugly great the movie is. This new one is no exception.

MITM is a totally pleasant whimsical delight... the actors are charming especially Emma Stone and Eileen Atkins as Colin Firth's aunt.

The humor is very light... whimsy is a good term... is it funny? For me NO... but it's also not unfunny. It's just this one long smile.

The scenery is gorgeous.

The story is smart hidden in a cute jacket.

The age difference between the two is maybe a tad much but the rom in this romcom is not the leading factor... at least for most of it. Maybe a Colin Firth from 15 years ago would have been a better lead but unless Woody has access to that time travel device in Midnight In Paris that was not an option.

As with some other Allen films there is a turn in direction at some point. Won't give anything away. Your enjoyment of the movie might hinge on how you feel after it goes after this point.

For me it may have lingered around too long towards the end.

Firth is good and likable but I did find some of his character's decisions to be too abrupt. But maybe that's just me. And some of his duologue felt a bit rushed and acted.

I wouldn't personally rank this as one of his recent greats like Paris, Jasmine, Match Point or VCB... but it's a fun summery concoction of scenery, whimsy and costumes.