User reviews

Woody Allen, one of my absolute favorite film directors, goes against the grain of his normal outings with a very creative cinematic device which involves making a bright, happy musical that takes the course of a normal film starring actors who've never sung before singing with their normal voices in musical numbers with no truly professional dancers. With this vastly fun element of the movie, Allen shows us life if any old person broke out into song. And that is what makes it an even more pleasant and encouraging escape that many other normal musicals.

One has never before looked at a cast the same way. I wonder what reviews were like. I can say that Alan Alda, who's always fun, has one of the very best voices in the film and even plays the piano. The same goes for Goldie Hawn, who apparently was scared to death of singing in the film. She's also still extremely hot. Julia Roberts plays a very very serious role and never sings, but it was definitely interesting to observe what she and Woody are like on screen together. He carries the scenes, and she loyally follows. Natascha Lyonne is the definite highlight of the cast, playing a hyperconfident girl in that midpoint between girl and woman whose flights of fancy make her extremely fickle with men. Edward Norton, one of the best contemporary actors we have, is actually not at his best in this film. It feels like he just doesn't know how to get comfortable in his role. His voice is OK. Billy Crudup, in a small role, is actually quite unexpectedly funny in a little number in a cab with a Middle Eastern driver. Tim Roth, an unexpected addition to the bit players like Crudup, has a great non- singing role that recalls the genre he's been working in for most of his career.

Where a lot of musicals repel most people because of their agonizingly featherweight stories, this one does what a great musical is supposed to do, which is lift your spirits and make you feel the very deepest potential of life's beauty that can possibly be pulled out of it, and because of Allen's unorthodox method, it nails it. It's one of my favorite musicals, of which there are few. It's a very interesting ensemble epic that involves all different strands pertaining to the love life and newfound wisdom of each member of a wealthy and happy family.

High camp and high neuroses in the same picture.

If you get everything you ever wanted, you still aren't satisfied because your own fantasies can never be truly fulfilled in the real world. It's kind of what Woody Allen is saying by making this movie into a goofy musical. It's his own fantasy of what movies used to be like, but can't ever be anymore. The small touches of realism, like the grocery store heist or the homeless man breaking out into song provide both humor and a commentary on how unsubstantial and irrelevant musicals are. But aren't they fun?

The most obvious example of the theme is the Julia Roberts storyline. She gets everything she ever wanted, but instead of making her happy in her new life, it helps her therapy for her old life. Joe was married to Steffi, all the woman he ever wanted, but he was so afraid it would fall apart that it did fall apart. Skylar wants a man to take control and sweep her off her feet, but when Charles Ferry comes along and does just that, she can't live with the consequences. There are other examples.

The execution of the movie is awkward and sometimes off-putting. But this movie is an experiment in form x function - what kind of story lends itself to the musical form? Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. For example, it used to be that musicals helped you into the mood by introducing songs, something that couldn't be done here because of the very nature of the story. It can be stagey and forced if you're not already in the mood. On the whole, however, everyone seems to be having a good time, and it shows up in mostly loose, endearing performances - even the ever-annoying Goldie Hawn, who I'd normally want to toss in the river in any other movie.

So, Everyone Says I Love You is pretty much the typical Woody Allen comedy, complete with all the staples that define his oeuvre; lots of neurotic characters, a performance from the man himself, New York City...only this time, there's one big difference - it's also a musical. It's well known that Woody Allen is a big fan of cinema, and therefore it is not unreasonable to assume that this film is Allen's tribute to the classic musicals of yesteryear. Everyone Says I Love You is typically Woody Allen in spite of the obvious difference in genre to the rest of his movies. I'm not a fan of musicals, and if I were to be overly critical of this film; I would say that it would have been better as a straight comedy-drama, without the musical element. However, it's the musical side of the piece that gives it it's unique edge, and dropping that from the film would have ensured that it isn't the movie that Allen wanted it to be. Not to mention the fact that the musical side of the movie makes it striking in the way that only Woody Allen can be.

