Like the idea but this generation doesn't like old boring stories

The feature starts out introducing Phil Stern (Steve Carell), a millionaire Hollywood agent. His party is interrupted by a phone call from New York. His sister (Jeannie Berlin) lets him know Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) hates his job and is coming out to California. After a few attempts, Bobby gets to meet Phil who takes care of him. Bobby is odd man out in a love triangle and returns to NY where he works a night club for his criminal brother Ben (Corey Stoll). The film has Woody Allen all over it. Jesse Eisenberg plays the Allen persona perfectly as his lines ooze and drip with subtle irony. The odd prostitute scene with Anna Camp, Leonard asking a man to turn down his radio, and the theological musings toward the end, and the spring-autumn romance is just a continuation of over-all Allen humor.The film starts about 1935, that is when "The Woman in Red" played in the theaters, although I don't think there is an effective time line going forward. Sadly, Eisenberg and Stewart create a different chemistry than what they had in "American Ultra." Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.

This movie was terrible. Cardboard acting. Stilted dialogue. Unbelievable emotional dynamics forced by the plot. Characters and plot you don't care about. Annoying narration. I admit that even the very best Woody Allen movies only strike me as "ok", but this is an awful movie riding on legacy and betting on fans declaring the emperor's new clothes are genius. It did look sorta pretty....that's it.

There's not really a 'typical' Woody Allen movie because there are so many of them and they're all so much alike that they're all typical, except maybe 'Match Point'.'Café Society' has its similarities to Allen's other movies, and some dissimilarities, too. The similarities: the protagonist is Jewish, the movie explores identities of cities, there's a love triangle and infidelity, it resembles a stage play, it's a comedy but has some sad material, there's no villain, it stars a beautiful young star (Kristen Stewart joins Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson, Evan Rachel Wood, Hayley Atwell and Christina Ricci as a Woody Allen movie love interest) and it has many unpredictable twists and is rather fast-paced.The dissimilarities are harder to describe. 'Café Society' feels somber, and it leaves much unresolved. It's not a neat little package like many Woody Allen movies are. Typically Woody characters talk way too much. 'Café Society' has things left unsaid. It's a very blue movie (fittingly in color scheme as well).It's about ambitions and priorities, and the winding roads of fate that take us to unexpected places. As usual, Woody Allen takes a setting and situation that seems distant and makes it easy to relate to.Bonus points for the scene with Anna Camp as a prostitute, that whole sequence was absolutely hilarious.