CAFE SOCIETY
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Jeannie Berlin, Ken Stott, Sari Lennick, Stephen Kunken, Corey Stoll, Anna Camp, Blake Lively, Woody Allen
Rating: (M)
Two stars (out of five)
We begin with a bored narrator introducing us to the characters and it comes as a shock to realise that this crochety voice belongs to Allen himself.
The Woody Allen character Bobby is played by Jesse Eisenberg, who does a rather excellent Woody Allen knock-off but totally fails to sell Bobby as a real person.
Bobby hails from New York but has decided to give Hollywood a go.
Luckily for him his Uncle Phil (Steve Carell) is a hot-shot agent who takes him on.
Even more luckily Phil has a charming secretary, Vonnie (Kristen Stewart), who he asks to show his nephew the town.
Bobby is immediately smitten with Vonnie and they start a romance.
However, Hollywood is full of phoneys, and Bobby starts to realise that New York is where he really wants to be.
Back on home turf, Bobby has another useful family connection.
His brother Ben (Corey Stoll) is a gangster who has "acquired" a high-class nightclub.
He takes the awkward Bobby on as manager of the club and Bobby’s new Hollywood gloss makes the club the place to be.
The film ambles along looking great, but being dull until it gets a sudden shot of comedic energy centred on Ben but it is too little too late.
- Christine Powley
