Annie HallMy wife and I met late into our thirties. She's told me that she wished that she had met me earlier in her life. I explained that I'm glad that we didn't, only because I don't think that she would have liked me much until I had time to mature. That came back to me with the closing lines of Annie Hall. (Yes, I'm starting with the ending, so spoilers ahoy!) Woody Allen plays the quintessential "Woody Allen movie" nebbish and neurotic protagonist, Alvy Singer, who narrates about the rise and fall (then rise and fall again) of his relationship with a young woman named...wait for it...Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). Finally coming to terms with their ultimate breakup, Alvy matures, and we can hope that his next foray into matters of the heart will go far better than his previous ones.
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When people think of a "Woody Allen" movie, there are certain characteristics that should come to mind. For the most part, it should feature a main character who is a New York Jew and a comedian, who is also riddled with anxiety, worries too much about death, and screws up virtually every relationship he's in. Although this describes several of Allen's films, the acme of these would have to be Annie Hall. Not only does Alvy fit the bill as the quintessential Woody Allen protagonist--as previously mentioned--but it also happens to be one of his best movies. It is a jazzy riff on the romantic comedy, replete with clever moments of self-effacing snobbery and dry humor. Annie Hall takes this and adds everything from a deconstructed, achronological narrative, "fourth wall" breaking, and heck, even animation! Alvy openly speaks to the audience from the start, using a joke as a metaphor to represent his own outlook on life. This is a segue into the aftermath of his break-up with Annie (unclear if it's for the first or second time), and he commiserates (more like complains, really) to his buddy, a TV actor named Rob (Tony Roberts)--who oddly always calls Alvy "Max"--about everything including Alvy's perceived antisemitism. So when Alvy finally meets the whimsically dressed Annie at a game of doubles tennis, we have the benefit of dramatic irony: we know Alvy's gonna screw this one up, just like his last couple of marriages. Now, many, many other romantic comedies ultimately fall back on melodrama to engage the audience. Not Annie Hall...well, not really in the same way. In a sense, Allen has rewritten the book on romantic comedies, and everyone else--except for the excellent, but occasionally melodramatic, When Harry Met Sally...--has been playing catch-up every since. Like the great "Seinfeld"--which owes more than a little to Woody Allen's comic acumen--Annie Hall almost never gets weepy, despite being about very important things, like existential doubt and anxiety about love, something to which everyone can relate. So much is conveyed in subtext (and text, to be fair), like Annie's "la-de-da" attitude toward life, which Alvy--intentionally or otherwise--envies and erodes over time. Annie seems like a charming young lady, maybe a bit sheltered, maybe a bit too comfy with getting stoned before sex all the time (gotta admit, I'm with ya there, Alvy). But everything that she says that she thinks that Alvy thinks about her (did I get that right?), like that she thinks that he thinks that she's not smart enough for him...well, you can tell that yes, Alvy probably does think that. But their inner monologue subtitles reveal their motivations for us--the audience--in a fun and candid scene. She wants to impress the erudite, older man; he just wonders what she looks like naked.
