Brilliant. An instant classic. Boris Yellnikoff (Larry David) is what you would normally call a grumpy old man but what he himself calls a genius who sees the bigger picture. He is divorced, living alone wanting to be isolated from all the imbeciles in the world when the young woman Melodie (Evan Rachel Wood) shows up at his doorstep, begging him to let her stay for a few nights. She has run away  from her family in Mississippi to start a new life in New York. Despite Boris treating her like she is an idiot, and despite the age and IQ difference, Melodie falls in love with Boris and they end up getting married. Everything is going well until Melodie’s mother unexpectedly pays them a visit…

Woody Allen has done it again: a theatrical masterpiece that is so wonderfully amusing through its intelligent dialogue and Boris’ never-ending ranting about society and religion. Melodie brings an unexpected innocence into the equation which disrupts Boris’ life completely. It seems like Woody Allen has moved away from his European way of filmmaking right back into his New York comedies.

Whatever Works definitely deserves a MovieCat award!