For this film, Woody Allen has put together a terrific cast. Of course, a number of stars is part of Allen's trademark, but I think he outdid himself with the cast of this movie, which includes the likes of Edward Norton, Natalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Tim Roth, Natasha Lyonne and Alan Alda. Not to mention Woody himself. I'm not a fan of all of those film stars, but seeing a number of familiar faces in a movie together is always a treat for a movie buff. The song and dance sequences in the film aren't all that well put together, as the songs are largely unimaginative and the film fails on the whole to capture the grandeur of the classic musical. However, the drama side of the movie is very strong; and as usual, Woody's script is funny, touching and obscure in equal measure. He's given himself the best part, and has most of the other characters commenting on how great he is, but Woody Allen without a huge ego just isn't Woody Allen. I don't rate this as a movie at the very peak of Allen's filmography, but it's a strong one and it's recommended to his fans.

In an old fashioned musical, the loves and losses of an extended upper-class family in Manhattan are followed in song from NY to Paris and Venice.

The company logo comes onscreen followed closely by the white title on a black background. Seconds later we are into the first song as two young lovers walk in the park - and it's not until 100 minutes later that it lets you go again. The plot is nothing more than lots of strands of love and loss tied together by family connections. None of the stories really have any great significance but are backed up by wit and some charming song and dance numbers. This is whimsy at it's very best.

It feels like Woody Allen has really relaxed and is making films that hark back to an older age - indeed his usual style is tuned down a little to make it more accessible and more enjoyable. He has several black characters, his humour is witty but less cruel than usual and his narrative is driven by a teenage girl rather than himself. It feels so free of his usual cynicism that it adds to the weightless charm it already has. He handles the song and dance scene with such vigour and such imagination that you find yourself wondering why he hasn't done a musical before.

The superb cast all catch the charm and light feel perfectly. Not all of them are great singers but they all do well and give their best (except Barrymore who refused and was dubbed). The usual stars are complimented by plenty of well known faces - Alda, Goldie Hawn, Lucas Haas, Portman, Tim Roth, Roberts and of course the wonderful Edward Norton.

This is 100 minutes of lightweight wonder. It has no rough edges, no difficult issues, no cruel jokes and very little swearing. Only the coldest heart could fail to warm to this little charmer.

Psychologist Steffi Dandridge (Goldie Hawn) and lawyer Bob Dandridge (Alan Alda) head a liberal upper class Manhattan family. The extended family includes Steffi's ex Joe Berlin (Woody Allen), their daughter Djuna Berlin (Natasha Lyonne), Skylar (Drew Barrymore), Lane (Gaby Hoffmann), Laura (Natalie Portman), grandpa with dementia and the black sheep Republican son Scott (Lukas Haas). Holden Spence (Edward Norton) is in love with Skylar. Von (Julia Roberts) is one of Steffi's patients. Charles Ferry (Tim Roth) is an ex-con.

This is a Woody Allen musical. The music is easy listening and everybody does a good job singing. Some are surprisingly good but the songs aren't terribly challenging. The overwhelming family can be hard to take. I would have preferred some trimming of the family tree. It would have been better to concentrate on one relationship. The effect is a bit scatter shot.

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Woody Allen courts Julia Roberts. (I wonder if Woody writes his own dialogue these days or just chalks it in and improvises. Maybe he gives a signal to the other actor(s) that it's their turn.) Yes, I am eating my heart out, but believe it or not–and I swear this is true and Julia Roberts herself will vouch for this–she was once courted by an orangutang. True story. You could look it up. It was a PBS special. I'm serious. You think I could make up something like this? She even held a baby orangutang in her arms and he...well, let's just say he wasn't wearing a diaper. I kid you not.

