Back Rowe Reviews
Real Time Movie Reviews from the Back Row of a Theater

Blue Jasmine (PG-13)

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Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Cate Blanchett
August 2013

This review was originally tweeted in Real-time from the back row of a movie theater and appears @BackRoweReviews. Though efforts were made to tease rather than ruin this movie’s memorable lines and moments, some spoilers may exist in the following evaluation. The original tweets appear in black, while follow-up comments appear in red. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. All ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!

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I intended to say “the cast of millions.” An exaggeration of how Allen typically stuffs his films with a raft of A-list talent.

Ah, the comforting, standard Woody Allen opener. Some things never change.

Andrew Dice Clay...now that’s a casting coup.
And a surprisingly multilayered performance by the 80’s star.

Bad clams and a bad blind date.
Maybe Jasmine can commiserate with Indiana Jones…he almost had a bad date once.

Ali from #TheBachelorette. I’d recognize her anywhere.

A drink with the dentist.

That yellow purse doesn’t match her sister’s outfit.
In fact, it sticks out like a sore thumb…and I’m pretty sure that’s the point. You gotta’ love how people will try to force their one expensive accessory into a variety of outfits just for the perceived prestige it gives them.

Babysitting her sister’s boys...bad idea. Especially the “Edison’s medicine” part.

Final analysis: not top-tier Allen, to be sure, but entertaining and more accessible than
To Rome With Love.

Not nearly as humorous as Allen’s usual fare. The dialog isn’t as whip-smart and witty either.

However, Blanchett’s
tour de force character study of mental unraveling should garner Oscar attention.

Rating:
3 out of 4 stars. Allen’s tale of two sisters is amusing if not moving.

It’s very difficult to manufacture feelings of disappointment over a Woody Allen film, but this outing, barring Blanchett’s Oscar-worthy turn, is B-tier Allen. However, B-tier Allen is still better than 99.9% of the films Hollywood churns out these days. Although the writing suffers a bit in this film, the performances, from top to bottom, are superb. Though taken to the extreme, Blanchett’s Jasmine embodies the collective loss and bitterness our generation feels over having had it all and lost it all during the economic downturn. Most have hunkered down and moved on but some, like Jasmine, are still under the illusion that they can maintain their pre-global recession lifestyle in the present day. It’s a powerful delusion, brilliantly realized by one of the finest female actors of our time.