neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion
	Woody Allen Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Charlize Theron, Dan Aykroyd 2001 Widescreen		With its carefully executed period art direction and jaunty, old-timey jazz soundtrack, writer/director/star Woody Allen's latest comedy is a return to a more innocent time, much like his "Radio Days." Set in 1940, "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" pits bullheaded New York insurance investigator and skirt-chaser C.W. Briggs (Allen) against his office's new efficiency expert Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), an attractive woman secretly sleeping with the boss (Dan Aykroyd). Betty Ann detests C.W.'s indolent attitude; C.W. considers Betty Ann a ball-breaking meddler. If Allen was going for romantic antagonism in the tradition of Tracy and Hepburn, he never achieves that level of wit and sophistication. The plot, such as it is, involves a scheming nightclub hypnotist and a series of bold robberies. Charlize Theron is hot as a femme fatale modeled on Veronica Lake, but the movie is underdone. If only it was as engaging as "Radio Days" or even as comical as Allen's minor recent effort, "Small Time Crooks."