Mighty Aphrodite
vs.
LA Story
Mighty Aphrodite:
Major Flaws: It is Woody Allen doing what Woody Allen has always been doing, so there is little that's new or particularly charming there when you have seen a couple if his films. I don't see why the Greek choir has to be there (ok, it comments on the action just as an ancient choir would have done, but what particular purpose did it serve in this particular film? I wasn't able to see why this story merited having that theatrical device thrust upon it). On a related note: so the ending made use of another device from classical theatre (deus ex machina), but that doesn't mean that I had to like it, and I didn't. Deus ex machina endings just are unsatisfying to me. And lastly, Mira Sorvino has the most grating voice I can possibly imagine.
Major attributes: It is Woody Allen doing what Woody Allen has always been doing. He is painting the portraits of a couple of characters whose personalities are so clearly drawn and who come immediately to life as soon as they are on the screen. Many scenes and lines of dialogue were truly funny ("Screen Extras Guild"), and I laughed out loud a couple of times when the choir spoke about Lenny's mundane story in the heightened, stylised language of ancient drama. I also truly enjoyed seeing Helena Bonham Carter in her quite straight-forward, understated role.
Final judgement on Mighty Aphrodite: A generally charming film with a nice story, some good laughs, but lacking in a certain something that makes it truly great.
LA StoryMajor Flaws: Maybe Sarah Jessica Parker was supposed to be a bubbly, young presence, a breath of fresh air, but to me she was just annoying. The plot seemed rather insubstantial to me.
Major Attributes: I laughed A LOT. From the first moments (i.e. the opening montage), I was truly enjoying the film. As a Shakespeare fanatic, I enjoyed the references (which were few enough not to stick out uncomfortably). My first thoughts while seeing the film was: This is Woody-Allen-esque in the best possible way - ever so slightly pathetic protagonist runs around a city he loves and gets tangled up in dinner parties, marriages and love affairs, all while being very entertaining and funny. I felt that the film was successful as both a satire of and an hommage to Los Angeles. But my favourite character of the film would have to be the signpost.
Final judgement on LA Story: A fluffy comedy that was enjoyable from start to finish, but nothing that really gave you that certain "wow"-feeling.
Conclusions: I saw LA Story first, and it did all the things I usually love about Woody Allen's films: it kept me entertained, it made me laugh, it made me care for the characters, it left me with a truly satisfied feeling. After that, the real Woody Allen film did also deliver on most of these points, with the one exception that I just didn't enjoy spending time with those characters as much as I had enjoyed the whole experience of LA Story. Thus, my vote has to go to LA Story.