Cafe Society Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

Downs

3. It Feels Like A "Greatest Hits" Of Allen's Movies

For all of its many pleasures, Cafe Society is basically a compendium of Woody Allen's most successful tropes. Jesse Eiseneberg is basically playing an Allen substitute here, an endlessly neurotic man tirelessly persistent in pursuit of a more attractive woman, with a script that intermittently muses on the nature of love and death.

It's fair to say that Allen doesn't do a whole lot new here: some might say he's even coasting or spinning his wheels, though given the generally enjoyable nature of the film that seems a tad harsh. Unambitious seems more apt: it doesn't see Allen making any major strides creatively, but at this stage in his life and career, that's not hugely surprising.