Two married couples find only trouble and heartache as their complicated lives unfold. After 40 years of marriage, Alfie leaves his wife to pursue what he thinks is happiness with a call girl. His wife, Helena, reeling from abandonment, decides to follow the advice of a psychic. Sally, the daughter of Alfie and Helena, is unhappy in her marriage and develops a crush on her boss, while her husband, Roy, falls for a woman engaged to be married.
Allen has been criticized for leaving some of the plot lines up in the air and several characters in the lurch. But he seems to be making a point: Neat Hollywood endings are as phony and dangerous as Cristal's ramblings.
– Calvin Wilson,
St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
15 Oct 2010
fresh:
Classic Woody -- an ensemble cast of brilliant actors, a timeless story that could be set virtually anywhere and crisp writing and direction that neither lollygags or rushes.
– Tom Long,
Detroit News,
15 Oct 2010
rotten:
Woody Allen cranks out another formulaic interweave of romantic crushes, with old jazz on the soundtrack to supply some artificial gaiety.
– J. R. Jones,
Chicago Reader,
13 Dec 2010
rotten:
The talented cast fails to gel into a dynamic ensemble: You just see actors going through familiar paces.
– Rene Rodriguez,
Miami Herald,
31 Jan 2011
rotten:
There's plenty of ambiguous intellectual heft lurking behind the curtain of mediocrity - so it's a pity it feels like it was dashed off in a few hours one afternoon.