Plot Outline: In the game of tennis, the ball hits the net, and can fall either way – in your favor, or in your oppponents’ favor. Life is all about circumstance -“luck” – and that’s the premise of the latest Woody Allen movie (yes, it’s a Woody Allen movie like nothing else he’s ever done;this is a good thing) about a former tennis pro (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) who falls for a naughty gold-digger type (Scarlett Johansson) who happens to be dating his best friend (Matthew Goode) that is about to become his brother-in-law. Meyers is engaged to Goode’s sister (Emily Mortimer). Got all that? Great. Because what you won’t get is why we don’t care about these characters when the situation turns “Unfaithful”. While the movie’s actors deliver stellar performances, we scratch our heads in bewilderment as we go from one non-sympathetic scene to the next. These are twenty-something rich, spoiled hotshots with their entire lives ahead of them. How much jeopardy can they really be in? And who cares! Just get divorced and move on to the next situation. So they’re trapped in the tragedy of being too rich and deciding between love and money. We should all have such problems. There is no “Fatal Attraction” reality or a history of mortgages, children, risk, or earned clout. Instead we get a bunch of British brats whose savings accounts are financed by daddy’s paychecks. Which could also certainly cover their alimony without blinking an eye. In the end, after the big event that turns the story, Allen returns to “luck” for its explanation. Two tiaras.
