Everyone Says I Love You

A musical performed by people who can’t sing? If anyone but Woody Allen had made Everyone Says I Love You, they would have been burnt at the critical stake but because it is Allen the film actually garnered a good measure of praise. The idea of having ordinary people “sing” as ordinary people do – stylelessly and out of tune  - is an idea with a certain off-kilter charm, especially when the songs are classics from the 20s and 30s, but the reality is far from charming particularly when set in the context of a rambling plot about the carryings-on of a tediously vacuous gaggle of wealthy Manhattanites.

There are the occasional moments but they are few and far between (my favourite is Woody's imitation of Groucho, complete with false eyebrows, and mustache but his own nose - it shows his comic pedigree so well) and there are plenty of terrific tunes, nicely arranged by Allen team regular, Dick Hyman) but unless you derive some pleasure from non-singing actors like Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore and even Allen himself strangling them (which surprisingly is commonly cited as one of the film's charms) this will require forbearance, even from die-hard Allen fans. And, of  course Woody sets himself up for a snog with Julia Roberts who plays an art historian. Like yeah, sure!

 

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