(1994) Director/co-writer Woody Allen's tragical comedy of mobsters and actors requires some patience from the audience to hit its stride before making a marvelous leap and smart landing. It's the roaring '20s with speakeasies and gangland rub outs of the competition. Artists and entertainers too.

A young playwright with two flops, David Shayne (John Cusack), brings his latest drama, God of Our Fathers, to producer Julian Marx (Jack Warden), demanding to be the director, blaming his earlier failures on not having control of his work.

David and his fellow-genius writer pal Sheldon Flender (Rob Reiner) discuss the importance of art and the artist: women love the artist first, then the man; if you could save one thing from a burning building, either the sole remaining collection of Shakespeare's works or a mediocre person, save the irreplaceable art.

Julian convinces hoodlum Nick Valenti (Joe Viterelli) to back the play so long as Nick's girlfriend, Olive Neal (Jennifer Tilly), a Hoboken joint dancer with no acting experience, gets a part. Julian informs David, initially unwilling to allow an amateur play the part of the female psychiatrist, that compromise is necessary if he wants his play to have a chance. Nick assigns one of his goons, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), as Olive's bodyguard.

A former big star of the stage and alcoholic, Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest), accepts the lead as Sylvia Poston. The play's cast includes Warner Purcell (Jim Broadbent), a glutton whose girth broadens as the show runs through rehearsals, and Eden Brent (Tracey Ullman), who kiddingly says she breast feeds her Chihuahua, Mr Woofles.

When David immediately begins rewriting Helen's character to give her more sexuality, his long-time girlfriend Ellen (Mary-Louise Parker) tells him that with Sylvia's character, unlike his earlier female characters, he'd finally created someone believable - so why change her? Fawning over Helen - who tells him repeatedly "Don't speak" - David's infatuation gradually rises to passion.

During rehearsals, Cheech, who'd rather be playing craps, makes a brilliant suggestion to improve the dramatic focus. At first David takes umbrage, threatening to quit, at a lowlife's opinion having significance in his artistic vision; but David soon after comes to appreciate Cheech's talent and seeks his advice on further revision with realistic dialogue.

As the show develops into a quality production from the rewriting, critics begin taking notice, raving about the new drama headed for Broadway, speaking of David Shayne as the new Max Anderson or Eugene O'Neill. After Sheldon says to David of his guilt over wanting Helen in place of Ellen, "An artist creates his own moral universe," David denounces Cheech, who as the play has become more a realization of his artistic imagination wants to take ownership and responsibility for its integrity, for wanting to remove Olive from the play: "It's morally wrong …" To which Cheech says: "You choose her over the show?"

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2008 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Patrick Ivers can be reached via e-mail at .