How sad is this?

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I remembered little of this film from a previous viewing but was vaguely aware that I had been disappointed. Watching it again, I found it very hard to enjoy. I realise Woody Allen feels some empathy with the bunch of past it stand ups reminiscing in the diner but they mean nothing to me. Neither was I drawn or even amused at the list of Allen's clientele of failed has beens, one legged tap dancer, one armed juggler and all. I did find the New York and New Jersey location shooting attractive and did find the film picked up a bit towards the end. I enjoyed the little escapade with Allen and Farrow dodging through grasslands and crossing the Hudson but there was just too much or Allen fussing repeatedly with the same gestures and even dialogue. I also have no idea why Mia Farrow was dressed up to look like a female impersonator. She was supposed to be an attractive gangster's moll and here she is appallingly over dressed and over haired. Maybe it was suggested she show a bit of T&A and rebelled, being the contrary b**** we know she can be.

Although Mia Farrow is billed as Woody Allen's co-star, few fans will recognize her as she hides behind dark glasses and a convincing Bronx accent. But Woody Allen himself is as delightfully neurotic and bizarre as usual. Nick Apollo Forte (a singer making his only movie appearance to date) is just wonderful as the not very able or amiable singer riding the crest of a nostalgia wave. There are some gloriously funny throwaway lines, but for all its marvelous weirdness and wackiness, the script seems to have been only halfway thought out and too quickly committed to paper and camera. I think it would have been much funnier with more work.

Danny Rose (played by Woody Allen) is a theatrical agent. He has a wide and often odd assortment of clients but will do anything for them. One of his clients, Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte) - a washed up crooner from the 50s who is undergoing a resurgence, asks Danny to accompany his mistress, Tina (Mia Farrow), to one of his concerts - her presence helps him perform. Danny naturally obliges. However, Tina is also seeing a mob boss and when Danny is seen with her, the mob boss assumes Tina is two-timing him with Danny. This results in Danny and Tina being hunted by the mob. Adventures and hilarity ensue.A wonderfully exuberant and funny comedy from Woody Allen. Some great scenes (the shootout among the gas-filled balloons is priceless) and one-liners. A pretty good adventure too, though it does get a bit silly at times.Great performance by Woody Allen as Danny Rose. His over-the-top salesman-like shtick is wonderful to behold. Incredibly funny. A pity not more time was devoted to his interactions with clients and his sales pitches to promoters, as these scenes were hilarious.Equally brilliant is Mia Farrow. So good she is totally uncognisable as the blonde Italian-American bimbo Tina.Good fun, with a bit of romance thrown in too.

For most other directors / writers / actors, "Broadway Danny Rose" would be a considerable (triple) achievement: there is terrific music, arty b & w photography, Woody (as an actor) at his most ingratiating, Mia Farrow (almost unrecognizable) at her loosest, solid supporting players, and a beautiful closing shot. However, by Woody Allen's own standards, this is a minor work in the grand total of his filmography; the main reason for that is that the story is too slight, and goes on a little too long (even though the movie is relatively short at 80 minutes). And the comedy produces smiles rather than belly laughs. Maybe it would have been more memorable if the role of Lou Canova had gone to the person that Allen, according to IMDb trivia, offered it to first: Sylvester Stallone! **1/2 out of 4.