Rent Scoop (2006)

Twin of the film Match Point - Scoop review by CSF

Woody Allen is good at any genre he attempts. Scoop reminded me very much of March Point and yet it is not the same story at all. Still, both are griping, stylish, silly, exciting. The ending is neither bad or happy, just satisfying.

Screwball thriller. - Scoop review by Steve

 This is my favourite of Woody Allen's London trilogy. It is a supernatural comedy thriller with Scarlett Johansson as a journalist who is made to disappear by a hapless magician (Woody) at a magic show.  During the trick, she encounters the ghost of a dead newshound who tips her off about an aristocrat (Hugh Jackman) who may be the Tarot Card Killer, the serial murderer of sex workers in London.

Aroused, she sets off in pursuit of/falls in love with the titled psychopath, with a reluctant Woody in tow, posing as her father. Scoop wasn't given a cinema release and later debuted on tv. The critics announced that Allen was finished, though it's the film after one of his biggest hits, Match Point.

The script is so-so, but it scores with Scarlett and Woody's screwball chemistry which is infectious. She is sensational as an intrepid girl reporter. Their intuitive comic rapport recalls his partnership with Diane Keaton, many years ago.

The director said he was going for a feel like the Thin Man films of the '30s, with Nick and Nora. Well, he doesn't really get that because this is across the generations, and Woody plays a coward. It's more like a good Bob Hope film. There is a lot of genuine suspense for a comedy thriller. There's beautiful photography of London. This is a lot of fun.

No..... - Scoop review by SB

I generally like Woody Allen films and have enjoyed one of them ('Match Point') set in England and starring Scarlett Johansson; but 'Scoop' is really a dud, and an embarrassment to watch. The story line involving the undead, a silly reporter and an aristocrat who might be a murderer is basic and unfunny. Far too many English stereotypes on view. Johansson's performance is quite good - she can appear stupid with startling ease and she looks ravishing as always, - but it is in the service of a film which should not have seen the light of the day. Some critics havbe described it as Allen's worse, and it is hard to disagree.