Mighty Aphrodite

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Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her performance as a bubbleheaded hooker and porn star who happens to be the mother of a bright young boy adopted by a Manhattan couple (Woody Allen and Helena Bonham Carter). The story finds Allen's sportswriter character becoming curious about the identity of his son's biological mom, and he strikes up a relationship with her without revealing why. This 27th feature written and directed by Allen is a nice combination of smart comedy and some of the wackier energy of his earliest movies. (Between scenes, there's a running gag involving a Greek chorus--actually filmed among some real Greek ruins--who do song-and-dance interpretations of the script's events.) This isn't Allen at his best, but it is a fine minor work graced by Sorvino's spin on the cinema's archetypal dumb blonde. --Tom Keogh

Description

From Oscar(R)-winning writer-director Woody Allen, MIGHTY APHRODITE is a hilarious, romantic comedy set in contemporary New York. "One of the best comedies of the year!" (The Boston Globe) "Mira Sorvino is wonderful!" (Roger Ebert)

Customer Reviews:

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!".......2007-07-29

"Mighty Aphrodite" (1995), Woody Allen's hilarious yet moving and surprisingly optimistic film can be viewed as a modern retelling of the ancient tragedy "Oedipus". Like Oedipus in Sophocles's play who became obsessed with discovering identity of his real parents which led to the most horrifying results, Lenny Weinrib (Allen) wants to find the real mother of his and his wife Amanda's adopted son Max who turned to be a brilliant and incredibly gifted boy. The search brings him to Linda, a small time porn star and a hooker with whom Lenny becomes friends and tries to persuade her to change her life. Mira Sorvino as a naive dumb blonde with a high pitch voice is mighty fine and she more than deserved the Oscar for Best Supporting role. She is convincing and very sweet, and there is not a single wrong note in her acting. Once again, I am fascinated by Allen's ability to work with his actors and to bring the best in them when they perform in his movies. Allen was hilarious trying to resist Sorvino's advances in their first scene together. Not to let us forget that we are in the realm of Greek tra-medy, Allen employs the characters from Greek mythology who comment on and even participate in the events. Among then, the blind seer Tiresias who can see the developing problems in Lenny's marriage better than Lenny himself, "Miss Party Pooper", Cassandra who was cursed to always predict the truth but no one would ever believe her, and the ancient chorus whose leader (Murray Abraham) desperately tries to stop Lenny from finding the truth by begging him in the best traditions of Greek tragedy, "Lenny please don't be a schmuck!" :)

Absolutely boring and pointless.......2007-07-22

I had higher expectations of the film. Usually when an actor or actress wins an academy award, I expect their performance to be oscar worthy. Mira Sorvino's performance was anything but, oscar worthy. I guess she just got lucky, and the academy gave her the oscar for best supporting actress( over Elisabeth Shue, who actually deserved to win for her performance in "Leaving Las Vegas").

The movie is about an old man named Lenny (played by Woody Allen), he is a sportswriter as well. He is married to a younger woman named Amanda (Helena Bonham Carter), they decide to adopt a son. As the son grows older he turns out to be a genius. Lenny soon becomes determined to find out who the birth parents are. He goes through hell to get to it, finally he finds Linda Ash(Mira Sorvino), she is actually a porn-star and a prostitute with a squeaky voice. He can't believe it at first, but as he gets to know her he forms a deep connection with her.

The story also in a way is told in the form of the greek play "Oedipus". I kind of felt that Allen was mocking the greek tragedy and adding his own twist to it. Lenny starts to discuss his options with the people who are acting in the play, it is extremely stupid. Meanwhile, Lenny's marriage is falling apart, as Amanda is cheating on him with another man. Their sexual life is drying up as well. The movie turns out to be pointless, Lenny just tries to get Linda out of her prostitution and into a better life, in a way he succeeds.

The movie was just really pointless. Sorry, but it just a coincedence that I just don't like any movie that Woody Allen stars in, because he is just not a good actor. The only good movie that Woody Allen has ever done-that I think so, is "Match Point". I don't understand why all the top critics such as Roger Ebert, and Los Angeles times, are raving about Sorvino's performance in the film. It wasn't that great. There are so many other memorable performances of actresses that portray prostitutes such as Elisabeth Shue in "Leaving Las Vegas", who lost the oscar for best supporting actress to Sorvino. Kim Basinger's performance in "L.A. Confidential" was great and it was scene stealing as well. She played a prostitute who had a warm heart, she deserved the oscar. Woody Allen, I'm sorry to say is just losing his touch in directing. I don't feel that he was any good to begin with. "Annie Hall", was pretty boring I gotta say. As was several of his other films. Personally, if you're a die-hard Allen fan go for this film. But if you like comedies, and you are curious about how the performance of an oscar winner is, don't see this film. Trust me, it isn't worth it.

One of the Best Later Comedies.......2007-04-26

It's easy to break Woody's directing career into three phases. Early career, which would be the seventies movies with Diane Keaton. The mid-career phase was the eighties and early-nineties, including all of the films with Mia Farrow. And late career would be everything after that, up through the latest films with Scarlett Johansson.

Of the later films, this one is often considered the best--though you could certainly make a case for "Deconstructing Harry," or even "Sweet and Lowdown." This one is certainly the best of his later films that might be called a straight comedy.