Anyway, this is a kind of satirical take off on Broadway musicals, but half on the square. It features a lot of show tunes and dance numbers, some beautifully choreographed. Goldie sings, Alan Alda sings, Julia sings and of course Woody sings. (Drew is dubbed, I understand). Ed Norton also sings, but the difference is, he's actually good. Goldie Hawn is the mom, Woody is her ex and Alan Alda is her current. They are all rich and privileged and spend their time in places like New York and Paris and Venice. Goldie is a flaming, bleeding heart liberal who thinks that prisons ought to have a cuisine at least, and Alda is an establishment lawyer and doctrinaire liberal. His son consequently devours the National Review and is a member of the National Rifle Association, and thinks that welfare mothers ought to get a job, etc. Woody Allen is Woody Allen of course. I haven't seen one of his films in decades, but watching him put the moves on Julia brings back memories. You almost believe it. In fact, you DO believe it. And lament.

Tim Roth plays an ex-con, just released from prison, invited to a family dinner by Goldie. (Extended family dinners involving kids and grandparents and eccentric relatives stirred by light-hearted family politics are a staple of the Woody Allen canon, as I recall.) Roth's "animal" magnetism, and his "interesting" kiss entice Drew away from her intended (at least temporarily). The story is narrated by Woody and Goldie's daughter (Natalie Portman, I presume), who finds herself falling in and out of puppy love with the regularity of the rising sun. Everything is played as a light satire of the intended audience, a technique perfected by Oscar Wilde in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest over a century ago. In a sense Woody Allen's effort amounts to a gentle massage of psyche of the New York liberal establishment.

Some highlights: The Marx Brothers song and dance number done en francaise near the Seine in Paris allowing Woody to do a fine Groucho impersonation; Drew's peach satin dress; Julia jogging in Venice; the intensive care unit choreography; mannequins coming to life in song and dance..

All in all, there's some cute fun had with Broadway show traditions, people breaking into song at odd moments, mostly standards from the pre-rock and roll era, e.g., "My Baby Just Cares for Me," "Making Whoopie," (yes, that is where Whoopie Goldberg got her moniker), and the beautiful "I'm Through with Love," (sung not badly by Goldie Hawn), a few good gags, a cute cast--enough of interest to divert one after an afternoon of hard-core shopping at Neiman-Marcus and Sak's Fifth Avenue.

This is a wonderfully funny story, affectionately parodying old-time musicals, and evoking a nostalgic regret that they are not being made any more. Some of the vocalizations are amateurish (Alan Alda is an exception) but Dick Hyman's musical arrangements and the performances of the musicians are fine. Alda's rendition of the old Cole Porter song "Thinking of You", accompanied by the marvelous Dick Hyman on the piano, is first rate.

Woody Allen provides many hilarious moments. He uses the great violinist Itzhak Perlman as the punch line to a carefully constructed gag. He uses the invasion of privacy of a session of psychoanalysis as an offbeat plot device. He satirizes the romantic young and the do-gooding impulses of the old. He takes us from Manhattan to Venice and Paris. He involves us in old tunes and comically elaborate dance routines. He gives us a good time.

Everyone Says I Love You is one of the very few movies I have ever gone back to the theater to see another time. I even bought the tape.

I must say that musicals don't really appeal to me, maybe it's because I'm young and am accustomed to more action and special effects from today's typical style... but this movie totally surprised me! The star cast including Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts is what initially allured me to give this movie a chance and I'm glad I did. Now I know why Woody Allen is considered a genius. I mean I've seen parts of some of his earlier films and they didn't really draw me in either, but this one is truly a winner. Woody Allen chose his cast well, he obviously has a good sense of judgement in that area. The music and singing was actually a welcoming change for a film. I never thought I would like a musical so much. Each character's life was perfectly intertwined with all the others and the plot moved along in an up-tempo beat. It was also nice to be brought to France & Italy via cinematography. It seemed musicals were somewhat of a trend the year this film came out (1996), because that's also when "Romeo & Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio surfaced too. It was a good turn of events to educate younger generations (like myself) into appreciating a more old-fashioned genre of film that was almost extinct until this film came along and rebirthed it.

