Take the Money and Run

Directed and starring Woody Allen with a script written by Allen and Mickey Rose, Take the Money and Run is the story about the life and times of an inept criminal who tries to make a name for himself only to fail countless of times. Told in a documentary style the film chronicles a man trying to make it in the world of crime in order to make a name for himself. Also starring Janet Margolin, Louise Lasser, and narration by Jackson Beck. Take the Money and Run is a hilarious film from Woody Allen.

The film is about the life of Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) who tries to make his life as a criminal but constantly fails due to botched robberies and bad attempts. It is largely told in a documentary fashion just after Starkwell’s capture by the FBI as his story is told from not just recollections of the people in his life but also through Starkwell himself as he tells his story in voiceover to scenes where his life is told from childhood through adulthood where he eventually falls in love with a woman named Louise (Janet Margolin), have a child, and tries to make a honest living until he decides to continue his attempts to be a criminal. Through all of his failures, incarcerations, and other botched events, Virgil is still intent to make a name for himself as a criminal.

The screenplay by Woody Allen and Mickey Rose is told in a back-and-forth narrative where people talk about Virgil Starkwell’s life from childhood to adulthood as well as the events that happens during Virgil’s time as a criminal. Yet, there is a lot of humor in the fact that Virgil always tries to make it as a criminal or break out of prison but often fail through his own incompetence or something else happening that just make things worse. Yet, Virgil does find support in Louise who tries to get him to live a normal life with their child but he’s so inept in doing regular things as he is forced to accept the fact that he’s a criminal though he’s also inept in that as well. The situations that Allen and Rose create are full of absurdities including a moment where Virgil is blackmailed by a co-worker only for everything else to go wrong when Virgil tries to kill her.

Allen’s direction is very stylish for the fact that is told in a parody of sorts of the documentary genre that would be known as mockumentary. With Jackson Beck’s very straightforward narration, it does create the sense of illusion that Virgil Starkwell is a real individual. Allen’s approach to comedy definitely comes from slapstick while he also knows how to keep things in a very subtly in the comedy such as Virgil’s parents being interviewed as they’re wearing disguises on their face. There’s also moments where Allen is making fun of the prison films with an element of style while creating some compositions that help enhance its humor. Overall, Allen creates a very captivating and funny film about the life of an incompetent criminal.

Cinematographer Lester Shorr does nice work with the cinematography to create a look that is straightforward while using some lighting schemes for the scenes at night. Editors Paul Jordan and Ron Kalish, with additional contributions by Ralph Rosenblum, do excellent work with the editing to create some rhythmic cuts for the humor as well as some montages for the romantic moments between Virgil and Louise. Art director Fred Harpman and set decorator Marvin March do wonderful work with the set pieces from the prisons to the look of the banks that Virgil tries to rob. Sound mixer Bud Alper does terrific work with the sound to capture some of the atmosphere of the locations as well as some of the comical moments in the escapes. The film’s music by Marvin Hamlisch is delightful for its playful score filled with upbeat arrangements and pieces to play up the romance including a comical take on Quincy Jones’ Bossa Nova Soul.

The casting by Marvin Paige is amazing as it features notable appearances from Louise Lasser as a woman who was amazed by Virgil’s persona, James Anderson as the chain gang warden, Ethel Sokolow and Henry Leff as Virgil’s parents, Lonny Chapman as a convict who organizes a prison break only to cancel it unbeknownst to Virgil, Jacquelyn Hyde as a co-worker who tries to blackmail Virgil, and Marcel Hillaire as Fritz the Director as a filmmaker involved in the climatic robbery where things go wrong. Janet Margolin is fantastic as Louise as a woman who falls for Virgil though she worries about his criminal activities knowing how many times he’s failed. Woody Allen is brilliant as Virgil Starkwell as a man trying to make it as a criminal only to fail numerous times but refuses to give up as Allen makes the character very sympathetic but also so funny whether it’s trying to play cello in a parade or trying to escape with a gun made of a soap bar.

