“Cafe Society” – “Would Have Been Better as a Book”

 

“Anyone who’s anyone will be seen at Cafe Society.”

It’s the 1930s, and Bobby Dorfman, a young man in his early twenties, takes a leap of faith as he moves from the Bronx to Hollywood in hopes of making a big change in his life. Bobby, played by Jesse Eisenberg, doesn’t want to spend his life working for his father in New York, and is hopeful that he can start a career under the wing of Hollywood’s elite agent to the stars, Phil Stern, who happens to be Bobby’s uncle.

Phil Stern, played by Steve Carell, is rather standoffish toward his sister’s youngest son, but decides to help the persistent young man out, giving him a menial position as essentially an errand boy of sorts.  The job isn’t exactly what Bobby sought, but as he’s taken under his uncle’s wing he’s introduced to the who’s who of Tinseltown, and forms a close friendship with Phil’s secretary Vonnie (short for Veronica), played by Kristen Stewart of the Twilight series.

Bobby falls in love with Vonnie, who politely refuses his advances because her heart has already been claimed by another, but Bobby’s feelings toward her only grow deeper.  A messy and unexpected love triangle ensues, leaving Vonnie feeling confused as she’s forced to make a decision about who she loves, affecting everyone forevermore.

The film, written and directed by Woody Allen, is full of clever dialogue as one might expect, but the movie itself left a lot to be desired.  Kristen Stewart isn’t believable as the object of Jesse Eisenberg’s affections.  The two of them hardly have any chemistry together whatsoever, but what’s shocking is that she and her lover have even less chemistry together!

I went to the movie with my cousins Morgan and Cara, and all three of us agreed that the movie’s resolution was unfulfilling.  Morgan pointed out that the whole movie seemed to drift from scene to scene without any real sort of peaks and valleys of conflict or excitement to make the plot interesting.  She said, “I think the story would have been better as a book because at least then there would be more depth to the characters, and then maybe we would have actually believed their relationships with one another.”  Cara said, “Kristen Stewart was woefully miscast!  She was terrible.  She never shows any emotion at all, and she’s so boring.”

I agreed with both Morgan and Cara.  Blake Lively, who’s full of charm and beauty, should have been cast as Vonnie instead of Kristen Stewart, but instead Lively plays a minor role.  Had Woody Allen switched the actresses, the movie might have been a lot more interesting, and, more importantly, plausible.  Because Stewart’s performance is so lackluster, I felt like I wasn’t vested in the story line; it isn’t one of those romances where I was rooting for any two particular characters to end up together.

As we left the theater, Morgan, Cara, and I discussed how the movie might have been drastically improved if it was cast differently.  Steve Carell, who I normally like, didn’t have that charismatic spark that he normally has, which felt disappointing.  While none of us were huge fans of the film, at least none of us outright hated it.  The 1930s’ clothing worn in Hollywood and Manhattan were fancy and stylish, giving the movie a fun bit of sophistication, and the club scenes with the big bands and singing brought that era to life. Bobby’s immediate family, including Corey Stoll as his brother Ben, brought bits of humor to an otherwise unimaginative plot.

As for Kristen Stewart, she should stick to roles where having a personality is unnecessary, or she should perhaps consider a new profession where making others believe she’s got an actual pulse is not required.

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