Truly Dreadful Film

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

A Disappointing Continuation

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

On Woody Allen's Blue JasmineI've seen several Woody Allen films, and I've enjoyed them all. But here, he brilliantly tells a very believable story of a woman who is obviously in major distress, and attempts to come out of it. His story here doesn't crash and burn as I thought it might have, but instead the story was consistent with its main character's personality. All though she came and lived with her sister, it very well could have been a story of siblings or friendship, but instead it became something much different...something more creative. Woody Allen masterfully created a character that was flawed, but yet this character also we could feel for. Her husband had multiple affairs on her and told her that he was in love with someone else. That was something that we could inevitably have emotion for and maybe even so personal connections. As in his brilliant masterpiece Annie Hall, Allen makes a regular bunch of people come together to make a wonderful rich story. Cate Blanchett's character, Jasmine, comes from marrying rich, but her husband is found as a crook. Then she ends up living with her sister and trying to find a job and so forth. Sounds like a typical life story of someone who comes out of a marriage. But what happens here is that Wood Allen creates a character that is special, someone different from most people. She has a hard time adjusting to the new world she is in. Most people would be able to adjust. Not only this, but she starts influencing her sister as well, creating a whole new atmosphere around her. We see what she was like before the film began.The framework worked well, as it was simple just as the story. Nothing too major with the camera, except fantastic photographic images that are still in my mind now. I must say, symmetrical images in films that give such wonderful color contrast is truly a piece of art. Just as in all of Wes Anderson's work, Woody Allen creates some great flat shots, where we see color and perfect alignments with objects in the scene. When Jasmine is in the bathtub, we see flowers on either side, not perfectly symmetrical but to the extent where we get the point (also makes it more realistic), and when we walk into her and Hal's living room for the first time; a wonderful shade of dark green brought out by a beautiful brown. The colors match the scenes and make a wonderful artwork to look at.Overall this film was a great edition to the Woody Allen library and makes me want to go and re-watch Midnight in Paris to see if I notice anything I hadn't noticed before. I thought the film had complex characters set into a believable storyline and it created a fine story to want to sit down and watch.

Cate did a wonderful job. A true actress. It is easy to see why she was nominated.

When a very wealthy woman is left without a penny, after her husband's undignified death, she moves with her sister in order to begin a new life. Unfortunately for her naive sister, she brings along her much hated character which is as unbearable as it gets. Throughout the movie, instead of doing something to change what went wrong in her previous marriage, she desperately tries to get back to what "she had" while corrupting her sister, in a slow but certain road to madness.It's a movie which presents two stories, before and after the faithful downfall, the first one as flashbacks between portions of the latter. It's a good idea which brings it a bit of something different along with Cate Blanchett's Oscar winning performance, but unfortunately isn't able to do anything regarding this movie's biggest flaw. It is as boring as hell, almost every scene seems to beg for a yawn, and another, and so on. It's predictable while having little interesting parts, ending abruptly, almost without notice, leaving everything in mid air. It has a good story but they managed to tell it in a way that is able to bore even the most curious, while treating its finale superficially, to say the least.I cannot say I enjoyed this movie, thus recommending is out of the question, except if you want to see a truly great performance from a great actress.

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is one troubled woman. After finding the high life with rich, rich investment guru hubby Hal (Alec Baldwin), things fell apart. Hal was the twin of Bernie Madoff, lost his client's monies, and is now in prison. Maybe its a good thing, for he was a serial cheater on Jasmine as well. Now, with very few options, Jasmine goes to San Francisco to stay indefinitely with her warm but ditzy sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins). On arrival, Ginger welcomes Jasmine but is aghast when Jazz confides that she hid away some jewels and traveled first class. This makes sis ponder, what did Jasmine know about her husband's scheming? When they were girls, Jasmine was Jeanette until she "re-invented" herself as a Manhattan socialite who had little or no time for Ginger. Also, long ago, Ginger and her former husband, Augie (Andrew Dice Clay) won the lotto but lost everything when Hal convinced them to invest in his company. So, tensions are severe. A grocery clerk, Ginger has two sons and a loving but uncouth boyfriend, Chili (Bobby Cannavale). Naturally, Jasmine advises her to dump this man and look elsewhere. Without a job or a means to get back on her feet, Jasmine tries to earn an online interior decorator's license. When she fails, Jazz reluctantly gets a job as a dentist's receptionist. But, one fateful night, Jasmine gets invited to a society event, drags along Ginger, and spies relief. A handsome man and wealthy man, Dwight (Peter Sarsgaard) casts his eye on beautiful Jasmine and she immediately plots to marry him. But, can she get a ring on her finger before he finds out who she is? This excellent movie, torn from the headlines of the Madoff scandal, is a serious turn by Woody. It recalls his stellar film Cries and Misdemeanors, with a touch of humor amid the somber chaos. Blanchett excels as the conniving diva who swears she didn't know what her ex-husband was doing and finds middle class life unbearable. Hawkins, Baldwin, Cannavale, Clay, Sarsgaard, and all of the others are terrific, too. Cheers, also, for the great scenery, costumes, and polished direction. More importantly, the script is tantalizing as it asks the viewer to ponder what is the worth of a man or woman; is it wealth or is it a loving heart? Even this question is nuanced in fifty shades. All Woody fans MUST catch it and most of the rest of the planet should watch it, too.