Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Mighty Aphrodite (1995)

8/07/2022

Mighty Aphrodite (1995) - Sorvino soars in funny Allen dramedy

♥♥♥♥

A Greek-type title font, festive colors and a ridiculous still make up this poster for Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite

Lenny and his wife adopts a child, but as time passes Lenny is struck with curiosity as to the boy's biological heritage. By and by he learns that the mother is a porn actress, whom he now attempts to help.

Mighty Aphrodite is written and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker Woody Allen (What's Up, Tiger Lilly? (1966)), whose 25th feature it is.

The film is an amusing piece of classic Allen for a while; not outstanding but okay. But as it continues it grows funnier, as Allen does his shtick and deals with an outstanding Mira Sorvino (Indiscretion (2016)) as the moving if unintelligent bimbo mother. Later Michael Rapaport (Tom Cool (2009)) is also terrific as a boxer/onion farmer, whom Allen tries to match Sorvino's character with. The idea of the Greek chorus, led by a wonderful F. Murray Abraham (Children of the Revolution (1996)), also grows funnier as time passes.

SPOILER Only Allen gets away with such a blatant Deux-ex-machina solution to his plot as in the ending of Mighty Aphrodite, as Sorvino is swept off her feet by a helicopter pilot. Mighty Aphrodite is a funny story and a warm film.

Café Society (2016) - The greatest living American filmmaker hands us another splendid gem

Irrational Man (2015) - Allen's pleasant morality tale divertisement

2014 in films - according to Film Excess

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - Allen's irresistible French Riviera romance

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2013 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Blue Jasmine (2013) - Allen presenets Blanchett, a woman under the influence

Fading Gigolo (2013) - Turturro's pleasant turn as a high-end NY prostitute (as actor)

To Rome with Love (2012) - Woody Allen's slightest film to date

2011 in films - according to Film Excess

Midnight in Paris (2011) - Allen's zany (and a little depressing) crowd-pleaser

Cassandra's Dream (2007) - Allen's well-laid but inconsequentiel English cul-de-sac

Match Point (2005) - Allen takes London with pensive thriller hit

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

Top 10: The best big flop movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Anything Else (2003) - Perfect contemporary relationship comedy

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001) - Allen's hypnotic, noirish shenanigans
Celebrity (1998) or, Stars in New York
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) - Sin and guilt up for laughs and rumination in unspectacular Allen work

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) or, Manhattan Struggles and Wonders
Broadyway Danny Rose (1984) or, Keep Your Heart

Top 10: Best comedies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Annie Hall (1977) or, My Relationship with Alvie Singer

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972) - Allen's curious sex comedy is a riot
Bananas (1971) - Woody Allen's South American misadventure is still a barrel of laughs
Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time (as actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 15 mil. $

Box office: 26 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.73 times its cost)

[Mighty Aphrodite premiered 1 September (Venice Film Festival) and runs 95 minutes. Sorvino reportedly auditioned in New York without getting the part. She then flew to the London audition and went in again, this time in full costume, and won the part. Shooting took place from October - December 1994 in New York, New Jersey and in Italy. The film opened #16 to a 326k $ first weekend in 19 theaters in North America, where it climbed to #11 and 278 theaters, grossing 6.4 mil. $ (24.6 % of the total gross). The film was nominated for 2 Oscars, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Sorvino), and losing Best Original Script to The Usual Suspects by Christopher McQuarrie. It was also nominated for a BAFTA and 2 David di Donatello awards, won a Golden Globe and 2 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Allen returned with Everyone Says I Love You (1996). As an actor he returned in The Sunshine Boys (1996, TV movie) and theatrically in Everyone Says I Love You; Sorvino in Beautiful Girls (1996). Mighty Aphrodite is fresh at 78 % with a 6.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Mighty Aphrodite?

No comments:

Donald Sutherland has passed away

Born in Canada, Sutherland battled polio as a child. His first credit was in Suspense (1963, TV-series) and his first film was The Castle of the Living Dead (1964). Later credits in his remarkable career include The Saint (1965-66), The Dirty Dozen (1967), M*A*S*H (1970), Kelly's Heroes (1970), Klute (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), 1900 (1976), Casanova (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), Ordinary People (1980), A Dry White Season (1989), JFK (1991), Outbreak (1995), Fallen (1998), Virus (1999), Fierce People (2005), Pride & Prejudice (2005), Lord of War (2005), The Hunger Games (2012), The Undoing (2020, miniseries) and many more. He passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Roger Corman has passed away

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Corman had a sprawling, intellectually hungry life as a youth and young man before arriving with his first film in 1955, Five Guns West. He would follow that with titles such as Apache Woman, It Conquered the World, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Teenage Cave Man, A Bucket of Blood, House of Usher, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Intruder, The Raven, The Terror, The Masque of Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, The Wild Angels, The Trip, Bloody Mama and many more. As a producer he was behind almost 500 films. Arguably among the most important filmmakers of the 20th century, Corman passed away at age 98. R.I.P.

William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

Eagerly anticipating this week ... (15-24)