Take the Money and Run is a marvelous film from Woody Allen that is truly one of his early triumphs as well as a great example of his gifts as a comedy filmmaker. The film is definitely one of the most compelling comedies that takes apart the documentary and make it into a spoof of sorts about a criminal desperate to make a name for himself. In the end, Take the Money and Run is an entertaining and witty film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer’s Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah and Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes and Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don’t Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

What's Up Tiger Lily?

Directed by Woody Allen, What’s Up Tiger Lily? is Allen’s directorial debut in which he takes the Japanese spy film International Secret Police: Key of Keys from director Senkichi Taniguchi and re-dubbed the film with material that has nothing to do with the spy story. With dialogue written by Allen, Louise Lasser, Len Maxwell, Julie Bennett, Mickey Rose, and Bryan Wilson, the film is spoof into the world of spy films as well as an early example of Allen’s approach to comedy which he also stars with Lasser. What’s Up Tiger Lily? is a silly yet entertaining film from Woody Allen.

The film is essentially a spoof on the spy films where Woody Allen has taken over a Japanese spy film and re-dubbed the entire movie with music by the Lovin’ Spoonful and create new dialogue that had nothing to do with the original movie. In this re-dubbed film, the movie becomes a story about a spy who teams up with a couple of female spies to retrieve a secret recipe to make the perfect egg salad from two competing criminal figures. It’s all part of Allen trying to deconstruct the spy story by including a few things that had nothing to do with the film including performances from the Lovin’ Spoonful where the main protagonist is a spy who has an appetite for sex while being a spy that can kick some ass.

While there’s a few scenes in which Woody Allen appears to reveal why he re-dubbed the film including a break where someone asks him to stop the film so they can get a refresher on the plot. Yet, Allen is mostly focused on creating something is a spoof of sorts on the spy film with help from editor Richard Krown along with some upbeat yet offbeat music from the Lovin’ Spoonful to create something that is idiosyncratic. While there are moments where the schtick gets tiresome a bit, it does play into Allen’s unique approach to humor while creating something that is engaging but also enjoyable to watch.

What’s Up Tiger Lily? is a terrific film from Woody Allen though it pales in comparison to some of the films he would make in the years to come. It is still a fine debut that showcases his brand of humor as well as the fact that it would play into a few ideas that Allen would explore in the years to come. In the end, What’s Up Tiger Lily? is a decent and funny film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer’s Sex Night Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don’t Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

Stardust Memories

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, Stardust Memories is about a filmmaker who finds himself compromised as he yearns to make more serious films while dealing with fans who preferred his earlier, funnier work. Meanwhile, the filmmaker is also dealing with the women in his life as he thinks about an old girlfriend of his. The film has Allen paying tribute to one of his favorite filmmakers in Federico Fellini as he pays homage to Fellini’s 1963 classic 8 ½ in grand style. Also starring Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper, Marie-Christine Barrault, and Tony Roberts. Stardust Memories is a whimsical yet ravishing film from Woody Allen.

After a successful period in making comedies and then suddenly going into more serious work, filmmaker Sandy Bates (Woody Allen) is struggling to finish a new film as studio executives and producers want him to create a new ending. Meanwhile, Bates is asked to go to a film festival of his own work as he reluctantly decides to attend as he faces various questions from fans and admirers who question about his more recent work as they all prefer his earlier and funnier films of the past. During his stay at the Stardust Hotel for the festival’s duration, Bates is haunted by memories of his old girlfriend Dory (Charlotte Rampling) whom he constantly thinks about while is currently dating a French woman named Isobel (Marie-Christine Barrault) who had just left her husband.

During the festival, Sandy befriends a classical violinist named Daisy (Jessica Harper) whose boyfriend Jack (John Rothman) is a fan of Sandy’s work as the two talk about various things. Sandy also endures memories of his past while continually being confronted by people over his work and contributing to society as his friend Tony (Tony Roberts) attends the festival to talk with fans about Sandy’s work. Still haunted by memories of Dory, Sandy and Daisy take a drive around town where they would encounter a festival about aliens landing on Earth. For Sandy, the event would only add to his own existential issues about what to do with his life and career.

