Magic in the Moonlight - 2 smiles

The cinematography is radiant and the vintage cars and costumes are elegant and that’s the positive for Woody Allen’s latest, “Magic in the Moonlight.” Otherwise, this movie has a miscast Colin Firth and a fluffy script that takes a strange turn in the third act.  This mostly mirthless comedy, with a sparkless romance, begins in a Berlin cabaret, where master illusionist Stanley Crawford (Colin Firth) is doing his act, costumed as the Chinese sleight-of-hand maestro Wei Ling Soo. He saws an assistant in half and makes an elephant disappear. The year is 1928. Backstage, after Stanley has doffed his costume, an old friend and colleague (Simon McBurney) begs him to take an assignment. A dazzling American is offering psychic forecasts in the south of France. Her mystic mumbo jumbo has seduced the wealthy Catledge clan and she needs to be exposed for the fraud she surely is. After all, Stanley is ‘the greatest debunker of fake spiritualists in the world.’ He must visit the Catledges, observe the pretty Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) and expose her trickery. Of course, Stanley himself will be seduced. All Sophie has to do is scrunch her nose, flap her hands and strike a pose.

Stanley and Sophie debate whether it’s better to believe in something that can’t be proven scientifically – even if it’s a scam – than to believe in absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, these musing don’t really fit within the context of a romantic comedy. And Stone seems to have chemistry with everyone, but Firth. Add the 28-year difference between their ages and their ultimate romance just doesn’t work. At another time, the Stanley role would have been played by Allen himself (and he, too, would be miscast). Another misstep in the script, written by Allen, is converting Stanley to a believer and thereby negating his delightfully acerbic quality that characterizes his and Sophie’s early interactions. Firth’s performance is perfect when he’s playing Stanley as an arrogant ass, but less believable when his character is more humble and human. There are a few laughs in “Magic in the Moonlight,” but on the whole, it’s more of an ordeal than an enjoyable afternoon at the movies. 8/1/14