It would be unfair to say that if you know one Woody-Allen-film, you know them all. He made some very unique films like „Love and Death`, „Mighty Aphrodite` and „Sweet and Lowdown`. These are movies that don't have a lot in common.

But „Everyone Says I Love You` is really a typical, typical Allen-movie with no topic to describe in two sentences. There are just lots of people falling in love with other people. It's a pleasure to see it and the musical parody scenes are very funny, but there is nothing about it you would remember later. I think, Allen felt under pressure to produce a new film every year, that's why he collected some ideas from all his earlier movies, wrote some simple songs and mixed it all together to a new screenplay. Then he cast many stars and future stars (Ed Norton!) and ready was the film. Well, why not? We're all getting old, aren't we?

6 stars out of 10 because the ending is really disappointing.

This movie just didn't work for me. There is no continuity, and the characters burst into song spasmodically without any lead in. Song and dance scenes often seem contrived, and irrelevant to the situation. With such a strong cast, I settled back to enjoy an experience that never materialised. The storyline is okay, and would have made a good straight comedy, especially considering the great actors in the cast. Perhaps I have missed the point - maybe the haphazard choreography and terrible singing was supposed to be comical in itself. I would suggest renting before buying, just to make sure that it meets your expectations. Unfortunately, it didn't meet mine.

A fresh and original musical comedy, the film takes classic songs and fits them into a new vision with some different dance routines. The choreography is lively and the actors and actresses do not look like professional dancers, which helps to make the music and dance side more natural. It is still as witty and funny as one would expect from a Woody Allen comedy, and the ensemble cast brings forth some great performances, even from actresses such as Goldie Hawn and Drew Barrymore who are not usually amazing. Other than light commentary on love and romance in New York and international society, the film is lacking in depth, some of the sequences are overdone and the narration tires as it progresses, but generally the film is well made. It also possesses a charm that helps it to swing along, and it becomes easy to accept different sequences, given that it is a musical that one is watching. The film will however best be enjoyed by those who are familiar with its redone songs.

If you liked "Hello, Dolly!", then you'll probably love this flick. There were good things about it, but I pretty much spent the majority of the movie cringing in embarrassment from it. I consider myself to be an aficionado of movie musicals in general, but this one took things a bit too far, in my opinion.

Not just any filmmaker should be entrusted with the delicate and precarious genre of the musical. Woody Allen would probably be the last person I'd expect to see work up a musical. He's gotten a lot more experimental in some of his more recent works, so it's of no surprise. I think what makes this film work is in its charm and the love of 30's musicals that is behind it. This really is an ode to the old black and white musicals and to the classic love stories of the same period. Now, on the level of Woody Allen's catalog, this one does not rank very high, but in comparison to television shows that have the occasional musical episode, this one hits its mark. The reason I mention the last comment is because there are some actors in here that never would they be expected to sing in a film. Maybe they shouldn't have, but there is just a lot of love behind this production that you've just gotta smile.

"Everyone Says I Love You" is the last of a series of smaller, wonderful films that spanned a decade after Woody Allen's box office and Oscar triumph, "Hannah and Her Sisters". It is by far his most gushingly sentimental film, and the musical he FINALLY got around to making. It's ironic that this films draws a sort of inspiration from perhaps the most reviled film musical in history, Peter Bogdanovich's "At Long Last Love" (1976), in that the actors (most of whom can't sing a note) often suddenly break into song to express their innocent moments of passion, love, pain, sorrow, fear and joy. And many of the musical moments are sung live as filmed (and it shows), yet there is a lovely nakedness to this, much like when you spy a loved one singing in front of the mirror, thinking no one is around.

Beyond the hardcore Woody fans who will find much to love and study in this showpiece, if you have any amount of silly love in your heart, see it through to the scene near the end with Allen and Goldie Hawn which begins at the Groucho Marx party and climaxes beside the Seine.