The film is about a filmmaker whose work as an artist comes into question by everyone as he attends a film festival of his work where he deals with fans, critics, and a French girlfriend with two kids leading to an existential crisis that also involves memories of an old flame. All of these stories is told in a very loose, chaotic script as Woody Allen explores the world of fame and art in a very surreal yet humorous fashion as he pays tribute to Federico Fellini’s 8 ½. The screenplay has Allen delving into these themes while playing with the world of fiction and non-fiction as his Sandy Bates character is a man who is struggling to deal with himself as he wonders what should he do in his life as he has all of these people around him.

Allen’s direction exudes style in the way he pays homage to Fellini’s 8 ½ by opening the film in the same way Fellini opened that film as it is later followed strange surreal moments only to be cut as studio executives and producers stop the picture criticizing what Bates is trying to do. With a lot of gorgeous compositions and scenes where’s there’s lots of characters surrounding Bates as they talk and talk. It’s a film where Allen explores the downside of fame and being an artist while showing a man who had lost his muse and is struggling to deal with this French woman who had left her husband and brings her children along. Allen has his character deal with a lot of these issues while going into strange encounters where a lot of is Fellini-esque to emphasize Bates’ ordeal as he tries to ponder what to do. Overall, Allen creates a very witty tribute to Federico Fellini as well as an engaging piece on the trappings of fame.

Cinematographer Gordon Willis does a brilliant job with the film‘s black-and-white cinematography to play up the Fellini-esque visual style that Allen wants as there‘s some amazing daytime scenery of the beach scenes to more entrancing shots with shades for some of the film‘s interior shots. Editor Susan E. Morse does a fantastic job with the editing to create rhythmic cuts for some of the film’s fanatical scenes involving fans while utilizing some amazing jump-cuts for Bates’ recollection of his last meeting with Dory as it is one of the most touching moments of the film.

Production designer Mel Bourne, along with set decorator Steven J. Jordan and art director Michael Molly, do wonderful work with the set pieces such as the Stardust hotel that Bates stays in to the apartment he lives in filled with famous photographs in the background. Costume designer Santo Loquasto does a nice job with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual clothing to more stylish dresses to represent the different women in Bates‘ life. Sound editor Dan Sable does a terrific job with the sound that is most notable in the film’s opening scene as Bates is talking but his voice isn’t heard due to the fantasy that he’s living in. The film’s music soundtrack includes an array of jazz and standard pieces from people like Louis Armstrong, Cole Porter, Django Reinhardt, Glenn Miller, and Chick Webb.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is the major highlight of the film for the people that is cast including the extras to maintain a certain look that is in tribute to the strange world of Federico Fellini. Making small appearances include Daniel Stern as a young actor, Amy Wright as a fan who wants to sleep with Bates, Anne De Salvo as Bates’ needy sister, longtime Allen muse Louise Lasser in a cameo as Bates’ secretary, Laraine Newman as a studio executive, Judith Roberts as a lounge singer. Helen Hanft as festival host/film critic Vivian Orkin, John Rothman as Daisy’s boyfriend Jack, and in her film debut, Sharon Stone as an ingenue who Bates sees in the film’s opening sequence. Tony Roberts is very good as Bates’ friend and actor Tony who tries to help Bates deal with his issues while Marie-Christine Barrault is wonderful as Bates’ caring girlfriend Isobel.

Jessica Harper is excellent as the smart and low-key Daisy who befriends Bates as she is interested in his views of the world as she reveals her own frustrations in being a classical musician. Charlotte Rampling is radiant as Bates’ former flame Dory who appears in strange flashback scenes as she plays the woman Bates thinks is perfect only to be hampered by her own insecurities as it’s a truly mesmerizing performance for the British actress. Finally, there’s Woody Allen in a very funny performance as Sandy Bates as Allen takes his usual persona to explore a man going into an existential crisis while dealing with fame and all sorts of things in a performance that is a joy to watch.

