Crisis in Six Scenes (2016) * * (showing on Amazon Prime)

 

Directed by:  Woody Allen

Starring:  Woody Allen, Elaine May, Miley Cyrus, Rachel Brosnahan, John Magaro, Joy Behar

Crisis in Six Scenes was the first project Woody Allen created when he inked his now-cancelled deal with Amazon.  The six-part series details the turbulence of the 1960's crashing headfirst into the content life of writer Sidney J. Musinger (Allen) in the form of fugitive Lennie Dale (Cyrus), who is wanted for various acts of domestic terrorism in the name of fixing social injustice.

Lennie, the daughter of a friend of Sidney's wife Kay (May), breaks into Sidney's suburban home and begs to stay a while in hopes of avoiding the police and figuring out her next move.    Kay is welcoming, since Lennie's parents once helped her out in a time of need, while Sidney is naturally hesitant to shelter a fugitive.   As weeks progress, Sidney grows more and more perturbed at Lennie eating him out of house and home.

Complications arise, as to be expected.   Alan, a son of a family friend staying at Sidney's while attending NYU, falls in love with Lennie mostly because she ignites a fire in him to become a social justice warrior, although surely not to Lennie's extreme.   Alan, engaged to the WASPish Ellie (Brosnahan), questions whether a sheltered, wealthy suburban life is really for him when there is so much turmoil in the world.    Kay is so on board with Lennie's radicalism that she passes out the works of Karl Marx and Chairman Mao to her book club.    Everyone in Sidney's life has his or her inner radical awakened by Lennie's diatribes about the big brother government and its attempts at oppression of the masses.    Sidney just wants something to eat and to sell a sitcom to network executives.

This all plays like Woody Allen light.   Allen once again plays the kvetching, put-upon nebbish whose life is turned upside down by a sudden turn of events.   He protests, he mutters, he argues, and he complains, but soon finds himself helping Lennie in her quest while fighting it every step of the way.  Allen isn't quite on autopilot here, but he brings the energy of a rock star performing his signature hit for the millionth time in concert.    Cyrus recites her lines with the proficiency of a fourth grader who was happy enough simply to memorize her part in the school play.   There is no inflection, and she almost shouts every word.   Cyrus knows the words but not the music. 

One of the brilliant aspects of Allen's work is his ability to start with a germ of an idea and flesh out its comic possibilities in unpredictable ways.   Crisis in Six Scenes doesn't provide any surprises or any hint of spontaneity.    What happens is mostly what's expected, as if Allen couldn't reach next level thinking with the material.    Even the conclusion, in which all of the characters somehow find themselves in Sidney's foyer and all of the conflicts are neatly resolved, seems rather lazy and uninspired.    It has been a while since I said that about a Woody Allen work.