It's a frail, anemic trifle, a five-minute sketch inexcusably drawn out to well over an hour and a half.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001)
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Reviews Counted:122
Fresh:55
Rotten:67
Average Rating:5.2/10
Consensus: The writing for Scorpion is not as sharp as Woody Allen's previous movies as most of the jokes fall flat.
Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Woody Allen's funny, frantic THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION is part screwball romantic comedy, part 1940s noir detective story, and part ingenious heist film. Allen stars as C.W. Briggs, a... Woody Allen's funny, frantic THE CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION is part screwball romantic comedy, part 1940s noir detective story, and part ingenious heist film. Allen stars as C.W. Briggs, a set-in-his-ways old-time insurance investigator who refuses to get along with the bright new efficiency expert, Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), brought in to streamline his office's operations. Their back-and-forth bickering is reminiscent of the interplay between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in HIS GIRL FRIDAY. When a magician, played by the always excellent David Ogden Stiers, hypnotizes them as part of his stage act, Briggs unknowingly becomes a jewel thief while falling in and out of love with the exceedingly more confused Fitz, who is carrying on a secret affair with the married head of the company (Dan Aykroyd). Mayhem ensues as a pair of brother detectives zero in on the criminal, a sexy debutante comes on to Briggs, and Briggs and Fitz start suspecting each other. Production designer Santo Loquasto, who has been working with Allen for more than twenty years, once again has created beautiful sets, and the soundtrack, featuring such 1940s jazz treasures as Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, is simply splendid. [More]
Starring: Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt
Starring: Woody Allen, Dan Aykroyd, Charlize Theron, Helen Hunt, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, Brian Markinson, Professor Corey
Director: Woody Allen
Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
Reviews for The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
While the movie does feel like quintessential Allen fare, it just doesn't have his usual panache.
With this and Small Time Crooks, it's nice to see Allen completely back in form.
This is not Woody’s sharpest writing, and his direction lulls so often that I found myself nodding off. But there are enough funny bits to make you want more.
juxtaposition of these two contrasting acting styles proves unsettling at first, but later queerly entertaining.
[The film] suffers from the Woody Allen curse. It's a malaise of mediocrity that has struck almost all of his recent films.
Little remains after Jade Scorpion is over other than a hazy nostalgic sense for a time that most viewers never knew and that Allen himself was barely old enough to remember.
There are no twists, no surprises, and no really big laughs to elevate this mediocre movie.
Fans of Allen's dorkdom will dig this Curse; others will just fall into a deep, deep sleep.
For those, Woody included, who dream that a snap of the fingers and a single word can solve all relationship problems, Jade Scorpion is definitely the date movie of choice.
Close your eyes when Helen Hunt and Woody Allen are bickering and you're listening to Tracy and Hepburn.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is, flat out, the funniest comedy Woody Allen has made in years.
Woody's direction is typically strong. It's just a shame his script wasn't.
Latest News for The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
June 03, 2005:
Woody Allen Makes a "Match" With DreamWorks
Woody Allen's well-received entry into the Cannes Film Festival, "Match Point," has been snatched up by DreamWorks Pictures for a cool $4 million. Described as much... More...
June 05, 2001:
Hey, if it worked in 2000 with Small Time Crooks (which was Allen's most commercially profitable film ever) maybe it can work this film too. ![]()
More...
June 05, 2001:
Woody returns with another period piece, this one set in the '40s. ![]()
More...
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