Mighty Aphrodite

Mighty Aphrodite is currently streaming in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Fawesome, and it delivers exactly the kind of comedy that earns a loyal following. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 748 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Woody Allen's performance alone is worth the time investment. Available now on Amazon Prime Video — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

There is a reason Mighty Aphrodite keeps coming up in conversation. The jokes in Mighty Aphrodite land because the characters underneath them are worth caring about. When Lenny and his wife, Amanda, adopt a baby, Lenny realizes that his son is a genius and becomes obsessed with finding the boy's biological mother in hopes that she will be brilliant too. But when he learns that Max's mother is Linda Ash, a kindhearted prostitute and porn star, Lenny is determined to reform her immoral lifestyle. A Greek chorus chimes in to relate the plot to Greek mythology in this quirky comedy. Woody Allen and Mira Sorvino lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1995. The real test of any comedy is whether it is still funny once you know all the jokes, and Mighty Aphrodite holds up on rewatch in a way that separates it from one-off curiosities. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in Mighty Aphrodite. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Woody Allen anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.