Day 303: The Great Gatsby (2000)

81UwolMdmTL._SL1500_I’ve never seen this version of The Great Gatsby.

Truth be told, I never knew this 2000 made-for-TV movie existed until I researched the subject for my 1095 Days project.

Mira Sorvino as Daisy?

Hmmm. Worth a shot.

Toby Stephens as Gatsby?

Toby who?

The cast isn’t the most remarkable I’ve ever seen:

Mira Sorvino … Daisy Buchanan
Toby Stephens … Jay Gatsby
Paul Rudd … Nick Carraway
Martin Donovan … Tom Buchanan
Francie Swift … Jordan Baker
Heather Goldenhersh … Myrtle Wilson
Matt Malloy … Klipspringer

But, then again, I just watched two other versions of Gatsby and they were lackluster even with a stellar cast. So I’m not going to turn up my nose at this movie. Not yet, anyway.

What I notice about this adaptation:

* Paul Rudd is a very young Nick Carraway.

* There’s much more narration in this adaptation than in previous versions of the movie.

* Mira Sorvino isn’t as airy as Mia Farrow, nor is she as spacey as she was in Woody Allen’s 1995 movie Mighty Aphrodite. She seems to bring a Continue reading

Day 182: Small Time Crooks

41AS92MD04LWoody Allen was 65 when Small Time Crooks, his 31st film as writer and director, was released.

In some ways, this movie feels like a throwback to the zaniness of Take the Money and Run.

It’s about a hapless crook (in this case, a bank robber named Ray) who plots the perfect crime – he rents an empty pizza shop a few doors down from a bank and plots to dig a tunnel to the vault and make off with the money.

As you might expect, the plot doesn’t pan out the way Ray predicts.

It’s a lean cast that makes the most of its talent:

Woody Allen … Ray
Tracey Ullman … Frenchy
Michael Rapaport …Denny
Tony Darrow … Tommy
Sam Josepher … Real Estate Agent
Jon Lovitz … Benny
Elaine May … May
Hugh Grant … David
Elaine Stritch … Chi Chi Potter

Of course, Wood plays Ray playing Woody.

This is my 10th favorite Woody Allen movie.

Woody was 65 when Small Time Crooks was released.