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Woody Allen puts away the parlor tricks (singing, Greek choruses, supernaturalism) for this straight-up period piece, a fun romantic comedy that, with seven Oscar nominations, is one of his most award-nominated films, tying Hannah and Her Sisters. John Cusack (odd choice) stars as an idealistic playwright in the 1920s who, for one reason after another, finds his would-be masterpiece being overrun by meddlers, bizarre actors, love entanglements, and a series of absurd situations. Dianne Wiest won an Oscar for turning 'Don't speak!' into a catchphrase, and the film vaulted Chazz Palminteri into the limelight -- for a couple of months, anyway. Great fun all around.
