by MATTHEW HAYS

First, a bit of career context is in order. Two years ago, Woody Allen, one of America’s most prolific directors—if also the most inconsistent—had been declared down for the count. Given horrific critical failures like Hollywood Ending (true confession: I actually liked that one) and Anything Else, the man once dubbed the Charlie Chaplin for an age of anxiety was receiving reviews that read like obituaries. Ironic, given Allen’s reported obsession with his own mortality.

Then Allen performed one of those tricks that his dedicated fan base and those critics loyal to him savour: he wrote and directed Match Point, an infidelity/murder movie that was surprisingly shtick-free. The film was dark, and, to the relief of many, was devoid of the onscreen presence of Allen himself. The highbrow took note: Allen was back in fine form, and was feted with a Film Comment cover for the achievement.

Now comes Scoop, and fans are eager to see if lightning will strike once more. Sad, but true: it won’t. Scoop is a return to recent form for Allen, hearkening back most closely to the lacklustre Curse of the Jade Scorpion, one of his least inspired comedies of the past decade.

Here, Allen reunites with his Match Point star, Scarlett Johansson. (Is she still an It Girl or have her 15 nanoseconds passed? I can’t keep track.) She plays an eager young journalism student who, while visiting Britain, happens upon the performance of Allen, who plays a cheeseball magician. By some cosmic screwing around, a dead journalist arrives during the act to tell Johansson about the identity of the Tarot Card Killer, a serial murderer who has been preying on the young ladies of London. Allen and Johansson become Holmes and Watson (slot in obligatory one-liners), though this time around Allen has mercifully removed any romance between himself and an actress almost a third his age.

The culprit, apparently, is Hugh Jackman. Did he do it or didn’t he? You’ll figure it out long before anyone on screen does. Scoop isn’t cringe-worthy to the Anything Else degree, but after Match Point, one can’t help but be disappointed.

Scoop opens Friday, July 28

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