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Good movie but grossly overrated

Fantastic!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting in this movie is really good.

What's wrong with a director who cast himself in nearly every film he made? Nothing if your name is or was Charles Chaplin, Clint Eastwood or Gene Kelly. But in case of Woody Allen there's definitely a problem. He always cast himself in a role of a character he wishes to be. In Mighty Aphrodite he plays a sport journalist married with a pretty wife (Helena Bonham Carter) who is a designer. For sure it's a frustration for Allen to be born in a body that is anything but athletic and it's clear that he imagined this character to compensate for his physical shortcomings. A role as a real sportsman would be totally unbelievable so let's make it a sport journalist! At one day Lenny (Allen) en Amanda (Bonham Carter) decides to adopt a baby, or in fact Amanda takes the decision. After a couple of years their marriage is in trouble and Lenny starts a search for the biological mother of the toddler. As a viewer you're not sure what the reason is. He suspects Amanda of cheating on him so maybe he is looking for revenge or to raise his son with the woman he's looking for. Or it is just his midlife crisis. After some research he finds out that the mother of his adopted son is a hooker and porn star by the name of Linda Ash who also lives in New York. He approaches her as a customer but instead of having sex with her he tries to talk her into a more decent life. Of course Linda is very wary about Lenny's approach after the experiences she has with men but he succeed to win her trust and actually gets her out of her job and into a hairdresser training. In fact he is so concerned about her welfare that he tries to find her a decent man. Then it all goes wrong: he thinks he's right about the cheating of his wife and the man he thinks is a very good husband for Linda finds out about her porn career.When both Lenny and Linda are at a low point in their lives they found comfort in each other and even end up in bed. But Lenny returns to Amanda who also decides that the lover who is after her isn't worth the end of her marriage.So not only gives Allen himself a role very close to something athletic he also give himself a marriage to the beautiful Bonham Carter and a good night with Mira Sorvino who plays Linda Ash. Not total unbelievable wasn't it for the fact that he portrays Lenny as a total neurotic and klutz. For a person who has a very social job and has a marriage which give him a lot of contacts in the art scene his clumsiness is far overdone. The scene where he first enters the apartment of Linda is so shamefully bad acted that it is painful to watch. Just like the scene where he tries to convince the pimp to keep his hands of Linda.Not to say that this is a bad movie. Allen good be quite funny here and he brings a brilliant idea to the script. An antic Greek choir which (with the assistance of some of the Greek gods) give comment on the story and the characters and on some occasions try to interrupt and talk Lenny out of his plans. This idea give the film a light tone against the neurotic acting by Allen and the heavy themes like abortion, prostitution and divorce. As a viewer you wonder when the real reason for Lenny's interest in Linda comes to the surface. That this didn't happen is a bit of disappointment because you're curious about the reaction of the two women in Lenny's life. But it also fits in the light mood of the film.So Allen puts a lot of good ideas in Mighty Aphrodite but it's a pity nobody convinces him to hire a good casting agency for the role of Lenny.

Woody Allen stars in his latest picture that he also wrote and direct as Lenny, a New York sportswriter bored by his wife and attracted to a hooker that happens to be the mother-though she doesn't know it-of his adopted son in this film,Mighty Aphrodite.Together in the cast with Allen are Woody Allen,Mira Sorvino,Helena Bonham Carter,Michael Rapaport and F. Murray Abraham.Lenny is trapped in a bad marriage to high-strung art dealer Amanda, but he finds solace in his relationship with his adopted young son. Indeed, he grows so fond of the boy that he decides to track down the boy's real mother, expecting to discover a brilliant professional. Instead, he finds Linda, a ditzy prostitute and porno star who mingles casual vulgarity with disarming innocence. Despite his initial disillusionment, Lenny soon develops a fondness for Linda and decides to play matchmaker, setting her up with a handsome young boxer who is equally good-hearted and scatterbrained. While the contrast between the free-spirited Linda and the uptight Lenny provides the bulk of the laughs, hints of Allen's more literary humor are also present, particularly in the scenes involving a roaming Greek chorus commenting upon Lenny's fate.This is a surprisingly sweet and brilliant film with great performances particularly that from Mira Sorvino,who portrayed a bubble-headed hooker and porn star.It has a nice combination of smart comedy and some of wacky energy.It is a delight to watch.

Since I madly ADORE Woody Allen films, it will be considered very biased and redundant of me to write a review for this film and fill it up with eulogies no end.But even so, after so many reviews, much earlier than mine (I just saw this film, having missed it I don't know why) and also much better than mine, I still want to say that I loved it, although I found it a rehash of some previous films of his, but the charm is there, New York is there, his characters are always meaty and in this case, Mira Sorvino creates a Tsunami of sorts with her 'Linda Ash' impersonation, as forceful a creation as the one given by Giulietta Massina, that unforgettable 'Gelsomina', for "La Strada", that Fellini masterpiece of yesteryear.To me, her interpretation is worth a TEN stars (not the film though)I didn't care much for the Greek Chorus... Could I have been prejudiced by the raggedy look of their costumes? they seemed to have been made with dirty dishcloths while the performers were waiting for them to be put together by rushed and long-suffering seamstresses, seating on those steps (here one seats and seats...) where they performed their musical numbers.If you saw a prehistoric movie: "Down to Earth" (1940s) with Rita Hayworth, the Choruses costumes were... HEAVENLY! These ones looked out of "The Planet of the Apes", Yuk!But in general it's a fun movie to watch.

A cute, solid Woody Allen comedy that's not as good as many of the comedies that came before but is worlds better than many that came after.Allen plays a sports writer who goes searching for the mother of his adopted son, only to find that she's a prostitute. Played by Mira Sorvino, this character is one of Allen's most delightful creations, a Judy Holliday with a foul mouth. In fact, this is one of Allen's raunchier movies, but it's also one of his sweetest. Sorvino walks a tightrope between dingy and heartbreaking that deservedly won her an Oscar.Allen uses a Greek chorus to comment on the action throughout the film, populated with famous actors like Olympia Dukakis, F. Murray Abraham and Jack Warden. It's a typical Allen gimmick, but it wears thin after a while.Grade: A-