Stardust Memories is a charming yet very playful comedy from Woody Allen. Featuring great performances from Charlotte Rampling and Jessica Harper, the film is among one of Allen’s most stylish and confrontational films as he explores the downside of fame. Notably as it pays tribute to Federico Fellini in a grand way that Fellini fans will definitely enjoy. In the end, Stardust Memories is a marvelous film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What’s Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2012

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

Based on the book by Dr. David Reuben, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) is a series of short stories all about the world of sex. Written for the screen, directed, and starring Woody Allen, the film is essentially a collection of shorts as they each relate to different subjects about sex from perversion to what happens during ejaculation. Also starring Lynn Redgrave, Louise Lasser, Gene Wilder, Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds, John Carradine, and Regis Philbin. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) is a hilarious comedy from Woody Allen.

In Do Aphrodisiacs Work?, a court jester (Woody Allen) tries to seduce the Queen (Lynn Redgrave) in medieval times as a sorcerer (Geoffrey Holder) gives him a potion to win over the Queen. What is Sodomy? is about a doctor (Gene Wilder) who meets an Armenian man (Titos Vandis) who claims to have fallen in love with a sheep. When the doctor meets the sheep, he falls in love with her. In Why Do Some Women Have Trouble Reaching an Orgasm?, Fabrizio (Woody Allen) tries to figure out how to give his wife Gina (Louise Lasser) as he makes a startling discovery. Are Transvestites Homosexuals? has a middle-aged man (Lou Jacobi) dress up in women’s clothing during a dinner with family.

What Are Sex Perverts? is a game show where Jack Barry asks fellow contestants (Regis Philbin, Robert Q. Lewis, Pamela Mason, and Toni Holt) what perversion does this person have. In Are the Findings of Doctors and Clinics Who Do Sexual Research and Experiments Accurate?, a researcher (Woody Allen) and a journalist (Heather McRae) meet with the controversial Dr. Bernardo (John Carradine) whose experiments has run amok leading to a large breast terrorizing a small town. In What Happens During Ejaculation?, a man is on a date with woman as a brain operator (Tony Randall) leads a control center filled with various men as they get ready to have sex while a sperm (Woody Allen) starts to worry.

The film is essentially a collection of shorts where Woody Allen answers these questions about sex. Through these seven shorts that Allen creates, he gives each one a different style and presentation to answer these questions in his own style. Do Aphrodisiacs Work? is a medieval times piece where a court jester tries to have sex with the queen with references from Hamlet while What is Sodomy? is a straightforward drama about bestiality where a doctor falls in love with a sheep. Why Do Some Women Have Trouble Reaching an Orgasm has Allen paying tribute to Federico Fellini as he sports sunglasses like Marcello Mastroianni while the dialogue is spoken entirely in Italian as it has this style that is based on Fellini’s films. Are Transvestites Homosexuals? is a straightforward comedy about a guy that just wants to wear women’s clothing where the real answer is that it all depends on the man.

What Are Sex Peverts? has Allen presenting that segment as an old-school 1960s TV game show program with all of these perversions presented in a very silly form. Are the Findings of Doctors and Clinics Who Do Sexual Research and Experiments Accurate? is essentially a version of Frankenstein with someone as a version of Igor (Ref Sanchez) which reveals a doctor’s insane ideas about sex as a giant tit runs amok forcing a researcher to try and stop the tit. Then it all closes with this hilarious idea of what happens during sex as it’s all controlled by a guy in a NASA-like control center with a switchboard guy (Burt Reynolds) as they all go on a mission for the sex to be successful. The way Allen presents these stories into different genres and in different frames allows him to stretch his creativity as he creates a very funny and intelligent film about sex.

Cinematographer David M. Walsh does an excellent job with the photography that is very colorful for a lot of the sequences while giving the Aphrodisiacs segment a lush look while the Perversion sketch a very grainy black-and-white look. Editor Eric Albertson does a superb job with the editing as it’s presented in a straightforward manner while playing to certain rhythms for certain sketches such as the Orgasm and Ejaculation segments.

