Sarcasm Included

Woody Allen

January 1, 2012 perhaps is the slightest bit too late to discover just how talented Woody Allen really is. The writer/comedian/filmmaker is 76 going on 77 and he’s been making films for more than forty years. I’ve seen ten or so of his movies, which I just realized, is barely scratching the surface of his true contribution to the world. Then again, a definitive documentary on his life (and therefore his work) was only aired by PBS last month. Only after finishing both episodes did I begin to understand something.

Woody Allen is the ideal man for me.

Theoretically speaking, that is. Keep in mind that the first time I’d ever heard about him was during the whole Mia Farrow brouhaha. And no matter what the explanation behind the story is, to me, he will still be the man who fell in love with his girlfriend’s adopted daughter. So, no, I am not in love with him. I just love his movies, the lead character (who is practically him), and his dialogues.

Woody comes from a comedy background and he got his success early on by putting his hypochondriac/neurotic intellectual personality on the silver screen as the main character. I haven’t seen any of his early films but based on what I saw in the documentary, they seem to be very hilarious, if not slightly absurd. As an actor, he basically played himself in slightly different situations in most of his movies. As a filmmaker and writer, though, his talent really came through.

Annie Hall remains everyone’s favorite Woody Allen work. Critics can’t get enough of it and it is better known as the one that introduced Diane Keaton to the world. Diane is amazing and perfect in Annie Hall and the film represents Woody’s style beautifully, but my favorite is still Manhattan. Is it because it was shot in black and white? No. Is it because Meryl Streep was in it? No, although she really did look very gorgeous in this movie. I love this movie best because it is (deep breaths, cliché coming) “the ultimate love letter to New York City”. That, and it is the perfect embodiment of Woody’s style in filmmaking. Not to mention, that one shot. You know which one I mean.

Shot on location. Just so beautiful.

The film starts with shots of New York with Gershwin’s Broadway/Jazz music in the background. Then Woody’s voice jumps in, narrating his character’s emotions and story. Soon, we slip into the middle of a conversation carried on by him and his sophisticated buddies. You don’t get exactly what they’re talking about but they all sound so smart and so cool that you don’t care. The rest of the narrative plays out like a real piece of life, not the faux-reality we see in romantic comedies. Dramatic moments are not as glaringly obvious as they are in other films, instead the plot just flows smoothly, powered on by Woody’s witty banter. There is no explosive ending that changes everyone’s life. What you do get after watching Manhattan is an inferior feeling knowing you’ll never write anything as amazing as that. Oh, and a deep love for Woody Allen, of course.

Since the 1990s, it seems that Woody’s career has slumped. He still makes at least one film a year, but the box-office results have not been impressive. He made a splash on the news when he decided to make a movie…outside New York! As it turns out, this was the right decision. He seems to have reawakened his passion (Scarlett Johansson might have had something to do with that) and Europe seems to love him oh so much. After shooting in England (Match Point, Scoop, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger) and Spain (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), he moved to Paris, where he shot his biggest-selling movie to date, Midnight in Paris. I saw it last week and it is brilliant. I am therefore looking forward to Woody Allen returning to America and the award season circuit once again. Oh, and his next film is going to be shot in Rome, I think.  Mamma mia, I can’t-a wait for that.

Oh, yes, the ideal man thing. He’s funny, he’s smart, loves jazz (plays the clarinet), loves New York (I’m still holding out for a better “New York, I Love You” in which he directs a short film or maybe ten of them), and he’s neurotic enough to be interesting. He’s cultured but not pretentious, complicated without being an emotional wreck, and romantic to the core. What else do I need?