Alvy's not a bad man--he's just really self-absorbed. He is smart and he has a wonderful sense of humor. I hear these are big turn-ons for ladies. (Britt Ekland and Peter Sellers proved that unequivocally.) But Alvy's not happy with himself, and like they say, "misery loves company". Before long, we find out that Alvy's got Annie seeing a therapist like he is. (He doesn't fail to remind us that he pays for it, too.) And again, Alvy's not trying to drag her down into his pit of neuroses...it just seems to be happening the longer she remains in his orbit. And then there's the question of "love"; do they actually love one another? That's perhaps the eternal question in many of Allen's films, such as Manhattan. Alvy proclaims his undying love, but is he too much of a jokester to be believed? And obviously, his humor is a defense mechanism, so this question will never have a satisfactory answer. But never mind that...isn't that just like life? I found it ironic that Alvy's first wife was a woman named Allison (Carol Kane), because I had been in a relationship many years ago with a woman of the same name. I thought that she was "the one"; I was wrong. I was hurt when she got tired of my own insecurities and demands and broke it off. I tried to convince myself that "it wasn't me", and wouldn't allow myself to grow and mature by the experience. Sound familiar? So behind all of the clever, intellectual bon mots and aphorisms, the comedic situations--like bringing live lobsters back to the beach house to cook for dinner (bad idea, and Alvy does it twice!)--there is a real heart in Annie Hall. The familiar scenes of meeting the parents (including a cameo by an extremely young Christopher Walken as Annie's brother) are great, because we can all relate. (Maybe not with the same vivid imagination Alvy has, but still...) And, for you film buffs out there, maybe we can even identify with Alvy's reluctance to walk into a movie a couple of minutes late, or get perturbed with a blowhard spouting off behind you in line for the movie. And maybe you've even gotten that call at three a.m., claiming to be an emergency, when it's really a matter of smashing a spider "as big as a Buick". (Maybe not that specifically, but you get what I'm driving at.) These are so natural and authentic--if heightened to the absurd for the benefit of comedy--but they feel real nevertheless. The end montage replaying flashes from the time which Alvy and Annie spent together is crucial. Aren't our memories like this? We play back those great and noteworthy--even the less noteworthy--moments to ourselves...the photo album of our minds. That we grow and learn from each experience is the human condition, captured so deftly by Woody Allen in Annie Hall.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious, touching, and recognizable comedy--of life, love, loss, and learning. Precious few movies do it better than Annie Hall. And movie fans: keep an eye out for even more cameos and early appearances throughout. (Wonder if Jeff Goldblum ever remembered his mantra?)
Alvy's not a bad man--he's just really self-absorbed. He is smart and he has a wonderful sense of humor. I hear these are big turn-ons for ladies. (Britt Ekland and Peter Sellers proved that unequivocally.) But Alvy's not happy with himself, and like they say, "misery loves company". Before long, we find out that Alvy's got Annie seeing a therapist like he is. (He doesn't fail to remind us that he pays for it, too.) And again, Alvy's not trying to drag her down into his pit of neuroses...it just seems to be happening the longer she remains in his orbit. And then there's the question of "love"; do they actually love one another? That's perhaps the eternal question in many of Allen's films, such as Manhattan. Alvy proclaims his undying love, but is he too much of a jokester to be believed? And obviously, his humor is a defense mechanism, so this question will never have a satisfactory answer. But never mind that...isn't that just like life? I found it ironic that Alvy's first wife was a woman named Allison (Carol Kane), because I had been in a relationship many years ago with a woman of the same name. I thought that she was "the one"; I was wrong. I was hurt when she got tired of my own insecurities and demands and broke it off. I tried to convince myself that "it wasn't me", and wouldn't allow myself to grow and mature by the experience. Sound familiar? So behind all of the clever, intellectual bon mots and aphorisms, the comedic situations--like bringing live lobsters back to the beach house to cook for dinner (bad idea, and Alvy does it twice!)--there is a real heart in Annie Hall. The familiar scenes of meeting the parents (including a cameo by an extremely young Christopher Walken as Annie's brother) are great, because we can all relate. (Maybe not with the same vivid imagination Alvy has, but still...) And, for you film buffs out there, maybe we can even identify with Alvy's reluctance to walk into a movie a couple of minutes late, or get perturbed with a blowhard spouting off behind you in line for the movie. And maybe you've even gotten that call at three a.m., claiming to be an emergency, when it's really a matter of smashing a spider "as big as a Buick". (Maybe not that specifically, but you get what I'm driving at.) These are so natural and authentic--if heightened to the absurd for the benefit of comedy--but they feel real nevertheless. The end montage replaying flashes from the time which Alvy and Annie spent together is crucial. Aren't our memories like this? We play back those great and noteworthy--even the less noteworthy--moments to ourselves...the photo album of our minds. That we grow and learn from each experience is the human condition, captured so deftly by Woody Allen in Annie Hall.
Recommended for: Fans of a hilarious, touching, and recognizable comedy--of life, love, loss, and learning. Precious few movies do it better than Annie Hall. And movie fans: keep an eye out for even more cameos and early appearances throughout. (Wonder if Jeff Goldblum ever remembered his mantra?)