It makes the whole film worthwhile. It gave me goosebumps the first time I saw it, much like when I saw my best friend walk up the aisle with her now-husband years ago.

Allen reminds us again that this little shiver is as important as anything else in life.

Definitely not a fan of the musicals. And I'm not usually a woody allen fan, but I love the huge names in this, so I couldn't help myself. And it's one of the few, free movies available on ad- driven peacock. Goldie hawn, alan alda, ed norton, julia roberts. The story seems to revolve around a young couple making marriage plans. But everything seems to be going wrong. And we keep zooming in on everyone else's problem... woody is in here, hemming and hawing. It's pretty disconnected. There isn't a clear, solid story like so many of allen's other films. This seems to be an experiment that just didn't hit the heights. It's okay, just not great. Lots of talking and singing, but we just don't get invested in what anyone is doing or saying. Written and directed by woody allen, of course. I also liked small time crooks, from 2000... that one is just hilarious.

The main plot is about a rich, enlarged NY family, mum Steffi (Goldie Hawn), step-dad Bob (Alda) and several children from various previous marriages, inclusive of DJ who narrates the story and Skylar whose impending wedding with Holden gets the action in motion.

Allen plays Joe, Goldie's divorce husband and DJ father, currently living in Paris and taking his daughter to a lavish holiday in Venice. During the course of the action from spring in NY to Christmas in Paris, most of the characters fall in and out and love and sing their joys and miseries when their affairs don't work out.

The most unlikely affair is the one between Joe and Von (Julia Roberts), slightly believable only because Joe knows everything about Von thanks to DJ spying Von's sessions with her shrink.

Possibly one of the most lighthearted Allen's movies, this is an unusual musical because the musical numbers are mostly quirky, the quirkiest of them all taking place at the funeral home with blithe spirits singing and dancing. Allen makes excellent use of the change of season in the different locations, with NY in full bloom, Venice in summer and winter in Paris.

Aside from a couple of liabilities, which I'll mention a little further down this review, this is top-notch Woody Allen, a work that gives as many delights as his earlier work, but is also marvelous in that it's an experiment for him. How can a filmmaker combine his usual- by 96 usual anyway- with relationships that go up and down, end and start, and neuroses floating around like it's nothing, AND with the escapism of the musicals of the 30s and 40s that Allen obviously adores deeply? Somehow it all works pretty much to classic Allen effect, where there's a level of sharp wit, but there's also that added element of life being wonderful enough even when things seem at their lowest. The story goes into several directions, with a narrator (Natasha Lyonne) filling in the gaps of a family and their turbulent relationships. She D.J. Berlin, biological daughter of Joe (Allen), and technical step-daughter of Bob (Alda) who's married to Steffi (Goldie Hawn), her real mother. He lives in Paris, and on vacation Joe suddenly becomes involved with Von Sidell (Julia Roberts) after getting advice from DJ (she listens to all of her confessions to a psychiatrist through a wall) so he has all of the moves to make it the perfect relationship. Meanwhile, her sister Skylar (Barrymore) is engaged to Holden (Edward Norton), but things become complicated via parolee Charles Fery (Tim Roth). And meanwhile, DJ goes from man to man, almost getting engaged, and then falling for a guy in a Taxi Cab...

And so on. All the while Allen injects the perfect whimsical tone and sweetness of all of those great, 'un-real' musicals of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Occasionally an actor might sing and not sound too right (aside from Barrymore, whom one can definitely tell a difference, they all sing their songs)- Roberts being one of them- but it's really amazing to see such talented actors have naturally apt ways into singing. And why not, after all, as many of us would love to just go right into a song we like on a dime. Some highlights for me were the Norton songs, "Just You, Just Me" and "My Baby Cares Just For Me", the Tim Roth number "If I Had You", and very surprisingly by a group of the 'un-dead' via D.J.'s grandfather played by Patrick Cranshaw (likely the only time Allen's had this much visual effects going on). And, of course, even Allen breaks into a soft tune of wanting affection too. But it would be just one thing if the songs were very joyful and made the audience happy- there's always, even in the bits that still ring with the realistic dialog of Allen's relationship tragic-comedies- it's also got very funny moments. The moment Roth pops up is one, or when Joe tries to use his 'knowledge' on Roberts's character, and the Marx brothers number is almost *too* good.

