Small Time Crooks

On the surface, it would seem that not a lot has changed in Woody Allen's film world. For one thing, he's still using the same generic, black-and-white title cards and the same '30s jazz music at the beginning of his movies.

But there are signs that the dour, cynical Woody, who produced such bitterly unwatchable fare as "Celebrity" and "Deconstructing Harry," may have gone away and may have been replaced by a kinder, gentler Woody.

First, "Sweet and Lowdown" let him once again be enthusiastic about something — even if it was his longtime obsession, jazz.

And now, "Small Time Crooks" takes him back to his early, screwball comedy days.

And while this lightweight piece may not be quite as good or as memorable as his best films of that period — particularly, the hilarious "Take the Money and Run" and the even sillier "Sleeper" — "Small Time Crooks" is Allen's most likable and funny comedy in quite some time.

Speaking of likable, that term could be used to describe the members of Allen's cast as well as the character he plays, ex-con Ray Winkler.

Despite his bluster, Ray isn't the genius he pretends to be, though he does talk quickly enough to persuade his wife Frenchy (Tracey Ullman) and three pals (Michael Rapaport, Tony Darrow and Jon Lovitz) to help him pull off a bank robbery.

The scheme is to rent a vacant pizzeria and drill beneath the site into the bank. To divert attention, Frenchy will run a cookie shop. However, the plan quickly goes awry as the cookie business takes off and their tunneling efforts are unsuccessful.

Consequently, as cookie barons, Ray and Frenchy become overnight millionaires and have all the money they could ever want. But Ray's not happy because his wife has become a social climber, and she hires David (Hugh Grant), a shrewd art dealer with designs on her millions, to give her "culture" lessons.

Meanwhile, Ray starts planning another crime with Frenchy's dimbulb cousin, May (Elaine May).

As silly as all this may sound, it does set up some very good sequences, especially those set in the cookie shop (the first half of the film is as funny as anything Allen has produced in years).

And even though things run out of steam around the midway point, the material still affords plenty of opportunities for Allen and his cast to shine.

In Ray, Allen finally finds a character audiences can relate to, while Ullman is perfectly cast as a crass, socialite wannabe.

However, the supporting players nearly steal the film out from under them, especially May, who hasn't appeared in a decent role in years (after this, you may wonder why).

"Small Time Crooks" is rated PG for scattered, mild profanity. Running time: 95 minutes.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com