Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

patrick-413 Woody Allen is always magnificent at two things: writing dialog and directing small, intimate scenes. And both of those talents are on display here. However where he can stumble is building individual scenes into an overall narrative or plot, and that is the big problem with "Café Society". It is a series of interesting scenes that resolutely refuse to gel into a real story. The theme of "things just happen" is often important to Allen's movies. "Crimes and Misdemeanors" turns it into a real virtue as a storytelling device. However here (and in some other of Allen's later-period movies) things just stumble along as though hoping to find meaning or resolution, and when they don't, the film sort of gives up with a shrug.The cinematography, set design, costumes, art direction and other visual aspects are all top-notch. The period details are nicely handled and immerse you into the time frame. There were only a couple of glaring anachronisms in the script, which most people won't catch. And the acting, top to bottom, was no less than "good", and often great, with even Eisenberg's Woody Allen impersonation working pretty well. Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart were both remarkably charming in their roles, while Steve Carell, given little to do, did little.Overall, worth a viewing as a piece of fluff, but don't expect that it will be up there with any of Allen's major works, or even mid-level. An evening of light entertainment that will soon be forgotten.

LeonLouisRicci It's a Sad Thing, Growing Old, even when it is Relatively Painless. Our Heroes, or People We Greatly Admire Grow Old in a Spotlight. Fat Elvis, Mickey Mantle bringing His Lifetime Batting Average Below 300 because He Played so Ineffectually a couple of Seasons too long, just to Illustrate.Woody Allen hasn't quite reached the Embarrassing Stage of Old Age, but the Signs are Signaling. Example, His usually Snappy, but Droll Narration is Audibly Atrophied. He just Sounds Old and Power Drained.Also, the Recycling of Plot and People from Previous Works are Intruding Frequently in His Late Year Mediocrities. Allen may not be Obese like Elvis, and His Batting Average is Still Better than His Peers, but Life Expectancies Expect their Due. Here's Hope that Woody has the Wit and Inclination to Know when to give Us His Swan Song and Retire with Dignified Reluctance.Woody Allen probably has at least One or Two Tricks remaining to work His Magic and Entertain His Legion of Admirers and Confound His Many Critics. Even Mickey Mantle Hit a Few Home Runs in those Subpar Seasons just before Hanging Up His Spikes.Swing for the Fences Woody so We can Watch that Home Run Trot once more. This isn't a Bad Film, its just too Mediocre for a Genius Superstar.

FrouFrouFoxes This movie was terrible. Cardboard acting. Stilted dialogue. Unbelievable emotional dynamics forced by the plot. Characters and plot you don't care about. Annoying narration. I admit that even the very best Woody Allen movies only strike me as "ok", but this is an awful movie riding on legacy and betting on fans declaring the emperor's new clothes are genius. It did look sorta pretty....that's it.

tapio_hietamaki There's not really a 'typical' Woody Allen movie because there are so many of them and they're all so much alike that they're all typical, except maybe 'Match Point'.'Café Society' has its similarities to Allen's other movies, and some dissimilarities, too. The similarities: the protagonist is Jewish, the movie explores identities of cities, there's a love triangle and infidelity, it resembles a stage play, it's a comedy but has some sad material, there's no villain, it stars a beautiful young star (Kristen Stewart joins Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, Evan Rachel Wood, Hayley Atwell and Christina Ricci as a Woody Allen movie love interest) and it has many unpredictable twists and is rather fast-paced.The dissimilarities are harder to describe. 'Café Society' feels somber, and it leaves much unresolved. It's not a neat little package like many Woody Allen movies are. Typically Woody characters talk way too much. 'Café Society' has things left unsaid. It's a very blue movie (fittingly in color scheme as well).It's about ambitions and priorities, and the winding roads of fate that take us to unexpected places. As usual, Woody Allen takes a setting and situation that seems distant and makes it easy to relate to.Bonus points for the scene with Anna Camp as a prostitute, that whole sequence was absolutely hilarious.