Movie Review: SCOOP Author: Paul Coffland Saturday, July 29, 2005 U.S. Release Date: July 28, 2005 Distributor: Focus Features Director: Woody Allen Writing Credits: Woody Allen Cast: Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, et al. Genre: Romantic Comedy MPAA Rating: PG-13 OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.scoopmovie.com/ TRAILERS: Via www.apple.com./trailers Watching Scoop reminded me why I watch movies- sometimes you are privileged to sit and witness a display of understated comedic brilliance, devoid of salacious nonsense, which was certainly the case with Woody Allen’s latest film. A widely respected reporter named Joe Strombel has died and is taking his final boat ride to the great beyond. As the Grim Reaper leads the way, Joe can’t help himself; he pursues a final story on the tip of a secretary who suspects that she was poisoned by the mans she worked for before taking her final voyage. Armed with the hot tip, he jumps off the boat, not yet ready to quit the reporting game. Back in the land of the living, a beautiful college student, Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), aspires to be a respected journalist and scores an interview with a big-time movie man while vacationing in London. She doesn’t get the type of story she was looking for and seems disillusioned with her career choice. The paths of the old vet and the new reporter cross when Ms. Pransky goes to a magic show. She is invited to come up to the stage to participate in a magic trick with the Great Splendini and Strombel appears, giving her his scoop while she is in the “magic box” of Sid Waterman (Woody Allen). She emerges from the box ready to find the young aristocrat that Strombel has accused of being a serial killer. Pransky enlists the help of Waterman who poses as her rich, oil-man father as they set out to find the tarot card killer. They would never be accused of being real detectives as Strombel has to make additional appearances to provide clues and direction for the unlikely team. After befriending Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), the target of their investigation, Sondra no longer believes they have the killer. Sid on the other hand becomes even more convinced and doggedly pursues a clue stolen from Lyman’s bag. The real story here is that the unconventional pairing of Allen and Johansson is a joy to watch as Pransky’s sweet naiveté is cast against Waterman’s unyielding nervousness and paranoia. Allen’s string of rants, jokes and tricks are laugh-out-loud funny while Miss Scarlett shows that young actors needn’t be over the top and manic to make a splash and leave an impression. PAUL’S GRADE: A- Paul Coffland is a senior writer/reviewer for ON-FILM.NET. Send feedback to pcoffland@houston.rr.com.