The Curse of the Jade Scorpion
| The Curse of the Jade Scorpion | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Woody Allen |
| Produced by | Letty Aronson |
| Written by | Woody Allen |
| Starring | Woody Allen Dan Aykroyd Helen Hunt Brian Markinson Wallace Shawn David Ogden Stiers Charlize Theron |
| Cinematography | Zhao Fei |
| Edited by | Alisa Lepselter |
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Production
company |
VCL
Gravier Productions |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33 million |
| Box office | $18.9 million |
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001 crime comedy film written, directed and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator and an efficiency expert who are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist into stealing jewels. The film bears much more in common with Allen's earlier screwball comedy films than with other films made by him around the same time.
The Curse of the Jade Scorpion received mixed reviews from critics.
In 1940, C.W. Briggs (Woody Allen) is an insurance investigator in New York City who is highly successful, owing to his many connections and ability to think like a criminal. His work does not impress Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), an efficiency expert who butts heads with C.W. over his old-fashioned views. Her advice is usually followed, however, because she secretly is in a relationship with her boss, Chris Magruder (Dan Aykroyd), who constantly reassures her that they will be free to pursue their relationship in public once he finalizes his divorce with his wife.
While attending a dinner with some employees, Voltan (David Ogden Stiers), a stage magician calls on Betty Ann and C.W. to be in his hypnotism act. Using the words "Madagascar" and "Constantinople" on them respectively as trigger words to put them in a trance, the two are given the suggestion that they are newlyweds who are madly in love before being reawakened. When C.W. returns home for the evening, he receives a call from Voltan, who uses C.W.'s trigger word to put him back in a trance and orders him to steal jewels for him. C.W. has no recollections of these crimes after he is woken up and is determined to prove himself by solving the crimes. He starts investigating Betty Ann on the grounds of her suspicious behavior (actually related to her affair with Chris) and sneaks into her house one evening. There, he witnesses Chris telling her that he has reconciled with his wife and will not have a divorce. When he leaves, Betty Ann becomes drunk in a fit of depression and tries to jump out of a window. C.W. stops her and spends the night keeping her from other self-destructive activities.
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