Movie Review: She's Funny That Way

She's Funny That Way a.k.a My Funny Lady a.k.a Broadway Therapy a.k.a Squirrels to the Nuts
Red Granite International, Lagniappe Films, Lailaps Pictures, Venture Forth, USA, 2014. 

Cynic reporter Judy (Illeana Douglas, known for "Welcome to Sweden") interviews rising Hollywood-star Isabella Patterson (Imogen Poots) who tells her life story. Bubbly Isabella came from poor family and had a scandalous past. Isabella was a movie fan and dreamed of being an actress.

Isabella

She was working as an escort girl when director Arnold Albertson (Owen Wilson) was looking for some fun. Nice guy Arnold decides to sponsor her career if she quits the escort business. So Isabelle applies for a role in Broadway play. Coincidentally the play is directed by Arnold whose wife Delta (Kathryn Hahn) is also acting in the play. In a small town like New York everyone knows everybody. Things get awkward and script writer Josh (Will Forte), main actor Seth (Rhys Ifans) and neurotic psychiatrist Jane (Jennifer Aniston) make the situation even more complicated. Isabella is also stalked by lovesick Judge Pendergast (Austin Pendleton).

Josh and Arnold

Delta and Seth

Jane

Movie has a good mix of Woody Allen and classic Hollywood comedies. Relationships are messy as in regular soap operas and everyone is having a secret affair. Amusing coincidences happen as in old screwball farces. Still there are scenes where it feels more like a homage to old classics and somehow lacks the magic and originality of the films such as "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that is one of the films it is constantly referencing. The cast is good and seems to have fun. Owen Wilson is always good natured. Imogen Poots is funny and so is Jennifer Anistor as the weirdest shrink recently.

Rating: Good

Starring: Imogen Poots, Illeana Douglas, Graydon Carter, Owen Wilson, Scott Campbell, Erin Heatherton, Melanie Hill, Jake Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, Richard Lewis, Cybill Shepherd, Debi Mazar, Austin Pendleton, George Morfogen, Tovah Feldshuh, Jennifer Aniston, Will Forte, Ahna O'Reilly, Kathryn Hahn, Jake Lucas, Sydney Lucas, Nora Jobling, Nicole Kohut, Bergen Loren Sanderford, Dimitri Dimitrov, Tatum O'Neal, Ren Croney, Colleen Camp, Jennifer Esposito, David Francis Calderazzo, Albert Jones, Besnik Shabani, Poppy Delevingne, Megan Rosen, Michael Shannon, Peter Cormican, Polly Adams, Lucy Punch, Nur Khan, Chazz Menendez, Brian Donahue, Neil Schaap, Joanna Lumley, Quentin Tarantino

Director: Peter Bogdanovich