Alice
Alice
PG-13 | 25 December 1990 (USA)
Alice Trailers

Alice Tate, mother of two, with a marriage of 16 years, finds herself falling for the handsome sax player, Joe. Stricken with a backache, she consults herbalist Dr. Yang, who realizes that her problems are not related to her back, but in her mind and heart. Dr. Yang's magical herbs give Alice wondrous powers, taking her out of well-established rut.

Reviews
Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
GazerRise Fantastic!
Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Martin Bradley Alice doesn't so much go through the looking glass or down a rabbit-hole as get strung out on Dr. Yang's herbs. She also has more money than she knows what to do with and Dr Yang's herbs are the conduit into a whole new world of impulsive and uncharacteristic behavior not to mention invisibility and the ability to fly like Supergirl. Despite its sterling cast this is minor, low-key Allen, designed as a vehicle for Farrow and she's excellent. The movie itself falls between 'the early funny ones' and the somewhat more serious later films. It's a doodle at best but even a doodle from Mr Allen isn't to be sniffed at.
gridoon2018 Made right after one of Woody Allen's most celebrated films, "Crimes And Misdemeanors", "Alice" seems to be one of the forgotten entries in his filmography. In both of these films, Allen effortlessly walks a fine line between drama and comedy, and although "Alice" appears to be a smaller, simpler film compared to "Crimes", the viewer gradually realizes that the central dilemma - will Mia Farrow cheat on her husband or not ? - is just a pretext: the film seamlessly blends reality with fantasy (the fantasy touches are creative, though not unprecedented in Allen's cinema: see, for example, "Play It Again, Sam" or "The Purple Rose Of Cairo"), and the present with the past, to paint the portrait of a woman at a crossroads in her life. And who better to play that woman than Mia Farrow, who does "mousiness" to sweet perfection? Many other fine actors appear as well; William Hurt is kind of boring as the husband - but that's the point! Blythe Danner shines as Mia's sister. Only the ending becomes a little too preachy. *** out of 4.
grantss Not one of Woody Allen's best. Has its moments but the plot is average. The whole upper-crustness and superficiality of all the characters was quite irritating. Mia Farrow was miscast as Alice. Woody Allen wrote the role for her, as he did many of his 80s movies (they were in a relationship, after all). However, she simply comes across as irritatingly mousy and neurotic. Typically Woody Allen would play the neurotic character, as that is all he knows (by his own admission) but as the part required a female, he probably thought Mia Farrow was his female equivalent.William Hurt nails the aloof, too-rich-to-care, stuck-up husband, though his character is quite irritating. Good support from Joe Mantegna, Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis and Cybill Shepherd.Overall, OK but certainly not a must-see, even if you are, like me, a Woody Allen fan.
blanche-2 Mia Farrow is "Alice" in this 1990 Woody Allen film. Here, Allen borrows from "Juliet of the Spirits" and "Alice in Wonderland" to make a delightful movie about an unhappy woman trying to find herself.Alice (Farrow) married a wealthy man (William Hurt) and gave up a career in fashion. She has everything - a gorgeous New York apartment, two children, and servants. She spends her time shopping and having beauty treatments. At her kids' school, she meets a man (Joe Mantegna) and is shocked to realize that she's attracted to him. When she goes to a Dr. Yang (Keye Luke) for a back problem, Dr. Yang sees right away that Alice's pain is psychological. He gives her an herb to take.The herb has an amazing effect on Alice, who then openly flirts with the object of her affection, Joe. Dr. Yang keeps hitting Alice up with potions: one makes her invisible, so she can watch Joe with his psychiatrist ex-wife (Judy Davis); another reunites her with the ghost of her first love (Alec Baldwin). Alice and Joe finally get together. But one of the potions helps her to find something out that she not only didn't know, but that changes her life.Mia Farrow does a good job as Alice; in my opinion, other than "Rosemary's Baby," she did her best work with Allen. The rest of the cast is good and sail through this film about self-discovery, unrealized goals, and passion. An unsung film of Allen's that deserves more attention.