Woody Allen connects with a weak lob in 'Match Point'

The most frequently heard comment about Woody Allen's Match Point is that it is the writer-director's best film in a decade. Even conceding the accolade, one must quickly acknowledge how faint that praise is.

While it is hard not to recognize that New York City's favorite neurotic has made some truly great films over his lengthy and clockwork prolific career (Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors), it is just as obvious that he has squandered his considerable talent over the past 10 years churning out inconsequential comedies (Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Hollywood Ending, Melinda and Melinda).

DreamWorks Pictures 'Match Point' C- The verdict: A disappointing, cardboard-thin drama on the nature of fate from the once brilliant Allen. Director: Woody Allen Starring: Brian Cox, Matthew Goode, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Run time: 124 minutes Release date: Dec. 28, 2005 Rating: R for some sexuality. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Match Point'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Cheering Match Point after that string of duds is like heaping compliments on a bottle of Ripple after downing a six-pack of sour grape juice. It may be better than most of Allen's recent releases, but it is also derivative, artificial and surface-deep. That last is not necessarily a problem, but the evidence suggests that Allen thinks he is being philosophical and profound.

He sets us up for a cosmic tale of fate and luck, with a prologue illustrated with a tennis ball that clips the top of the net, then hovers in mid-air before dropping over to the other side.

Enter ambitious Chris Wilton (choir boyish Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a former pro tour player, newly arrived in London to take a job as a tennis instructor at an upscale private club. Chris quickly befriends idle rich Tom Hewett (Matthew Goode), attracts the romantic attentions of Tom's sister Chloe (demure Emily Mortimer) and the approval of their business magnate father Alec (Brian Cox). Daddy is prepared to hire Chris and groom him for upper management, as long as he makes Chloe happy.

All of this would make for a tidy tale of a corporate ladder-climber, but as (bad) luck would have it, Chris comes under the flirtatious spell of Tom's girl friend Nola (shrewish vixen Scarlett Johansson), an American actress wannabe from Boulder, Colo., a town Allen probably chose with the aid of darts and a map. Under Tom's upper-class nose, they begin an affair.

Tom eventually dumps Nola, who returns to the States, just long enough for Chris to marry Chloe. But Nola soon returns and not only takes up with Chris again, but becomes pregnant by him and increasingly whiny in her demands for his time and attention. Just when we are ready to kill Nola, Chris decides to do it himself.

Much has been made of the fact that Allen shot Match Point in London, instead of his beloved New York. The movie was originally written to take place in Manhattan, but the locale changed with an influx of British financing. The revisions are relatively minor, with the film now shot against London landmarks like the Royal Court, the Tate Modern and the "Pickle" building.

Instead of Allen's usual American pop standards composers, the soundtrack features heavy-handed opera excerpts, as the movie grows more and more operatic. Soap operatic.

The attempted murder is exceedingly far-fetched — Does no one hear midday gunshots in the middle of London? — topped by a repeat of the opening net court close-up with an incriminating wedding ring. Ah, fate.

At other points in his career, directing an out-and-out drama has helped Allen get over some creative blocks. With a little luck, maybe Match Point can do the same for him. For no matter how many disappointments he has perpetrated, Allen's fans know that the next one just might get him back on the winning side.