Movie Review: Scoop

I have seen a few of Woody Allen’s movies over the years. I've liked a few of them and haven’t cared for others. I'm just not a fan, but I will see his movies if they seem interesting to me. I thought that Scoop might be good when I first heard about it years ago. I was only able to recently see it.

Sondra was a journalism student spending some time visiting friends in London. She ended up becoming part of a trick that The Great Splendini (Sid) was performing when she was picked out of the audience. During the trick, the ghost of Joe Strombel appeared to Sondra. He had been a reporter before his death. Joe told Sondra that Peter Lyman, the son of a Lord, was the tarot killer. Joe wanted Sondra to expose Peter.

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Sondra returned to talk to Sid about what was going on and she dragged him into her investigation. Sondra managed to meet Peter, telling him her name was Jade Spence and that Sid was her father. Peter was attracted to her when they first met and he asked her out withing minutes. Sondra started falling for him even while she continued to be suspicious of him.

There was a lot going on throughout Scoop that I thought kept things interesting. The scenes at the beginning of the movie did move slower as things were set up and introduced. It wasn’t immediately clear how a few things would connect at first. Sondra wanted to be a successful reporter which was why she jumped at the chance to try to expose the tarot killer. Her investigation was the main focus of the movie and did provide a bit of mystery and suspense. It would have been nice if there had been more suspense. I was left wondering exactly what was going on a few times. There were one or two surprising moments in the movie. To make things more complicated, Sondra started falling in love with Peter while she still thought he might be a serial killer.

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Woody Allen has made many movies during his career, including comedies and some that were more serious. There was humor in Scoop though I wouldn’t classify it as a hysterical comedy. I did think the movie was funny even though it was about a serial killer. Some of the humor was a bit dark because of that, so the movie won’t be for everyone. Much of the humor was added through things characters, mainly Sid, said or did.

The fact that Joe’s ghost kept popping up to talk to Sondra made Scoop a bit different. That aspect wasn’t realistic, so people need to be able to suspend their disbelief to fully enjoy the movie. I don’t know if Woody Allen has used ghosts in any of his previous movies since I haven’t seen them all. Joe was convinced that Peter was the killer, so he figured out a way to make contact with someone who turned out to be Sondra. Joe had just been wanting to contact a journalist and he and Sondra had never met before. Joe’s ghost was important to the plot even though he wasn’t around for much of the movie. There was a unique version of the afterlife shown that I thought was interesting.

Even though Sondra had set out to prove that Peter was a killer, she was very attracted to him. He seemed to return the interest since he was asking her out within minutes of their first meeting. The two got closer and Sondra was falling for him even while she still had suspicions. It was made clear that they were sleeping together without there being any actual sex scenes. The closest the movie got to any nudity was when Peter was shown without his shirt a few times. The few sexual situations and references are why the movie was rated PG-13. I don’t remember hearing much swearing.

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Sondra was very determined to take advantage of what Joe’s ghost told her, so she jumped into investigating Peter even though she didn’t know what she was getting into. She didn’t always fully think things through before acting. I’ve never considered myself a fan of Scarlett Johansson and I have yet to be dazzled by her like so many others seem to have been. She was fine, though nothing special in this movie. Sid ended up getting sucked into what Sondra was doing and he seemed to enjoy it. The two did quickly develop a friendship. It wasn’t the most believable that Sondra would confide so much in a virtual stranger. I don’t really dislike Woody Allen, but I don’t consider myself a fan either. He was fine as Sid, who seemed to be a bit like the few other others I’ve seen Allen play.

Peter Lyman was a rich aristocrat, someone that Sondra probably wouldn’t have under normal circumstances, let alone start a romantic relationship with. Peter didn’t treat her different because she wasn’t part of the same social class. He did seem like a nice guy overall. I did like Hugh Jackman in the part. He and Johansson also appeared together in The Prestige, a wonderful movie. Joe was only shown a few times as a ghost so not that much was shared about him. Ian McShane was fine in the part even though he really didn’t have a lot to do.

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Scoop wasn’t an action-packed movie but I still thought it was entertaining. It could be too slow and different from some viewers.