The Curse of the Jade Scorpion Movie Review 2001

Where can a 65-year-old guy who looks like Woody Allen bag a babe like Helen Hunt? In a Woody Allen movie, that's where. Hunt plays efficiency expert Betty Ann Fitzgerald, who's hired to update the offices of a Manhattan insurance agency where C.W. Briggs (Allen) is the chief investigator, so he and "Fitz" develop an immediate mutual dislike. After several increasingly tedious games of verbal darts, the two are mesmerized by nightclub hypnotist Voltan (Stiers) into believing that they're in love. He also uses hypnotic cues to have C.W. unknowingly pull off jewel heists of his own clients. After a mystery woman (Theron) shows up, C.W. begins to question where he's been and who he's been with late at night and enlists the help of the Coopersmith Brothers (Mulheren and Linari) to help crack the case. Lighter and shallower than most of Allen's work, it's still mostly fun to watch. Soundtrack is chock full of Allen's beloved 40s era jazz and Big Band tunes.

Distribution

DreamWorks SKG, 1000 Flower St., Glendale, CA 91201, Phone: (818)695-5000, Fax: (818)695-7775, URL: http://www.dreamworks.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 103 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Romantic Comedy, Heists, Period Piece: 1940s, New York, New York, Private Eyes, Detective Spoofs, Insurance, You are Getting Sleepy!

Screenplay

Woody Allen

Cast

Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, Charlize Theron, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, John Schuck, Brian Markinson, Michael Mulheren, Peter Linari, Irwin Corey, Peter Gerety

Cinematography

Zhao Fei

Director

Woody Allen

Other

Gary Alper, Alisa Lepselter, Tom Warren, Suzanne McCabe, Santo Loquasto

Producer

Letty Aronson, Dreamworks Pictures