FILM REVIEW: Cafe Society

IT’S not easy to pull off a good period comedy.

Woody Allen aside, there aren’t many directors prepared to take a punt on setting their humour in bygone days.

So praise be that following the success of Midnight in Paris in 2011, Allen is at it again with Cafe Society, a screwball comedy-drama-romance mash-up set in the Golden Age of the 1930s.

I’ll admit I came to this one cold, not even checking who the director was, having heard the cast was led by Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart.

But it didn’t take long to work out this was a Woody work, or at least someone scampering joyfully in his footsteps, as the hallmarks are all there in his Hollywood and Manhattan-set caper.

A conflicted, nervous protagonist (Eisenberg’s New York ingenu Bobby Dorfman), a confident, quirky female lead (Stewart’s glitz-weary secretary), observations of Jewishness and jaw-dropping NYC and LA vistas pitch this particular tent in familiar territory.

One scene where Dorfman’s misguided hiring of a prostitute goes horribly, neurotically, way-off-plan — Bobby’s attempts to reassure the rookie doing more harm than good — is classic Woody, right down to Eisenberg’s high-waisted trousers and introverted posture.

Dorfman finds a job at Uncle Phil’s LA offices — he’s a big-shot, name-dropping, A-list agent — and it’s not long before he has his head turned by Stewart’s charming Vonny.

His attempts to woo her are stymied by her already having a boyfriend which, unbeknown to Bobby, just happens to be his boss (Steve Carell).

Will Phil leave his wife for Vonny? Can Bobby prise her away with his energy and puppy-dog devotion?

It’s a perfect recipe for both romance and disaster, all played out against gorgeous backdrops of sun-soaked beaches and glamorous parties at villas in the Hollywood Hills.

As Bobby grows more confident, his enthusiasm can’t help but see his fortunes and aspirations grow, eventually forcing a big decision for Vonny and a move to New York for the protegé.

This West to East switch effectively signals the start of Act 2 and brings Bobby back into contact with his close family, including his gangster brother and his doting sister and her pretentious intellectual husband — whose attitudes to a noisy neighbour have distinctly different results.

The families’ own stories are told in flashback vignettes, each providing its own moments of absurdity.

The plot goes like a subway train, Allen keeping the predictable and less-predictable twists coming and punctuating the plot beats with a gently-comic voiceover and some brilliant trademark exchanges.

One scene in which Phil attempts to win over Vonny — now working as a cloakroom assistant — while constantly being interrupted by business contacts is a masterclass in dialogue by Allen and in verbal dexterity by Carell.

Unlike many lead female roles, Stewart’s is one which allows her character development and the opportunity to be the stronger party in a relationship, while a supporting cast including Parker Posey and Blake Lively are also given plenty to do.

But it is Eisenberg, channelling vintage Allen, who gives the film its centre, ably conveying Bobby’s journey from mouse to man and visibly opening up as he transforms.

Like Owen Wilson in Midnight..., Eisenberg is so right for the role I struggled to think of anyone who could play it better.

Not all critics have been impressed, some pointing out its familiarity to previous Allen works, lambasting it for “crude” Jewish stereotypes or highlighting the “airbrushing” out of practically any black people, and there is value in all these arguments.

But it’s also hard to dispute that Cafe Society is a stunningly-attractive film — Central Park and the Manhattan scenes making the Big Apple as delicious-looking as ever — with a top-level cast delivering a chuckle-inspiring, romantic script.

See it after your Sunday lunch — it’s a light, sweet soufflé to leave you perfectly satisfied.