A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy



A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is a 1982 sex comedy film written, directed by and starring Woody Allen.

The plot is loosely based on Ingmar Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night. It was the first of 13 movies that Allen would make starring Mia Farrow. Her role was originally written for Diane Keaton, another Allen lead actress, but she was busy promoting her film Reds and preparing to begin production on Shoot the Moon. Julie Hagerty, Mary Steenburgen, Tony Roberts and Jose Ferrer co-starred. It also marks the first appearance of Allen as an ensemble performer in his own film, as previously he had either been the lead character or did not appear in his films.

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy received moderately positive reviews but was nominated for one Razzie Award: Worst Actress, for Mia Farrow – the only time a Woody Allen film has been nominated for a Razzie.

Plot
It is the early 1900s. Distinguished philosopher Leopold (Ferrer) and his much younger fiancée, Ariel (Farrow), are going to spend a weekend in the country with Leopold's cousin Adrian (Steenburgen) and her crackpot inventor husband Andrew (Allen). Also on the guest list is womanizing doctor Maxwell (Roberts) and his latest girlfriend, free-thinking nurse, Dulcy (Hagerty). Over the course of the weekend, old romances reignite, new romances develop, and everyone ends up sneaking off behind everyone else's backs.

Cast

 * Woody Allen as Andrew
 * Mia Farrow as Ariel Weymouth
 * José Ferrer as Professor Leopold Sturges
 * Julie Hagerty as Dulcy Ford
 * Tony Roberts as Dr. Maxwell Jordan
 * Mary Steenburgen as Adrian
 * Adam Redfield as Student Foxx
 * Moishe Rosenfeld as Mr. Hayes
 * Timothy Jenkins as Mr. Thomson
 * Michael Higgins as Reynolds
 * Sol Frieder as Carstairs
 * Boris Zoubok as Purvis
 * Thomas Barbour as Blint
 * Kate McGregor-Stewart as Mrs. Baker

Box office
The film opened on July 16, 1982 at 501 North American theaters, and made $2,514,478 ($5,018 per screen) in its opening weekend. It grossed $9,077,269 in its entire run.

Reception
The film has a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics' consensus being "It may not Woody Allen's best work [sic], but the frothy, fun A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy is still worth a look."