Production designer Dale Hennesy and set decorator Marvin March do a great job with the set pieces created such as giant boob in the Research segment along with the control room in the Ejaculation segment. Sound editor John Strauss does a nice job with the sound work to capture the chaos of the control room in the Ejaculation segment while the rest of the film is pretty straightforward. The film’s score by Mundell Lowe is wonderful as it plays to different music styles from medieval folk music for the Aphrodisiacs to more ragtime jazz music throughout as the film opens and closes with Cole Porter’s Let’s Misbehave.

The casting by Marvin Paige is wonderful as it features appearances from Robert Q. Lewis, Pamela Mason, Toni Holt, and a young Regis Philbin as contestants in the Perversion sketch with Jack Barry playing himself and Erin Fleming as the girl in the Ejaculation segment. Other notable small roles include Anthony Quayle as a king and Geoffrey Holder as a sorcerer in the Aphrodisiacs scene along with Titos Vandis as the Armenian man and Elaine Giftos as the doctor’s wife in the Sodomy segment. From the Ejaculation segment, there’s funny appearances from Tony Randall as the control room operator along with Burt Reynolds as the switchboard guy while John Carradine is very funny as Dr. Bernardo in the Research segment along with Ref Sanchez as Igor.

Heather MacRae is very good as the journalist in the Research segment who falls for the young researcher while Lynn Redgrave is very funny as the Queen who takes the aphrodisiac with a big surprise of her own in the Aphrodisiac segment. Allen regular Louise Lasser is excellent as the very sexy Gina in the Orgasm segment while Lou Jacobi is really a joy to watch as the man dressing up in women’s clothing in the Transsexual segment. Gene Wilder is great in a hilarious performance as the doctor who falls for a sheep in the Sodomy segment. Finally, there’s Woody Allen who is amazing in his varied roles for the films as he plays up his own nebbish persona in the segments he appears such as the cool Fabrizio in the Orgasm section while being a sperm in the Ejaculation scene.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) is a very witty and whimsical comedy from Woody Allen. The film is among one of Allen’s most absurd and entertaining films of his early period from the late 60s and early 70s. It’s also a film for anyone that is curious about sex will get to see something that is presented with humor and doesn’t dumb things down. Even though the subject of homosexuality and transvestitism is much more complex nowadays and more accepted than it was back in the 1970s. Still, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) is a fun and riotous comedy from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What’s Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money & Run - Bananas - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2011

Bananas

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/17/06.  Happy 75th Birthday Woody.

Before Allen went into more somber but humorous films that led to masterpieces like Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah & Her Sisters, and Crimes & Misdemeanors, some Allen fans preferred the pre-Annie Hall films Allen did. Mostly because they were filled with his brand of slapstick, neurotic humor that came from his days as a stand-up comic. One of those early films that Woody Allen did as a writer/director/star of his films was a 1971 satire film on dictatorship and American imperialism entitled Bananas.

Written with Mickey Rose, Bananas is a slapstick satire about a products tester who gets involved with a politically-motivated woman only to be dumped because he isn't a leader. In order to win her back, the guy goes to the third-world country of San Marcos which is run by a dictatorship where he stumbles into a rebellious revolutionary group and becomes their unlikely leader. Starring Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalban, Jacobo Morales, Howard Cossell, Don Dunphy, and in an early film appearance, Sylvester Stallone.

For Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen), his life as a products tester hasn't been an fulfilling one while he has troubles trying to get girls and buy porno magazines. Then one day in his apartment, Fielding invites a political activist named Nancy (Louise Lasser) who asks for him to sign a petition for the U.S. government to stop their relations with the third-world country San Marcos, which is currently run by a dictator named General Emilio M. Vargas (Carlos Montalban). The result for Fielding is that he gains a date and pretends to be very political so he can get a shot at Louise. Unfortunately, his attempt to be very political fails as a planned trip to San Marcos is cancelled when Louise dumps him for not being a real leader. Distraught, Fielding quits his job and angers his surgeon parents (Charlotte Rae & Stanley Ackerman) by going to San Marcos himself.

