DtheRH | Small Time Crooks

Rating:

Richard
Attwood

Small Time Crooks
USA, 2000
[Woody Allen]
Woody Allen, Hugh Grant, Tracey Ullman, Michael Rappaport
Comedy

This is actually the first Woody Allen film I have ever watched, so I was intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently you either love his work or hate it - if that's the case then Small Time Crooks places me firmly in the camp wondering why people pay money to watch his efforts.

The film is split into two distinct parts, the first concerning Allen and his friends trying to tunnel into a bank using his wife's cookie shop as a front location. The second, longer half deals with the Winkler's attempts to adapt to high society after the cookie shop turns into a successful franchise.

The plot is predictable and lightweight, and this is okay if other elements of the film compensate for it. Unfortunately they don't as, despite claiming to be a comedy, only the occasional one-liner raises a chortle. Direction is uninspiring and the camerawork pedestrian, while the acting veers between good and bad throughout the film.

I find Tracy Ullman irritating at the best of times (hear, hear - Matt), so no favours are done when she adopts a New Jersey accent. I found neither her nor Allen's character garnered any sympathy at all, so I could not care less whether they made it to the all-too-predictable conclusion of the film, which although welcome seemed a little rushed.

The main comedy was supposed to stem from how stupid the rest of the cast were, however this cerebral deficiency seemed to be employed when convenient for a laugh, and sometimes the actors seemed uncharacteristically intelligent, especially Allen who clearly struggled to maintain the pretence of stupidity.
So not encouraging as my first foray into the world of Woody, Small Time Crooks is a predictable caper with more flaws than laughs. Hugh Grant was quite good, although he essentially played Hugh Grant.