Mighty Aphrodite is a 1995 American comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Mira Sorvino, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Rapaport, and F. Murray Abraham.

The screenplay was vaguely inspired by the story of Pygmalion[citation needed] and is about Lenny Weinrib's (Allen) search for his genius adopted son's biological mother, ultimately finding that she is a dim-witted prostitute named Linda Ash (Sorvino).

Critical reception of the film was generally positive, with Sorvino earning high praise for her performance.

After an extensive search Lenny discovers that Max's biological mother is a prostitute and part-time porn star who goes by various names.

She reveals her birth name as Leslie Ash and expresses her preference for being called Linda because it means ‘pretty’ in Spanish.

Mighty Aphrodite debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival before going into limited release in the United States.

The site's consensus states: "Mighty Aphrodite may not stand with Woody Allen's finest work, but it's brought to vivid life by a thoroughly winsome performance from Mira Sorvino.

[7] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "B+" on scale of A+ to F.[8] In her review in The New York Times, Janet Maslin said, "Even when it becomes unmistakably lightweight, Mighty Aphrodite remains witty, agile and handsomely made.

"[9] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "a sunny comedy" and added, "The movie's closing scene is quietly, sweetly ironic, and the whole movie skirts the pitfalls of cynicism and becomes something the Greeks could never quite manage, a potential tragedy with a happy ending.

"[10] In the San Francisco Chronicle, Leah Garchik said the film was "an inventive movie, imaginative and rich in detail" and added, "Woody Allen's incredible wit is at the heart of all that's wonderful in Mighty Aphrodite, and Woody Allen's incredible ego is at the core of its major flaw .

"[11] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said, "The film is a showcase for Sorvino, actor Paul's Harvard-grad daughter, who gives a sensational performance.

"[12] In Variety, Todd McCarthy described the film as "a zippy, frothy confection that emerges as agreeable middle-range Woody .

There is perhaps a bit too much of the chorus galavanting about delivering their increasingly colloquial admonitions and too few convulsive laughs, but the writer-director has generally pitched the humor at a pleasing and relatively consistent level .

None of the diverse roles she has done to date would have suggested her for this part, but this gutsy performance will put her much more prominently on the map.