Upon arriving, Vargas learns that an American has arrived and was hoping to get some political insight from Fielding despite his lack of knowledge. After consulting with his advisors, Vargas decides to have Fielding killed by men pretending to be the revolutionary rebels. Fielding survives only to be captured by the real rebels led by Esposito (Jacobo Morales) who takes Fielding as a prisoner and a soldier. Fielding's attempt to become a real revolutionary is hard and clumsy but immediately gains the respects of the troops while scoring with female revolutionary Yolanda (Natividad Abascal). An attempt to kidnap some ambassadors by Fielding doesn't go well yet his contributions helped overthrow Vargas as Esposito becomes the new president of San Marcos.

Unfortunately, Esposito's new laws become very absurd as he changes the official language to Swedish as fellow revolutionary Luis (Miguel Angel Suarez) decides that Fielding becomes the leader. Through some strange plots, Fielding becomes the new leader of San Marcos where the country is in trouble as their only profitable export is bananas. Luis and Fielding (sporting a fake, Castro-like beard) goes to the U.S. to get aid only to have the truth be revealed on who he is. Everyone from Howard Cosell, Miss America Sharon Craig (Dagne Crane) to J. Edgar Hoover (Dorothi Fox) as a black woman in disguise try to implicate Fielding who tries to ponder the mess he's been in.

Part of Allen's genius for comedy isn't just being the brunt of jokes but his love for slapstick comedy. While the film isn't perfect and isn't meant to be taken seriously, Allen does bring a lot of intelligence to his humor. Especially in his approach to satire about third-world dictatorship where the opening scene in the film is Howard Cossell and Roger Grimsby doing their usual Wide World of Sports commentary on the assassination. The film is also funny on its social commentary and how Allen manages to bring his slapstick humor into the forefront. Some scenes are just priceless when Allen is in training to be a rebel or him trying to get food for his troops. It's proof that Woody is a comedic genius for his natural wit and slapstick humor while he and Mickey Rose writes with such natural delivery in how he wants things to be funny while Allen does some great work in the directing.

Helping Allen on the technical front are cinematographer Andrew M. Costikyan and editors Ron Kalish and Ralph Rosenblum who do great work in their respective fields. The locations for New York City and Puerto Rico as San Marcos are wonderful choices, especially to convey the lunacy of the revolution. The music that Allen has selected from film's score composer Marvin Hamlisch are wonderfully comic from the opening credits through everything that goes out on film.

The casting is even more inspiring with the hilarious cameos from the late Howard Cossell and Don Dunphy to small parts from Dagne Craig, Allen Garfield, Dorothi Fox, Miguel Angel Suarez, Charlotte Rae and Stanley Ackerman as Fielding's parents, and in an early film appearance playing a hood in a hilarious subway scene, Sylvester Stallone. In two hilarious supporting performances both contrasting the ideals of leadership, Carlos Montalban and Jacobo Morales are very funny in their roles, notably Morales as Esposito whose ideas of running his country are very absurd. In playing the female lead, Allen's former wife Louise Lasser does great work in playing Nancy who has all the elements to drive Allen's character into taking action. Lasser does have some funny moments though she is often overlooked in comparison to other Allen muses like Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow to supporting players like Dianne Wiest and Judy Davis.

Finally, we have Woody Allen in one of his funniest performances. Allen is known for his schtick as a neurotic, insecure, wimpy kind of guy but it's the kind of character that works for Woody. Woody not only uses his own brand of slapstick but sells every funny moment onscreen. Whether he's trying the exercise-desk machine to trying to buy porno magazines or trying to set the mood. Here’s a guy that people can root for or relate to and it's all due to the genius of Woody Allen.

While some might not get the humor or satire of Bananas, the film is still one of Woody Allen's finer, earlier moments. Though more serious films fans might lean towards films like Annie Hall, Hannah & Her Sisters, and Crimes & Misdemeanors, Bananas, does bring enough laughs to make even to the most serious of film fanatics. Anyone who wants to discover Woody's early work should check this out since all the comedy is all done to entertain and bring some good insight into American imperialism. Overall, Bananas is a true, hilarious gem from the always funny, brilliant Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up, Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love & Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories-Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows & Fog - Husbands & Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Don't Drink the Water - Bullets Over Broadway - Mighty Aphrodite - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra's Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2010