$*$ Scoop Blu ray

"Scoop" is a mystery/comedy/romance written and directed by Woody Allen and released in 2006. Scarlett Johansson stars as Sondra Pransky, a geeky college journalist vacationing in England. She gets a tip from the ghost of a dead newsman (Ian McShane) on the identity of a local serial killer and proceeds to team up with bumbling magician Sid Waterman (Woody Allen); the tip leads them to the rich son of a prominent lord, Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), with whom Sondra unintentionally starts to fall in love. Is Lyman the murderer or isn't he?



Although fantastical and somewhat goofy, "Scoop" is first and foremost a mystery and I did enjoy trying to figure out if Peter Lyman is the "Tarot Card killer." In the story we perceive Peter Lyman largely through the lens of Sondra, who is falling in love with the guy; hence, the viewer warms up to him and doesn't want him to be a notorious killer.



"Scoop" is a comedy but not in the laugh-out-loud sense of, say, "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective"; it's mildly amusing, witty and fun but not laugh-out-loud funny, so if you're looking for the latter don't bother.



The three stars and their chemistry are a highlight. I enjoyed the team-up of Woody (Sid) & Scarlett (Sondra) and their surrogate father/daughter relationship. I knew when I saw "The Horse Whisperer" that Scarlett would grow up to be one of cinema's leading beauties, and so she is! Scarlett was 21 while filming "Scoop" and plays against type; and she does it quite well. The film is worth catching solely for her, just don't expect any raunch or t&a exploitation (although she does have a one-piece bathing suit scene and a nightie scene, which are both rather modest).



Hugh Jackman is a great modern masculine actor, of course, and he does fine here, although I couldn't help wondering if long metal claws would suddenly shoot out of his knuckles!



The London and English countryside locations are nice eyecandy.



The runtime is 96 minutes.



BOTTOM LINE: This is my first Woody Allen film so I'm not familiar with his répertoire and therefore can't compare "Scoop" with his other movies. With this in mind, "Scoop" may not be great or even really good, it is an enjoyable mystery/comedy highlighted by a good cast and locations. "Scoop" doesn't aspire or claim to be anything more and, on that level, I liked it. I enjoyed the characters, their story, the creative zany elements (e.g. crossing the River Styx with the Grim Reaper) and the mounting mystery.
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