Woody Allen is all over this movie. Like a bad rash. In fact, 'Scoop' may be nothing more than an excuse for Allen to get some (lots) of screen time with Scarlett Johansson. It certainly offers very little else.

The flimsy plot, which has about as many holes as a colander, revolves around a dead journalist Joe Strombel (Ian McShane) cheating death to get a final scoop. He enlists the help of student journalist Sandra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson), who in turn inexplicably enlists the help of magician Sid Waterman aka Splendini (Allen).

Believing that charming aristocrat Pater Lyman (Hugh Jackman) may be the Tarot Card serial killer, the two hatch a not-so-daring-or-well-thought-out plan to infiltrate his life and discover whether or not he is the dastardly killer.

Unfortunately, Woody hijacks the film. Playing his annoying self, he dominates every scene. He has even given Ms Johansson a Woody makeover — she wears dorky glasses and bad outfits; cracks lame jokes; and is pathologically frantic. Perhaps even more unforgivably (because, really, those glasses aren't fooling anyone), he has sacrificed Jackman's screen-time and character to develop his own.

While you will have no trouble believing Sid's (read Woody's) affection for Sandra (read Scarlett), you'll be hard-pressed to spot any chemistry between the journalist and the dashing aristocrat for whom she is supposedly falling.

As Woody's Scarlett fantasy plays out to a score dominated by Tchaikovsky's 'Swan Lake', you'll find yourself wishing that the Tarot Card Killer strikes again. And fast.