Everyone Says I Love You (1996)

Here is a movie that had me with a goofy grin plastered on my face for most of its length. A movie that remembers the innocence of the old Hollywood musicals and combines it with one of Allen's funniest and most labyrinthine plots, in which complicated New Yorkers try to recapture the simplicity of first love. It would take a heart of stone to resist this movie."--Roger Ebert

In 1996, Woody Allen gathered one of his largest and most impressive ensemble casts to date to begin work on his latest fall project, but kept a rather large secret from all of them. Once they were too involved in the project to think of dropping out, he mentioned that Everyone Says I Love You would, in fact, be a musical. And then he added the punchline: each star would have to sing his or her own songs. Now sure, if you're Madonna or Streisand, this might not be that big of a problem. But Julia Roberts? Edward Norton? Tim Roth? In the end, though, it all wound up working for the best: Allen got his stars to sing (except for Drew Barrymore, whose voice was dubbed), and we got the pleasure of watching them.

However, saying that Everyone Says I Love You was a vast departure for Allen doesn't necessarily hold true. Many of the elements had been seen before in classic Allen comedies like Annie Hall or Manhattan. And though he had never produced an actual musical before, music had nonetheless played a large role in many of his films (especially the rarely seen Radio Days). Perhaps, then, that is what makes Everyone Says I Love You so enjoyable: the new spin on old material. Or perhaps it's just the brilliant synthesis of old musical standards ("Makin' Whopee", "Just You, Just Me", etc.) with modern characters, themes, and plotlines. Or maybe it's just something we'll never fully understand (the same "something we'll never understand" that has caused many people to not enjoy this brilliant film, I might add!). But in my humble opinion, this is about as good as it gets. Characters breaking into song and dance in the middle of a hospital, at a funeral, even in a taxi cab...it's something you truly have to see for yourself to fully appreciate.

As for the story itself, Allen interweaves several different characters and ideas into a cohesive whole, centering around a family (think Hannah and Her Sisters with less drama and more dancing). The story primarily revolves around the extended family of Bob and Steffi Dandridge (Alan Alda and Goldie Hawn), wealthy Manhattanites with a large house, entirely too much free time, and a daughter, Skylar (Barrymore), who is getting set to marry Holden (Norton). Allen plays family friend (and Steffi's ex-husband) Joe Berlin, a lonely man who splits his time between Paris and New York, always on the lookout for love. DJ, his daughter from the earlier marriage, decides to go to Paris with him for awhile, to help him find love. She tries, with varying degrees of success, to set him up with Von (Julia Roberts), a woman stuck in an unsatisfying marriage - something she frequently tells her psychiatrist in their emotional sessions. DJ's friend, however, just so happened to live right next door to this very same psychiatrist back in New York, and the two had often listened in on her sessions with Von, fascinated by her life and problems. Soon Joe, now fully prepared with the most intimate details of Von's life, "accidentally" bumps into her in Paris and strikes up a conversation which ultimately leads to their rather hard-to-believe romance. Meanwhile, back in New York, things at the Dandridge house are a mess. Skylar has decided, at the last possible minute, to call off her engagement to Holden and soon strikes up a relationship with Charles Ferry (Tim Roth), a recently released ex-con that Skylar's mom, a lawyer, has taken under her wing after getting him out of jail. Which, of course, calls for a song.

Filled with amusing performances from its large cast (Natalie Portman, Billy Crudup, Lukas Haas, and Gaby Hoffman also show up in bit parts), outstanding music (thanks to Dick Hyman's arrangements), and a sharp script from Allen, Everyone Says I Love You is a unique and often wonderful film from a talented man that delivers time and again.

Release Date: December 6, 1996

Domestic Total Gross: $9,759,200

Distributor: Miramax

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