Aside from the oddly voiced narration from Natasha Lyonne (not a bad performance at all, but for some reason the narration sounds just off for me), and a couple of exceptions, Everyone Says I Love You provides for a truly serene time in Woody Allen's ouevere, a collection of old-time numbers (and maybe some new ones) that combine the beauty in the cities we see (New York, Paris, Venice) with a subject that has wonderfully dogged the director for the bulk of his career- what does it mean to fall in love, or to lose love, or to find it again even in the smallest measures- and not without some mixing of politics and neuroses.

DJ(Lyonne, a typical teen girl - and our narrator), the daughter of heartbroken divorced Joe(Allen, his typical neurotic self, needing pushing by loved ones) sets him up with the unhappily married Von(Roberts, sweet, and... well, she doesn't have a lot of personality). Without her knowing. ...well, the latter's in therapy, and the former listens in. That old story. And along the way there are subplots, and this is, at its core, about falling in love, its effect on what one thinks about the future, and how sudden it can be - even when already infatuated with someone else.

I don't often watch musicals, but this one is irresistible. Charming, hilarious with fast-paced dialog, background reactions, quick throwaway lines, and a memorable cast of characters, all of whom are portrayed by talented and well-known actors. The big numbers(and just *try* to stop humming them) are dominated by long takes and few cuts, with everyone in the vicinity singing and/or dancing, such as the early scene in the ER where doctors, nurses and patients giving it their all. There are sit-com-like misunderstandings and some pretty evenly divided political jokes, with the Republican son(hey, he has his reasons... maybe you'll learn them in this) and the liberal rest of the family. It takes place over a year, taking us around New York, Venice and Paris. The running time is 94 minutes sans credits.

There is a little strong language in this. I recommend this to anyone who is at all into this type of film. 7/10

I knew I should have resigned myself to the fact that Woody Allen movies (with the exception of 'Mighty Aphrodite') are horridly dull. What an awful movie. I couldn't wait for it to end. I was eager to watch it because of the great cast (Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore) but it was just as terrible as all his other ones, in fact, worse. Dancing and singing ghosts in a funeral home? I'll stick with the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, thanks.

And why does Woody Allen always put himself in every movie sleeping with the most beautiful star he can (in this case Julia Roberts?) Not very believable.

This movie has got to be one of the best I've seen. I've seen a lot of movies and a lot of musicals and "Everyone Says I Love You" should go down as a great musical with "Singin' In The Rain" and as a great movie. I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining, amusing, fun jaunt through musical bliss and the heartache of romance. I recommend this film to everyone!

I love musicals, such as "My Fair Lady", "The Blues Brothers, and "Mary Poppins" but found "Everyone says I love You" to be boring, expository and devoid of comedy. I suppose the draw for this film may be the elaborate dance numbers, because, as a viewer, I felt suddenly thrown into a convoluted and overly mundane set of characters whose situations come off as implausible. This, despite the inclusion of Manhattan's prodigal son, Edward Norton, and an entire cast of recognizable and talented souls. The characters felt superficial and the plot unengaging.

I'm amazed at how this movie is able to retain modest reviews, and disappointed at what seems to be the critics pandering to Woody Allen and the industry. It wouldn't be the first time that consequences occur for not falling in line with Hollywood. I am now, thankfully, removed from that tedious and requiring environment, and in the interests of transparency and honesty, declare this production lame and avoidable.