It's tempting to look at this fairly lightweight 1993 comedy mystery as a bookend for Woody Allen and Diane Keaton after his Mia Farrow years. After all, as a long-married Upper West Side couple, they rekindle their natural chemistry like no time has passed at all since 1977's "Annie Hall" and 1979's "Manhattan". That's the primary but not the only joy to be derived from watching this often hilarious cat-and-mouse tale.
As they see their son (a young Zach Braff) off to college, Carol and Larry Lipton have become mired in a routine marital routine until Lillian House, an elderly neighbor, suddenly dies. It appears to be a heart attack, but Carol suspects foul play involving Lillian's husband. Most of the plot has Carol sleuthing for clues to fit her Agatha Christie-like murder theory with the help of Ted, a friend too close for Larry's comfort. Of course, Larry thinks Carol is going off the deep end and becomes jealous of Ted's burgeoning involvement in the case. Enter Marcia Fox, a glamorous, crafty writer who devises creative ways to unearth the killer (the pre-recorded phone conversation scene is a hoot), and you have romantic complications mixed up chaotically with the mystery. Naturally the shenanigans enliven the Lipton marriage.
Co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, reunited years after those first two classic Allen-Keaton films, this is all fun stuff and a great excuse for the filmmaker to pay tribute to favorite classics like "The Thin Man", "Rear Window" and "The Lady from Shanghai". Allen is Allen as Larry, a good thing here, and Keaton is her breezy energetic self as Carol. Again using his unctuous personality to advantage, Alan Alda plays Ted like the talkative friend you don't quite trust. Ideally cast, Angelica Huston is at her cunning best as Marcia. Carlo DiPalma's cinematography is a bit too shaky for my taste especially when the details of the characters' clandestine actions are divulged. But the other Allen touches are in check here, and the result is an ingratiating entertainment. The DVD came out in 1998 and consequently has none of the extras we have come to expect from more recent releases.
As they see their son (a young Zach Braff) off to college, Carol and Larry Lipton have become mired in a routine marital routine until Lillian House, an elderly neighbor, suddenly dies. It appears to be a heart attack, but Carol suspects foul play involving Lillian's husband. Most of the plot has Carol sleuthing for clues to fit her Agatha Christie-like murder theory with the help of Ted, a friend too close for Larry's comfort. Of course, Larry thinks Carol is going off the deep end and becomes jealous of Ted's burgeoning involvement in the case. Enter Marcia Fox, a glamorous, crafty writer who devises creative ways to unearth the killer (the pre-recorded phone conversation scene is a hoot), and you have romantic complications mixed up chaotically with the mystery. Naturally the shenanigans enliven the Lipton marriage.
Co-written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, reunited years after those first two classic Allen-Keaton films, this is all fun stuff and a great excuse for the filmmaker to pay tribute to favorite classics like "The Thin Man", "Rear Window" and "The Lady from Shanghai". Allen is Allen as Larry, a good thing here, and Keaton is her breezy energetic self as Carol. Again using his unctuous personality to advantage, Alan Alda plays Ted like the talkative friend you don't quite trust. Ideally cast, Angelica Huston is at her cunning best as Marcia. Carlo DiPalma's cinematography is a bit too shaky for my taste especially when the details of the characters' clandestine actions are divulged. But the other Allen touches are in check here, and the result is an ingratiating entertainment. The DVD came out in 1998 and consequently has none of the extras we have come to expect from more recent releases.