The Curse of the Jade Scorpion | Rotten Tomatoes

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion

PG-13

Released Aug 24, 2001

1 hr. 43 min.

Comedy

List

45%

123 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Woody Allen stars as CW Briggs, the top insurance investigator in New York in 1940-or so he keeps telling the firm's new efficiency expert, Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt). Briggs prides himself on being able to crack any insurance caper by getting into the mind of the thief, but now, thanks to the hypnotic powers of the Jade Scorpion, the mind of a thief is getting into Briggs.

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Critics Consensus

The writing for Scorpion is not as sharp as Woody Allen's previous movies as most of the jokes fall flat.

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jim t

A 1940's mystery rom com with 1940's music and 1940's hypgnosis stereotypes to fuel the plot. Last but not least, a dialogue laced with borscht belt one liners. Fertile ground for Woody's genius. Precisely what he excels at. Maybe not his best but way better than typical cinema fare these days.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/14/23

Full Review

Rick R

not funny, not entertaining. weak acting from woody allen and dan aykroyd. Helen Hunt was tops, an excellent actress always!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It feels more like a Woody Allen parody than a film noir/pulp one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Terry S

Say what you want, this is a feel good laughable film. The cast is great-The jokes funny-And you will laugh-I promise you !

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/22

Full Review

dave s

Woody Allen's comedy The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a stylish but ultimately disappointing period piece. Set in 1940s New York, C.W. Briggs (Allen) and Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt) have two things in common – they hate each other and they both work for the same insurance company. When both are hypnotized by a nightclub entertainer, they are used as a pawn in a series of jewelry heists. The film looks great and the story is interesting, but it ultimately fails due to its cringeworthy attempts at humor, usually consisting of juvenile insults and glib asides, that fail to generate much in the way of laughs. On top of that, it has one of the most annoying music scores imaginable. There are some things to like, but it's a bit of a disappointment overall.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

jordan m

I watched this movie mostly because I had enjoyed Small Time Crooks, but found this one to be a firm step down from the earlier movie. I only learned after seeing it that this is supposed to start a string of not-well-received movies he did in the 2000s, though it's heartening to see that he's still got some Oscar nominations left in him after this one. I also watched this in the midst of his troubles getting memoirs published, a story I found to be very sad given that he's 85 years old and is clearly trying to get his life story off his chest before he dies. The jokes in this were good when I caught them, though a lot of them were done through Woody's dialogue and weren't really reacted to by the other cast, sort of sneaking them into plot-furthering sentences, which felt like a refreshing method of delivery to me. None of the comedy amounted to a knee-slapper but there were plenty of chuckle-worthy moments. The actresses performed their roles excellently, particularly Hunt, whose career I would've preferred to see flourish more after her strong output in 2000. The movie could probably have done with a proper film score and a more believable plot, but it was still fine for what it was.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Woody Allen

Director

Woody Allen

CW Briggs

Dan Aykroyd

Chris Magruder

Elizabeth Berkley Lauren

Jill

Helen Hunt

Betty Ann Fitzgerald

Brian Markinson

Al

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Older kids may like this Woody Allen comedy.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 28, 2010

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 2/5

Aug 1, 2003

Full Review

Nev Pierce

BBC.com

So devoid of wit, vigour or interest that it's hard not to wonder if the former Allan Konigsberg has finally lost his touch.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 19, 2002

Full Review

Joanne Laurier

World Socialist Web Site

Allen's script is generally amateurish and devoid of much life or feeling.

Mar 5, 2021

Full Review

Kit Bowen

Hollywood.com

Rated: 3/5

Nov 20, 2008

Full Review

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

Rated: 2/4

Dec 27, 2007

Full Review

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Synopsis

Woody Allen stars as CW Briggs, the top insurance investigator in New York in 1940-or so he keeps telling the firm's new efficiency expert, Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt). Briggs prides himself on being able to crack any insurance caper by getting into the mind of the thief, but now, thanks to the hypnotic powers of the Jade Scorpion, the mind of a thief is getting into Briggs.

Director: Woody Allen
Executive Producer: Stephen Tenenbaum
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG
Production Co: Perido Productions, Sweetland Films, Gravier Productions, DreamWorks SKG
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 10, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.5M
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Mono, Surround, DTS, SDDS, Dolby Digital, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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