SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

gridoon2018 "Picking Up The Pieces" is an unusual project for Woody Allen to be involved with: it's one of the very few times in his career where he only stars in a movie without also having written and/or directed it, plus it's set in New Mexico, quite a few states away from his favorite city in the world, New York. He might seem like a fish out of water at first, but he does seem to have written a lot of his own dialogue (I'm assuming that because his lines are considerably funnier than anyone else's - "If the police find all these pieces they might suspect something" or "I confess I killed my wife - but I did it only once!"), and he sneaks in his usual ruminations about death and the afterlife as well. Only Woody could make the character he plays here so human, sympathetic, and funny. The rest of the cast, though distinguished and diverse, are simply not at his level, the direction is shapeless, and the story is thin. But I do appreciate the fact that this black comedy stays black to the end and does not play "nice" to win the audience's approval. ** out of 4.

DrGerbil I am surprised at what poor reviews this film has gotten. I myself liked it very much.It's very irreverent, very politically incorrect, and I can see where it would offend a lot of people. However, I didn't think it was mean-spirited at all, and it encourages us to think about our faith and what spirituality means to us.I enjoyed seeing Woody Allen out of his comfort zone--wearing Western clothes, and as a character named "Tex"--and, although I am sure that this film didn't make much money, I thought it was adorable.I hesitate to recommend it, though, since it is a very very dark comedy. One of the cast members (I think Fran Drescher) compared it to "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World." I would definitely avoid it if you're offended by anyone poking fun at religion.

misterlei Two questions occurred to me on watching this movie: 1) whoever thought the plot was funny when it was pitched in the first place? and 2) why did a class act like Woody Allen ever get caught up in this nonsense? This movie is pretentious in that it thinks it is clever by satirising religion but all it does is satirise Roman Catholicism which is an easy target anyway (and doesn't even do that in a particularly innovative way). For example some of the miracles attributed to the townsfolk are as ridiculous as i'm sure was intended by the movie, but they are not satirical they are just crass and stupid. Also the idea that a joke can be made of somebody being hacked to pieces is just sick. Avoid this movie; it's pretentious rubbish.

Lee Eisenberg "Picking Up the Pieces" is one of those nonsense stories that gets morphed into something really neat. In this case, Sheriff Tex Cowley (Woody Allen) tries to bury the body of his wife, but accidentally leaves her hand above the ground. I should identify that her hand has the middle finger sticking out. When a blind woman stumbles upon the hand, she regains her vision, and then the hand starts performing all sorts of miracles.Yes, it's a totally outlandish idea, but they do some really funny stuff with it. I especially liked the scene with "Ortiz". One might say that this movie looks at the interconnectedness of everything. Maybe. But overall, I'd say that it's an excuse to have fun. And it sure is something to see Woody Allen in a small Texas town. Also starring Sharon Stone, Cheech Marin, David Schwimmer, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, and Kiefer Sutherland.