Your anxiety makes me want to punch you out!
In the murder mystery Scoop (2006), the emphasis isn’t so much on the mystery at hand – who’s killing this string of women of a singular physical description? – as the promotion of two of the stars. While there’s nothing new or wrong about such star vehicles, it is disappointing that a more intriguing plot couldn’t be put together for these up and comers – Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson.
Sondra is an American journalism student attending a magic show in London, and finds herself on-stage and participating in a magic trick. The box is shut, she disappears, and a recently deceased and famous journalist pops up and tells her who he thinks is responsible for the activities of a serial killer.
How does he know? He just interviewed the most recent victim on the other side. And he has problems of his own.
With the bumbling assistance of the bumbling – but very sincere – bumbling bumbling magician, Sondra plunges into investigating Lord Peter Lyman, rich, famous, politically ambitious – and single. One thing leads to another, and our youngster journalist believes she’s cleared her love for further assignations and eventual wedded bliss.
Meanwhile, the reluctant bumbler happens to have some mystical logical inductions of his own, and, sadly, ends up driving on the wrong side of those darned English road – it turns out being from Brooklyn while in the middle of England is decidedly a curse in this story.
In the end, this story just doesn’t quite work, as characters who should perhaps care for each other more just fail to do so. I found myself wondering just what was wrong with these people that someone ending up dead didn’t really seem to affect at least one other person; meanwhile, the murder victims exacted more tears than goggling we usually see on the screen. This make Scoop interesting but, ultimately, disappointing.
And, personally, I was cheering on the late journalist, hoping he could piss off Charon, who always comes off as too cold.
