Just what I expected

A lot of fun.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Woody Allen has had an award-winning career in comedy – as a writer, actor and film director. But, his frequent roles as a whiny character on film soon become grating to me and wear out much of the comedy of the script. This film is an exception. Although other projects have received the honors, "Small Time Crooks" is one of the funniest of his films. It has more witty dialog and funny situations than most. And the script is loaded with enough hilarious dialog that it overrides the few occasions when Allen's character reduces to whining about something. The plot for this film is superb and very funny with its several diversions. The acting is tops by the entire cast. Allan is very good as Ray, and Tracey Ullman is a riot as his wife, Frenchy. Jon Lovitz is Benny, Tony Darrow is Tommy and Michael Rapaport is Denny. All have very funny scenes and lines. Hugh Grant does a fine job as a straight man. But Elaine May as May has the best lines by far and steals the scenes in which she appears. I rate this one of the funniest and best of Allen's movies, especially for the screenplay and the excellent cast. It's a very good caper comedy. Here are some of my favorite lines from the film.Ray, "What would you say if I told you you were married to a genius?" Frenchy, "I'd say I must be a bigamist."Benny, "Where do you get four fourths and a third?" Denny, "Look, I don't do fractions, right?"TV reporter, "Or, as we in television say, there's no accounting for the public's taste."May, "I'm a hemophiliac." Edgar's wife, "Oh dear, are you bleeding?" May, "Why would I be bleeding?"May, "They diagnosed it as Parkinson's. But they think it could be the Ebola virus or Mad Cow Disease."

To me, Woody Allen is at his best when he makes us laugh and cry at the same time. When I first saw this film in the movie theatre, I found it thoroughly entertaining, but more in the same vein as his "early funny ones" than his later, deeper work (Crimes & Misdemeanors, Husbands & Wives and the like). Upon repeated viewing, though, I realised I had been wrong. It is light-hearted and funny on the surface, but much much deeper than it first seems. It has really grown on me since and has become one of my favourites. The cast are all superb, from Tracey Ullman to Hugh Grant, even Woody gives one of his best performances of his career. Highly recommended for both fans of Woody's funny ones and of his more serious dramas.

I love this period in Woody Allen's work. The 90s were a time when he made several filmed experiments. He made a social satire, a musical, a character study and semi-autobiographical study of his relationships with women. I'm glad that Woody is trying new things but STC reminded me of what I loved about his work in the first place: He can write comedies that are very, very funny STC is a flat out comedy, it has no other reasons for being then to make us laugh. It is inventive and sweet and Allen has not only surrounded himself with a cast of wonderfully talented actors but puts a new spin on his nebbish persona.Here's the story: Allen and Tracy Ullman play a blue collar couple living the in middle class doldrums of New York City. Allen is a professional criminal who hits upon the idea of renting out a store and having his wife sell cookies as a front while he and his cohorts are in the basement digging a tunnel to the bank next door. The heist is bungled when Allen and his cronies end up in a dress shop while Ullman is in the front making a fortune selling cookies. The become millionaires in the cookie business.Now, this would have been enough for any other comedy but this is Woody Allen, he has other surprises up his sleeve. The couple live it up, Ullman trying to fit into the Manhattan social scene can't escape the fact that she is a butcher to good taste (Just how much leopard skin can you fit into one Penthouse?) Allen (a sullen, dimwitted slob) on the other hand is just as happy eating cheeseburgers and watching the Nicks game The two have a wonderful rapport together but the plumb part goes to Elaine May who plays Ullman's cousin. She all but steals the show in the scene where Allen is suppose to rob a rich socialite's safe during a party. He tells her to mingle and talk about the weather. She does just that, giving out weather reports.What I loved about STC is that it never tries to be anything more than what it is, it's a flat out comedy. But, Woody being the genius writer that he is takes what would have been otherwise just a comic idea and takes it one step furthur. It is fun to watch a comedy this inventive.

Nobody likes to see Woody Allen complain for 90 minutes more than I do, but "Small Time Crooks" sorta phones it in. It's basically three movies in one, but none of the three really brings much new. It starts of as a comedy about goofy criminals, then it has a (too) lengthy fish-out-of-water act, then finally it goes back to square one and puts in some more love story lines. The characters are never particularly engaging, and Allen himself is surprisingly annoying in this one. There are a couple of bright spots though, and they can come from where you least expect it. For instance: Hugh Grant is really good in this movie. He may not be in it much, but it was refreshing to see him play something slightly different for once. Slightly. The best part of the movie is Elaine May's character though. The idiot character is probably the easiest part to write, but some of her lines are really quite inventive. "Small Time Crooks" is clearly one of the lesser works, but that doesn't really make it bad.