Small Time Crooks

“Ever heard of the Polish carpool? Every day they meet at work.”

Decent first half, but the second half is just all over the place and drifts so far from the good setup by the first half. I'm not sure what Woody was trying to accomplish, but I felt dissatisfied.

Elaine goddamn May. Let me reiterate: Elaine goddamn May. Unfortunately, the movie hinges on a really lame, underwritten rags to riches plot. There's so much genius at work in this film (Read: Elaine goddamn May), too bad it had to be in this film.

Watching the first thirty or so minutes of this film, I kept wondering why it had a reputation as one of Woody's more lackluster efforts. The interactions among Allen, Rapaport, Darrow, and Lovitz were genuinely hilarious. The plot of those four attempting to pull off a heist had unlimited potential, and it succeeded wildly for the short time it went on. Unfortunately, the abrupt shift to a stale, ersatz Pygmalion tale all but derailed the movie. A wasted opportunity.

Woody Allen can half-ass it and still make a better film than most.

It is quite promising a film for a while but fails to fulfill its promise. Allen, despite his screenwriting shrewdness, seems unable to deviate from the dead end towards which the story is inevitably (almost naturally) led.

Not Woody's finest hour but still a good film. The supporting cast in this, especially Lovitz, was great. Woody looks really damn old here, especially compared to Deconstructing Harry which was only 3 years earlier. =(

I really stopped enjoying this after they came into all that cookie money. It lost all momentum and most jokes fell flat. Why not make this a straight heist film and play that for laughs? Why this stale, tepid class critique? I wanted to like you movie, I really did. It just wasn't meant to be.

This is like two movies rolled into one. Halfway through the film it seems like everything is reset and you've walked into a different Woody allen movie. The bungled heist half was fun and fast, but the second half of the fil with the characters dealing with their new way of life is a slog through to watch.

What a throwaway. It's all too obvious that no one involved with this put too much effort into anything. I think they would've been better off further pursuing the bank robbery storyline instead of the Pygmalion thing, since in that part the comedy was largely based around having stupid people say inappropriate and awkward things at parties, which gets old fast.

Possibly the most lightweight and instantly forgettable entry into Woody Allen’s filmography I’ve ever seen. Nothing resembling an original idea or worthwhile thought. Doubt I could describe one scene from this movie a year from now with a gun to my head. Almost kills my enthusiasm to keep going with my Woody Allen marathon. No idea what alternate cut the guy below who calls this “screamingly funny” saw; couldn’t be what I just watched.

Hate woody allen movies.

Not bad. Has some enjoyable sitcommy antics with Lovitz, Rapaport & co., great Elaine May performance, and the climax with the Woodman stealing a necklace is pretty good. Hampered by everything involving the Hugh Grant character being really boring. Why do Ray's goofball buddies just vanish from the movie? Woody Allen failure.

okay movie

Not Woody's finest work (he concentrates on the flailing and stammering and forgets the jokes...actually that's a bit harsh, I had a few good laughs) but I'm always a sucker for movies that say "One Year Later" and suddenly everything's changed (I hadn't read anything about this movie since it came out) so that was pretty fun, even if he runs out of ideas in the second half and it slowly deflates and then ends with a shrug. I bumped the grade up a bit for Elaine May, as one should.

Once again Woody is in the role of his neurotic self in this rags-to-riches-and-back tale. I found it dull and unfunny.

66.000

I'm struggling to figure out why some of Allen's films look and feel 10 years older than they really are. Wardrobe definitely contributes to it. Maybe it has something to do with his casting. Maybe it has something to do with those long master shots. Maybe it's that he almost never sets scenes outside. Thank God Match Point and its succeeding films shattered all of these constraints. Those films feel contemporary as hell.

Solid Allen comedy with a tight cast. What more can you ask for?

there's less wit here and more farce compared to allen's more formidable work, but it's still a good movie and has some fine moments.

The first half is pretty hilarious, but the second half is lazy and pretty boring, to be quite honest. Plus, I'm not really a fan of Tracy Ullman. I'd much rather spend more time with the Woody/Lovitz/Rappaport/Darrow ensemble, as they are very funny.

Pretty lightweight stuff, but an enjoyable one-time watch. The first act is definitely the funniest and I probably would have liked it more if it had been a straight-up heist film for the whole duration. It loses a bit of steam once the fish-out-of-water class-satire stuff comes in, but it's still perfectly watchable. Elaine May gets all the best lines.

"Elaine May steals the show." - Ed Gonzalez

Sweet and funny.

nem Woody atuando salvou.

Woody Allen and Tracy Ullman work well together, and the plot--at least the heist part--keeps things moving.

Ullman, as usual, is endearing, while Allen is hard to fathom as a blue-collar guy turned crook. Hailed by some as Allen's triumphant return to his comedy stylings of old, the comedy in this actually just seems old and tired.

Some scenes are really hilarious.

Good but not that good. Saves a night though.

Despite the title. Small Time Crooks (2000) has little to do with crime. Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, the movie starts off as a heist flick, but quickly changes gears after 20 minutes.

Very weak.

Screamingly funny. I laughed so hard that I was actually worried that I was irritating the people sitting next to me in the theater

Another neutered comedy from Allen.

Quite good.

Original!

A delightful & funny movie, with little to no drawback, so long as you can stand Woody. Many nice shots, a hot lead & a sweet ending.

A film you have hope for being funny, but like most later Woody Allen films, falls short of your expectations.

One of Woody's better and more entertaining latter-day efforts; his version of the Ealing caper comedies, updated with quite a lot of skill and charm.

The first half was ok, but then it was just like, "I am woman hear me roar." Who cares?

Not quite the classic return to form for Woody Allen, but a sweet funny comedy nonetheless with wonderful acting turns from Tracey Ullmann as his wife who hits it big by baking cookies, and Elaine May as their unwitting accomplice.

I hated pretty much every single character in this movie.

Not bad, I saw this in theaters with my dad when I was 11 (who's one of the biggest Woody Allen fans you'll ever meet), and even then I thought it was pretty funny, at least towards the first half. Once they hit it big, I kind of lost interest, so it's hard to say how I'd feel about this now. I need to give it another go before I offer any conclusive opinions.