Well, it's good Tracy promised not to hate me if I didn't like her second favorite movie ever because I don't so much like this one. Something about Woody Allen just doesn't click in my head. I get where it's supposed to be funny or sweet or whatever else but it fails to really register with me. I end up sort of bored about half an hour into all of his movies, if not sooner. I don't even have that much to write about it. Oh well, 2 Woody Allen movies down (this and Purple Rose of Cairo) and 5 more to go (Sleeper, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, and Deconstructing Harry) . . . .
Oh dear, Woody Allen. Another reason I have to keep the movies in chronological order on the Netflix queue or all of his would end up at the bottom of the list (but above Passion of the Christ, definitely). I do remember liking Sweet and Lowdown, though. Maybe there's some sort of hope? Or that one's just a fluke (it probably is given that it's not so much on the list, damn it).
2 comments:
Totally understandable. This is the quintessential high comedy Allen, and if you're not a Woody Allen person, well, you do the math.
I am now going to bogart the blog to talk about why I like it, though. Mainly because I like to talk. I think it's an honest story about the movement of love. I like how it's incredibly obvious and makes sense what each likes about the other person (rather than relying on the audience to trust that these people are falling in love merely because one [or both] of them are incredibly good looking). And I think the shark thing is really true.
I also enjoy it as a subversive Pygmalion story. Alvie creates this perfect NYC intellectual for him to love (making her go to adult education, encouraging her in singing, making her see The Sorrow and the Pity) and then, oops, she doesn't love him back. And he doesn't like her all that much either.
Also I think the direct narration still feels fresh, and no less than Quentin Tarantino cited the idea of inserting animation to tell part of the story in KBV1.
Plus I have a crush on Diane Keaton. And Christopher Walken makes me laugh every time.
So, for our forthcoming book, I wanted to be sure I get to talk about AH. And I promise not to give you Crimes and Misdemeanors next!
I totally get all of that in a detached, "I know what this movie is about without any of it actually hitting me in any real or emotional way" way. It just didn't connect and what aggravates me most about it is that I can't really figure out why it doesn't connect.
I know I don't like Hemingway and I know it's because I like adjectives and overly-complicated sentence structures and Papa would write nasty letters about me for that impulse. With both Allen and Hemingway I'm ok with the bones of the story and with most of the characters. But, with Allen, I can't figure out why I don't like it stylistically.
I guess five more movies will give me time to ponder that question. But, yes, I get at least little break before watching more of his movies, please and thank you.
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