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Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

An unexpected masterpiece

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

A New York girl sets her father (Woody Allen) up with an ugly woman (Julia Roberts) in a shaky marriage while her half sister gets engaged.For the most part, I am a fan of Woody Allen's work. I like the intelligent humor, and although he has gone through a few different phases, he seems to be good in a variety of different ways. This film was claimed to be among the "10 best of 1996" according to several sources.Personally, it may be one of the best of 1996, but I would not put it among Woody's best. Not even among his 10 best. I still liked it, especially the musical number with the ghosts. Nice touch. And this is the sort of role we never see Edward Norton in (but probably should). But it just was not as good as some of Woody's other work, and a bit of it seemed forced. The Republican kid was just too much of a caricature to even really be funny.

Woody Allen directing a musical and having stars who you wouldn't associate as singers initially could cause alarm bells, but I found Everyone Says I Love You much better than expected if not among Allen's best(a long way from his worst though). The film looks great with skilled photography and a great use of three of the world's most beautiful cities, New York in springtime looks enchanting here and Venice and Paris look breath-taking too. The songs are very pleasant and work really well within the film, Looking at You stood out as my personal favourite, not surprising seeing as it is Cole Porter. The production numbers and choreography are neither overblown or amateurish, not quite classic musical standard and a little silly at times but really enjoyable stuff. Highlights were the dancing ghosts in the funeral scene, the dancing number on the banks of the Seine and the Marx Brothers-like ending, it is not everyday when you see Goldie Hawn levitating either. The dialogue is toned down from what you usually expect from Woody Allen, not as blunt or as savage(as seen in Deconstructing Harry, which I consider Allen's last masterpiece), but it is still as sparkling and witty. The story is very warm and charming while showing a good amount of interesting insight on relationships, remarkably also it could be seen as one of Allen's most accessible. There are a few neurotic characters, particularly Allen's and Edward Norton's, but the characters mostly are quite likable compared to other Allen films(not that that is a bad thing). The singing is not amazing(wasn't particularly impressed by Julia Roberts or the dubbed singer for Drew Barrymore) but very little of it is bad either, Alan Alda has the best singing of the cast which added to Looking at You being a highlight. The performances are great, though Natalie Portman and Billy Crudup are under-used. Allen directs most assuredly and his performance comes off well. Goldie Hawn is good too and while he is a rather awkward dancer Ed Norton sports a not bad singing voice, but the best performances come from Alan Alda, Natasha Lyonne and a hilarious Tim Roth(who could have had more to do). Overall, a different film from Allen and while not one of his best, considering how films having directors who try to do something different generally have very mixed results, Everyone Says I Love You came off surprisingly excellently. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I'm not a fan of Woody. Among 325 movies i watched so far, only one comes from him and it was terribly dull. Beyond, i don't like the buzz heard each year about his new movie because he seems to be a industrial brand. However, Stephen King who faces the same critic has a good answer : if they can release so much, it's because they work the same. Nevertheless, i couldn't stand also that his movies star the most talked actress of the moment. But there, he has himself the perfect answer: he paid them. Finally, I picked up this movie because Natalie plays in it, and i must say this was an excellent moment.The movie is split between three romantic cities (New York, Paris and Venise) and the choice for a daily diary is always interesting. Woody is really funny here as an anguished but sweet father (i was one day compared to him for that). His romance with Julia is depicted with truth. Natalie and her big family are attaching. As the movie is a musical, I suppose i have to speak my opinion about it. For me, the songs and dance suck because they are not classic tunes (at last for me)and they just stop the story. However, the ballet at the Seine banks is poetic.In conclusion, if this wealthy family is faraway of most people life, they form a united one and they bring us an happy moment.

As an incredible affinity with nostalgic populism has been a recurring theme throughout his expansive career, the melding of a 1930s inspired musical and Woody Allen does not seem to be as unorthodox an idea as one might expect. However, in typical form, Allen proves far more interested in pursuing his own whimsical train of thought and interest than pursuing a topic along conventional expectations, opting for a 'musical' more reflexive about the role of the musical as a genre than concentrating on itself as a new entry into the genre. The result, Everyone Says I Love You, subsequently proves to be one of Allen's most silly, experimental, self-indulgent, and yet delightfully enjoyable films.While initial inspection would find criticism in the lacklustre singing and dancing efforts of his primary cast, it becomes clear over time than Allen's film attempts to harness the inspirational impact of the musical and the role it plays within the lives of the general public, particularly as a tool for inner expression. Through intentionally casting 'non-singers' (rumour has it than Allen neglected to inform any of the cast the film was a musical until after they were cast), the film achieves a naturalistic feel, as if providing real people with the sudden opportunity for cathartic song and dance in a way excluded from 'real life', thus exposing them and their inner workings as characters. And it is this methodology that brings the film to life, providing a unique spin on an otherwise familiar Allen narrative of a web of quirky yet credible individuals weaving in and out of each other's lives and relationships, suggesting the fluidity of romance and human nature. However, as always, Allen is less interested in ascribing judgement on his characters as simply observing them in action (although there is an amusingly tongue-in-cheek subplot satirizing the film's young republican character which unwinds in a hilariously contentious fashion). Everyone Says I Love You ends up exploring the inevitability of the contradictions and lapses in judgement of human nature, leaving each new weave of the plot largely bereft of directorial moral guiding and all the more human because of it. Though the title may suggest a comment on the devaluing of emotional excesses regarding love, Allen's film never trivializes or languishes on love, but merely presents it as a universal human concern, his fluffy approach belying a more credibly sweet interior (the film's ending riverside dance sequence stands out as one of the more quiet, poignant and beautiful climaxes in recent cinema). That said, the film at heart remains more of an experimental exploration than firmly quality film, as Allen's script lacks the zing and wit of many of his more assured works, lagging somewhat midway through, and the entire film has a highly cobbled together, incohesive and somewhat amateurish feel (whether or not this fits with Allen's intent at naturalism remains up for debate). In addition, Allen sometimes gets a little too silly for his own good (a song and dance number with ghosts in a funeral home is really pushing it), though he never quite gets carried away enough to lose track of his intent or film as a singular entity.Regardless of what they may lack in vocal credentials, the film's cast certainly excels in terms of performance. Drew Barrymore masters the sweetness, innocence yet unpredictability of a somewhat naïve young woman in love, and Edward Norton is a scream as her thoroughly wholesome yet vaguely self-centred fiancé (their prospective engagement scene in a restaurant, with Norton essaying his best neurotic Allen impression in the midst of growing chaos, is likely the film's most hilarious moment). Allen himself finds an entirely appropriate role for himself without taking over the narrative, toning down his eccentricities for the role of a man attempting to reconstruct his entire life in the image of his prospective lover's ideals, and is fully convincing and lovably pathetic in the process. As said romantic interest, Julia Roberts is left with little material to work with, but channels a fitting sense of grounded yearning nonetheless. Alan Alda is hilarious as the central family's sweetly outspoken patriarch, threatening to steal the show on multiple occasions, Goldie Hawn is somewhat underused yet both witty and touching as his wife (and Allen's ex-wife). Tim Roth steals the show with a far too brief part as an unbalanced, recently released convict, and a young Natalie Portman excels at credibly conveying teenage yearning for love without lapsing into cliché. While an undeniably whimsical entry into the Allen canon, Everyone Says I Love You remains a thought-provoking and thoroughly charming (albeit somewhat clumsy) film easily worth experiencing for those beguiled by musicals as much as musical lovers.-8/10