Whatever Works

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  • Opened June 19, 2009 
  • 1 hr 32 min
  • PG-13 | sexual situations including dialogue, brief nude images and thematic material

  • Parents: Common Sense Media says OK for kids 15+. More on child suitability

  • After a failed suicide attempt, brilliant New York misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) forsakes his posh upper-class existence for meager accommodations in Chinatown. He meets his exact opposite in Melody (Evan Rachel Wood), a pageant queen from the Deep South who's long on sweetness but short on smarts. Surprisingly, Boris and Melody marry, but the sparks really fly when Melody's born-again Christian mother (Patricia Clarkson) arrives and finds liberation instead of damnation. Full synopsis

  • Cast: Larry David, Evan Rachel Wood, Ed Begley, Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Conleth Hill
  • Director: Woody Allen
  • Genres: Comedy

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Critic Reviews

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
| Steven Rea

Easily one of the loosest, most satisfying comedies to hail from the prolific writer/director in a while. Read full review

75
Chicago Sun-Times
| Roger Ebert

Yellnikoff, played with perfect pitch by Larry David. Read full review

63
Rolling Stone
| Peter Travers

Whatever Works feels like something out of time and, worse, out of step. Hell, Allen wrote the script back in the 1970s for Zero Mostel. Read full review

60
The Hollywood Reporter
| Frank Scheck

Features enough genuine laughs to give it decent commercial traction. Read full review

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Larry David, John Gallagher Jr. and Evan Rachel Wood in "Whatever Works."