Robert J. Maxwell This has gotten some crummy reviews but it's not all that bad, even if not among Woody Allen's best. One of the things that makes it watchable is that the plot GOES somewhere. Somewhere around this time, Allen was turning out thin plots full of rows but lacking good jokes, like "Manhattan Murder Mystery." Here Woody is an insurance investigator who looks into high-end jewel thefts. He works in a crowded office that is being rearranged by an efficiency expert, Helen Hunt, whom he hates. At a nightclub both Allen and Hayes are hypnotized and left with an open post-hypnotic trigger, the word "Constantinople" in Allen's case, and "Madagascar" for her.The villainous stage performer, "The Jade Scorpion," calls them up at awkward hours of the night, triggers the hypnotic trance, and has them carry out heists for him. Allen becomes the chief suspect. And all of this mishigas takes place in a tangled web of relationships and buried lust of the kind that possesses Allen the film maker.The air is filled with insults and wisecracks, mainly from Allen. Some are pretty enjoyable. Allen plays his familiar nervous wreck, stuttering, put upon, and thoroughly confused. The "girls" -- and what girls they are -- look appealingly 1940-ish. The three principal women look great -- Elizabeth Berkeley, Charlize Theron, and Helen Hunt. If there's a problem with them, it's that they wear too many clothes. Shame.The musical score is of the genre that Woody Allen feels most comfortable with, period recording of Duke Ellington and the like -- "Sophisticated Lady," "How High the Moon," "Sunrise Serenade." I kind of like it too, so much more affecting than listening to some gangsta threaten to rip my head off and pee down my neck cavity.You'll probably enjoy it and smile from time to time. I don't think it will bore you; it moves too quickly.

Scarecrow-88 Underrated 1940s "noir comedy" among Woody Allen's resume, and he considers it one of his worst. As a fan of Woody's, agree to disagree. The period art direction, costumes, hair and makeup, characterizations, atmosphere, and sensibilities offer Allen fans a beautiful platform for his cast to work from. And what a cast assembled!A magician (David Ogden Stiers) places an insurance investigator (Allen), under anxiety due to a recently hired office "organizer" (Helen Hunt) who has urged the company boss (Dan Aykroid) to use outside PIs in an independent investigation firm instead of the current in-house detectives on the payroll, under hypnosis, encouraging him through a trigger word to steal jewels held by his employers (or behind security for clients to protect their jewels). It happened while Allen was attending a birthday function for a fellow co-worker in a club with Stiers performing his hypnosis act. Hunt is also under hypnosis and later when Allen is unavailable, Stiers will use a trigger word on her to commit the same type of jewel heists.How this "wronged man" plot gets Allen off the hook is most amusing, but for me it is the traded barbs/insults/remarks between him and Hunt is what most entertained me personally. I realize Allen felt he was miscast in the lead, but the cockroach or weasel insults towards someone else wouldn't have had the same impact as when Hunt demeans him. The "don't have a coronary" or "don't choke" or "be careful not to be hit by a truck" conclusions to finished dialogues from Hunt to Allen make up some of the "flirt" later to give credence to their unlikely romance and alliance later. The case that develops against Allen is damaging but how Wallace Shawn and Brian Markinson learn of his hypnotic entrapment, rescuing him in the process, proves to be his salvation. Charlene Theron is a sultry and naughty femme fatale caricature, John Shuck is an opinionated employee who works at the company, and Elizabeth Berkeley landed a plum part as a stunning but supposedly airheaded secretary at Allen's company. The description of Allen's apartment by Theron, Allen conceding to Hunt after considering her a cipher that she is worth confiding in, and Allen giving Hunt as much as he takes offer rich dialogue exchanges and humorous quips to giggle at. Just lots of fun. The setting enhances the cast and words. A sleeper in Allen's oeuvre.

SimonJack Woody Allen assembled a fine cast for this comedy-caper that he wrote, directed and starred in. "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion" is fair adult comedy. Most of the adult theme is by innuendo, typical of the films of the mid-20th century. The time and place for this story is 1940 New York. The adult here is mostly in fast dialog riddled with insults, and references that most in a younger audience wouldn't understand.The plot is a creative one that uses a new twist to some old-fashioned crime capers. In many of Allen's films in which he stars, his usual whining character quickly wears thin with me. In this film, it isn't as much complaining as it is tongue-twisted and stumbling for words or the next line. That's a little easier to take.This is worth a few chuckles but it's not a special film to go out of one's way to watch or buy.

bd_gordon I am mostly familiar with Woody Allen's earlier work, such as the goof-ball comedies of the late '60's and early '70's. When he went cerebral, I lost interest... For 10 years, I've heard that "Curse of the Jade Scorpion" was considered by everyone - including Woody himself - his worse film, so I never bothered with it... One night last week, Netflix was showing it as a "Watch it Now" free offer, so I thought I'd at least give it a chance. I will tell you that I feel cheated all these years! I laughed through the entire film, and loved it so much that I bought the DVD! I've watched it several times with family and friends over a few occasions, and they loved it too! Perhaps it was released before it's time? I have no idea why it failed at the box office when it was released in 2001, nor can I understand why it was so disliked by the main critics of that time, but I honestly cannot find anything not to enjoy about this film: the story, the characters, the lavish 1940's sets and soundtrack... the chemistry between Allen and Hunt is believable, with witty, snappy dialog, and Woody is back as the underdog comedic hero again. I hope you give this movie a chance, it really has improved with age, and I am really happy I finally watched it.