She’s Funny That Way - Film4

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As a philandering theatre director, Owen Wilson finds himself in a jam in this fizzy screwball comedy

As a philandering theatre director, Owen Wilson finds himself in a jam in this fizzy screwball comedy.

Though set in a more-or-less contemporary New York, this deliciously silly, unashamedly old-fashioned film from veteran director Peter Bogdanovich (The Last Picture Show, Paper Moon) harks back to Hollywood’s classic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

Wilson’s problems start when the call girl (Imogen Poots) with whom he recently enjoyed an assignation wins a role opposite his wife (Kathryn Hahn) in his new Broadway play.

Throw in Jennifer Aniston's ferociously sour therapist and Rhys Ifans' randy Welsh actor, plus a love-struck young playwright, a besotted elderly judge and a dogged veteran gumshoe, and you have all the ingredients for the ideal farce.