Scoop

An affable (if forgettable) Woody Allen comedy, Scoop follows journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) as she attends a magic show one fateful night and is immediately visited by the ghost of a recently-department reporter (Ian McShane’s Joe Strombel) who passes along a tip regarding the identity of a notorious serial killer. Sondra is pointed in the direction of the charming son (Hugh Jackman’s Peter Lyman) of a British lord, with the narrative subsequently detailing Sondra’s continuing attempts to learn the truth about Jackson’s charming character. (Also along for the ride is Woody Allen’s neurotic magician Sid Waterman.) It’s a lighthearted premise that’s employed to brisk, entertaining effect by writer/director Allen, with the movie boasting several thoroughly agreeable performances and a narrative that takes a few more twists than one might’ve anticipated – although, in typical Allen fashion, Scoop suffers from a decidedly meandering feel that does, for the most part, prevent it from wholeheartedly achieving liftoff. This is despite the continued inclusion of admittedly engrossing sequences, with, especially, the movie’s final third containing a number of interludes that pack an impressively suspenseful vibe. The end result is a decent Allen effort that generally coasts along on the pleasantness of its various attributes – everything here, from the performances to the visuals to the dialogue, is just so congenial – and it’s clear that Scoop ultimately feels right at home within Allen’s brief early-aughts renaissance.

*** out of ****