Synopsis: Nominated for two Academy Awards®, Broadway Danny Rose is a “wickedly funny” (Playboy) and irreverent tribute to the zany world of New York lounge acts. A “delectable” (Variety) combination of dry wit, hilarious slapstick and biting philosophical subtext, Woody Allen’s Broadway Danny Rose is “tender, poignant, wistful and marvelous” (L.A. Weekly), and “one of [Allen’s] very best” (The New York Times)!
Saddled with piano playing parrots, one-legged tap dancers and stuttering ventriloquists, Danny Rose (Allen) is the all-time loser of show-biz agents – until a sudden nostalgia craze lands his top act, scheming crooner Lou Canova, a coveted gig at the Waldorf. But when Lou refuses to go unless Danny escorts Lou’s Mafia-moll mistress Tina (Farrow) to the concert, the stage is soon set for disaster. Taken with Tina, taken in by Lou, and even taken hostage by gangsters, Danny embarks on a hilarious and bittersweet adventure in his desperate bid to ensure that the show does go on… before it’s curtains for more than his career!
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After having tripped up for a couple of films, Woody Allen returns in what would turn out to be the first volley in a decade of fine filmmaking.
In this movie, Allen plays the blindly optimistic manager of a series of low-grade lounge acts; his acts consist of a balloon animal-making duo, a blind xylophonist, a stuttering ventriloquist and many other poor schleps. Down on his luck, he finds a washed up lounge singer in whom he has the utmost confidence and tries to groom him to success – with mixed results.
Broadway Danny Rose features very funny jokes, the pace is pretty good, and the acting is solid. It’s not Woody Allen’s best, but well worth seeing.
thecriticaleye 