Brief opinion of Woody Allen's WHATEVER WORKS.

On the good side: Woody Allen's WHATEVER WORKS (essentially a compendium of Woody's Greatest Kvetches, Obsessions and Enthusiams) is better than expected, with a number of funny-to-hilarious lines and good performances all around.

Debits: WHATEVER WORKS looks a bit shoddy and stagebound for a New York-based Allen film (shot by, of all people, the gifted DP Harris Savides--who did a fine job for David Fincher on ZODIAC). And it takes a couple of steps back in quality, ambition and sophistication from Allen's previous VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA--his best film since 1999's SWEET AND LOWDOWN.