Woody's experimented with almost every type of movie: slap stick (Bananas), musical (Everyone Says I Love you), fake biopic (Zelig), Fellini inspired (Stardust Memories), Bergman inspired (Another woman), whodunnit (Manhattan Murder Mystery), etc, etc, etc. On this one he found something truly inspired--he blended the elements of Greek tragedy with a Woody Allen comedy--and it worked.

The story here doesn't have the layers of a film like "Hannah and Her Sisters." It's a comedy about a couple who adopt a child. Woody plays the father, and he becomes obsessed with learning about the child's real mother. After building her up in his mind, he's let down to discover she's a call girl, so he takes it upon himself to make her life better, and comedy ensues.

Mira Sorvino won an Oscar for her role, and there is good supporting performances from F. Murray Abraham and Helena Bonham Carter, but what really makes this movie is the idea of a Greek Chorus narrating the tale and gradually taking a larger role then you'll ever find in "Oedipus" as they become more and more involved in Allen's decision making. The movie even ends with the Greek element of a deux ex machina.

Like most of Allen's movies, this may not appeal to everyone, but if you're a fan then you will really enjoy this movie and you need to see it.

Greek tragedy was never this funny.......2007-03-01

This is the last hilarious movie made by Woody. He adopts a kid and the kid turns out to be very bright, so Woody goes on a quest to find the birth mother. Woody is at his peak, my only complaint was Mirs's voice, I heard her speak before and it wasen't this annoying. Other than that you could do a lot worse comedy wise. Enjoy!

Awful movie...ditto on "WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY THINKING?!".......2006-10-21

So this was the breakout movie for Mira Sorvino, the one that earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1995.

This movie, and Mira Sorvino's performance in it, was so bad that after it was over, I just had to find out who her competitors were for the 1995 Best Supporting Actress category.

Let's see.....according to Wikipedia they were: Kathleen Quinlin ("Apollo 13" - a fairly standard worried-wife-of-astronaut-in-danger role), Mare Winningham ("Georgia" - did not see this one), Joan Allen ("Nixon" - did not see, but how hard can it be to play the wooden Pat Nixon?), and Kate Winslet ("Sense and Sensibilities" - did not see either, but Ang Lee was robbed by the Academy here also).

It only proves just how few good roles there are for women in today's Hollywood that Mira Sorvino could win an Oscar for this sort of performance.

And I was beginning to warm up to her, too - she was great in "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion", and terrific also in "Beautiful Girls".

So, what exactly is so bad about this movie? Here's a brief list:

1. Mira Sorvino plays the entire movie in a high-pitched falsetto that sounds like her voice is breaking. Another reviewer described this as similar to listening to fingernails on a blackboard. Maybe in 1995, because she was new, the Academy didn't realize that this wasn't her real voice and took pity on her....

2. Stupid plot device of the Greek Chorus.

3. Stupid happy ending with a twist.

4. Lots of profanity and dialogue that includes explicit descriptions of sex acts done in pornography movies.....while this movie is not itself a porn flick, the explicit details of the porn industry included in the dialogue definitely makes it NOT a movie for families to watch.

5. Odd sight of a very old and wrinkly Woody Allen (with dyed hair and bald spot) making out with TWO women young enough to be his granddaughters.....all right, so I'm just jealous - Woody still looks gross....

6. Cliched, poorly developed characters, a plotline that goes around in circles, and lots and lots of pointless, unfunny dialogue.

In summary, this movie is bad, bad, bad......

Charlie Rose with Mira Sorvino; Gwyneth Paltrow & Doug McGrath (December 6,1996)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Mira Sorvino; Gwyneth Paltrow & Doug McGrath (December 6,1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino speaks about her Oscar win for her role in the film Mighty Aphrodite, attending Harvard University and her new movie Sweet Nothing. Then, At the Lowell Hotel in New York Charlie speaks with actress Gwyneth Paltrow and her director Doug McGrath about her new movie, a film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Emma

Average customer rating:

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!"
Absolutely boring and pointless
One of the Best Later Comedies
Greek tragedy was never this funny
Awful movie...ditto on "WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY THINKING?!"

Mighty Aphrodite [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00005U1XS

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!".......2007-07-29

Absolutely boring and pointless.......2007-07-22

One of the Best Later Comedies.......2007-04-26

Greek tragedy was never this funny.......2007-03-01

Awful movie...ditto on "WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY THINKING?!".......2006-10-21

Average customer rating:

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!"
Absolutely boring and pointless
One of the Best Later Comedies
Greek tragedy was never this funny
Awful movie...ditto on "WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY THINKING?!"

Mighty Aphrodite [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004RYS3

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

"Of all human weaknesses, obsession is the most dangerous, and the silliest!".......2007-07-29

Absolutely boring and pointless.......2007-07-22

One of the Best Later Comedies.......2007-04-26

Greek tragedy was never this funny.......2007-03-01

Awful movie...ditto on "WHAT WAS THE ACADEMY THINKING?!".......2006-10-21

Charlie Rose with Jimmy Breslin; Mira Sorvino (September 19, 1996)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with Jimmy Breslin; Mira Sorvino (September 19, 1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin discusses his book, I Want to Thank My Brain for Remembering Me, which recounts two years prior, when doctors found he had a brain aneurysm in the very area of the brain that controlled his writing skills. After, Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino talks about her new film, Sweet Nothing, in which she plays a Bronx housewife whose life unravels when her husband turns to drugs.

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