In Woody Allen's film Scoop, he re-teams with his new muse Scarlett Johansson for a caper about a journalism student traveling abroad who happens upon a clue from beyond the grave which could have ramifications on an ongoing case involving a serial killer.
Vaudevillian humor, mistaken identity devices, and romance are fused together into a story focused on anxiety and identity. There is anxiety about self--whether at the beginning of adulthood, or at the end of life, anxiety about the people you grow close to, anxiety about how you are perceived, and anxiety about losing someone you love. The subject of identity shadows Allen (playing a two-bit magician entertaining in London) and Johnansson (following a lead given to her by a just-deceased newspaperman) as they represent themselves falsely to others in an effort to uncover the true identity of Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), the possible killer.
Scoop is entertaining, clever, and unique, but the strong romantic feelings expressed between Johansson's Sondra Pransky and Jackman's Peter Lyman, seem false. There is no spark or magic, no evidence to accept they are falling for each other, and no desire on my part to see them succeed in love. I was far more compelled by Allen and Johansson's relationship. Johansson plays effectively against type (see buxom blonde femme fatale) as a youthful, earnest, and unglamourous sort but she stumbles out of the gate with her Woody Allen impersonation. She's much better once she settles into her character and begins to act naturally, and not like Woody.
Scoop is interesting and well-paced, with just enough dramatic tension to hold your interest. It aims to be funny, but is merely in the spirit of humor--as I never laughed. In the end, the movie is less about the resolution than the journey. Grade: B-
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