Monday, August 19, 2013

Blue Jasmine

Following a banking scandal involving her sleek husband (Alec Baldwin), a delusional ex-Park Avenue debutante (Cate Blanchett) restarts her life and moves in with her estranged sister (Sally Hawkins) in San Francisco. Having left her husband (Andrew Dice Clay), also a victim of the financial scheming, she has resettled with a similarly frank and hot blooded blue collared guy (Bobby Cannavale) who ruffles their new houseguest's feathers. For a guy going on 78 who still cranks out a film a year, expectations are still exceedingly high for a Woody Allen film. My thing with his films is, whether ranging from great (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters) to meh (From Rome with Love, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion), there is always something to appreciate, and this one falls somewhere in the middle, with a story and lead performance that grow on you as the movie progresses. The reason to see this movie, though, is its great San Francisco locations and exceptional cast which also includes Peter Saarsgard, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Louie C.K.