Picking Up the Pieces ** (2000, Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, David Schwimmer, Elliott Gould, Cheech Marin) – Classic Movie Review 9818

Director Alfonso Arau’s 2000 Picking Up the Pieces stars Woody Allen as a kosher butcher called Tex, who catches his faithless wife Candy (Sharon Stone) in flagrante and kills her. After he buries her chopped-up corpse in the New Mexico desert, a blind woman’s sight is restored when she trips over her severed hand.

This very odd, controversial black comedy was not to anybody’s taste very much when it was released but it is worth seeing for the great cast, even if they are not all on their best form.

Cheech Marin has a field day as the greedy mayor, Machado, Kiefer Sutherland is fine as the sheriff, Officer Bobo, and David Schwimmer is on form as the local priest, Father Leo Jerome.

The writer is Bill Wilson, his only movie script.

The main cast are Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, David Schwimmer, Elliott Gould, Cheech Marin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eddie Griffin, Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland, Pepe Serna, Alfonso Arau, Brian Brophy, Fran Drescher, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Marcus Demian, Andy Dick, Danny De La Paz, Richard C Sarafian, Tony Plana, Hector Elizondo, Angélica Aragón and Lily Tomlin.

Allen said he took the role as they made ‘a lucrative offer’. But went on: ‘I believe if the movie had been made in Spanish or Italian, it might have had a prayer. In English it was an uphill battle for some very nice and talented people.’

Marin, who wanted to be in the film to act with Allen, said this is the worst film he has done.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9818

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