According to Colwell

Following “Match Point“, his best film in years, Woody Allen returns to London with a more whimsical tale that has the trademark Allen wit and comic timing back in form. While it is never hilarious nor gripping, “Scoop” is always engaging and amusing. Scarlett Johansson plays Sondra, a young American journalism student on vacation in London, and Allen plays Sid Waterman, an impressively unimpressive self-described prestidigitator. The two team up to solve a serial murder case plaguing London when Johannson volunteers for a bit in Allen’s magic show and encounters the ghost of a London journalist who has the scoop of a lifetime: the Tarot Card Killer is none other than Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), son of an English Lord.

Allen has a befuddled, almost surprised, reaction to his own lame tricks (he magically transforms a large gimmicky-looking cardboard tube into a bouquet of flowers). He’s funniest when pretending to be Sondra’s millionaire father at Lyman’s aristocratic parties. There, he even manages some decent card tricks together with some painful conversation. When asked his religious background, he states that he was born into the Hebrew persuasion but converted to narcissism. When Sondra complains that he is a glass-is-half-empty pessimist, he counters that the glass is half full, “but of poison”.

Although the story is quite simple, writer-director Allen does a good job of keeping Sondra (and us) guessing whether or not the rich, handsome Lyman is connected to the Tarot Card Killer. He also does a good job of showing off London, just as his New York movies featured the Big Apple as another character, though he could do more with London. He’s filming his next movie in London at this time, and it will be interesting to see if his portrayal of the city evolves. “Scoop” is pleasantly diverting, and has a number of good Allen one-liners. If the thought of a nervous Woody Allen trying to navigate his Smart Car along the left side of English roads brings a smile to your face, you’ll probably enjoy “Scoop”.

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