Review – Mighty Aphrodite

When I started watching this movie I was in no mood for a comedy. Further, Annie Hall notwithstanding, I generally don’t get more than a mild chuckle out of Woody Allen under the best of circumstances. So when he busted out the Greek chorus doing Allen’s usual shtick, my first reaction was “aw, c’mon.” Oddly enough, the gimmick grew on me. Likewise the plot should have been off-putting. Allen plays the usual New York nerd, this time on a quest to find the mother of his extremely bright, adopted son. When he discovers that she’s a beautiful but dim-witted prostitute, high jinks ensue. I should have hated it. But there’s something sorta charming about the whole thing, particularly Mira Sorvino’s performance as the female lead. She should have won awards just for spending an hour talking in that ridiculous Betty Boop voice. Though I suspect Woody Allen “purists” won’t regard this as his finest moment, I got a smile or two out of it. Mildly amusing