As a teenager, I was besotted with the Academy Awards. I had made a list of past Oscar winners across categories, and happily updated the list year after year. This resulted in my becoming familiar with the names of several great performers (and movies).
Mighty Aphrodite was one such name. So were Woody Allen and Mira Sorvino.
I had watched Mira in the comedy ‘Romy and Michele's High School Reunion’ and enjoyed her performance. Recently, I watched her Oscar-winning performance in Mighty Aphrodite (1995).
This movie starring Woody Allen, Helena Bonham Carter and Mira Sorvino tells the story of Lenny (Woody Allen), his obsession with finding out who are his adopted son’s biological parents, and events that follow.
Lenny’s wife (Helena Bonham Carter) is embarking on an extra-marital affair, and his marriage is crumbling. On the other hand, the son displays signs of being a child prodigy. Lenny’s search for his son’s biological parents leads him to the mother, Linda (Mira Sorvino), a prostitute and part-time porn star.
Linda dreams of a loving marriage and husband, and Lenny introduces her to a dim boxer who wants to get back to his original occupation – that of onion farming. The amateur boxer proudly declares, “I've had 16 fights and I won all of them but 12.” The association ends when the boxer gets to know of Linda’s past, and she eventually finds happiness with a helicopter pilot. And Lenny’s (much younger) wife returns to him.
Watch out for Lenny’s interaction with the boxer, and Linda’s performance. Greek chorus makes an appearance throughout the film. So does sparkling wit. A funny sequence is when the chorus calls on Zeus; all they hear is his answering machine requesting them to leave a message.
I read that Woody Allen has undergone psychoanalysis for years. This is a subject I have little knowledge of, and lots of fascination for. Some day, it shall be explored in detail.
Mighty Aphrodite was one such name. So were Woody Allen and Mira Sorvino.
I had watched Mira in the comedy ‘Romy and Michele's High School Reunion’ and enjoyed her performance. Recently, I watched her Oscar-winning performance in Mighty Aphrodite (1995).
This movie starring Woody Allen, Helena Bonham Carter and Mira Sorvino tells the story of Lenny (Woody Allen), his obsession with finding out who are his adopted son’s biological parents, and events that follow.
Lenny’s wife (Helena Bonham Carter) is embarking on an extra-marital affair, and his marriage is crumbling. On the other hand, the son displays signs of being a child prodigy. Lenny’s search for his son’s biological parents leads him to the mother, Linda (Mira Sorvino), a prostitute and part-time porn star.
Linda dreams of a loving marriage and husband, and Lenny introduces her to a dim boxer who wants to get back to his original occupation – that of onion farming. The amateur boxer proudly declares, “I've had 16 fights and I won all of them but 12.” The association ends when the boxer gets to know of Linda’s past, and she eventually finds happiness with a helicopter pilot. And Lenny’s (much younger) wife returns to him.
Watch out for Lenny’s interaction with the boxer, and Linda’s performance. Greek chorus makes an appearance throughout the film. So does sparkling wit. A funny sequence is when the chorus calls on Zeus; all they hear is his answering machine requesting them to leave a message.
I read that Woody Allen has undergone psychoanalysis for years. This is a subject I have little knowledge of, and lots of fascination for. Some day, it shall be explored in detail.
2 comments:
“I've had 16 fights and I won all of them but 12.”
Haha ... :D
@Rosh, the movie has many such moments! Watch it :)
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