"What's Up, Tiger Lily" is not the film that put Woody Allen on the map - "What's New, Pussycat?" did that, the previous year - but it is the film that showed his wit is not only irreverent, but also unique: nobody had attempted before to do what he does here. And would you believe that he actually manages to tell a reasonably coherent spy story (about an egg salad recipe!) through his dubbed dialogue?! The original film does have fairly slick production values (apart from some shots where the sea looks like a painted backdrop) and two gorgeous, gorgeous Japanese women in its cast (they both starred in the Bond film "You Only Live Twice"!). Woody's version has some laugh-out-loud moments, but it does wear thin in the course of its 80 minutes; I agree with Pauline Kael's comment that it would have been better as a short. However, the film's best jokes ("Beware of the man with....with....with....with....") are so good that they can make you laugh even when you're remembering them later, though in my opinion the single funniest line belongs to Woody himself: "it's a great film, beautiful color, lots of raping and looting and killing!". **1/2 out of 4.
Review of What's Up, Tiger Lily?
