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

 My favourite of Woody's London trilogy. It is a supernatural comedy thriller with Scarlett Johansson as a journalist who is vanished by Woody Allen (as Splendini) 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 maniac, with a reluctant Woody in tow posing as her father. Scoop wasn't allowed a cinema release and later debuted on tv. The critics laid waste and announced that Woody was finished, though it's the film after one of his biggest hits, Match Point.

The script is only so-so, but where it scores is with the chemistry between Johansson and Allen which is infectious. She is sensational as a screwball girl reporter. Their comic rapport recalls Woody's partnership with Diane Keaton, many years ago.

The director said he was going for a feel like the Thin Man films of the thirties with Nick and Nora. Well, he doesn't really get that because this is across the generations, and Splendini is a coward. It's more like a good Bob Hope film. There is a lot of genuine suspense for a comedy thriller. Scoop is a lot of fun, and it looks a knockout too.

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.