ANNIE HALL

Diane Keaton and Woody Allen

ANNIE HALL (1977). Director: Woody Allen. Screenplay by Allen and Marshall Brickman.

:There's too much emphasis on orgasms to make up for the emptiness in life.: -- Alvy.

"Who said that?" -- Annie.

"Leopold and Loeb." -- Alvy.

Comedian Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) tells us of his relationship with, and ultimate bittersweet breakup from, girlfriend Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) in a tale that looks at how people can love one another but may not be right as lifelong partners. Annie Hall is one of Allen's most likable and entertaining movies, a frequently inventive comedy-drama (with emphasis on comedy) in which Allen/Singer talks directly to the audience, and he and other characters observe and comment as they look back at their younger selves with earlier lovers, and so on. Allen [Shadows and Fog] and Keaton [Shoot the Moon] both offer winning performances and there are small roles/cameos from Colleen Dewhurst [You Can't Take It With You], Christopher Walken, Carol Kane, Shelley Duvall, Janet Margolin, and larger roles for Tony Roberts (whose character of a sitcom actor never seems remotely real) and Paul Simon as a wealthy record producer (he's fine). An odd scene has Annie talking about a tragic, shell-shocked uncle without having any real understanding of what the poor man must have gone through and laughing at it until she realizes "I guess it's not funny." Duh! The film has a sub-text of the differences between a New York and Hollywood lifestyle, not to mention the differences between Manhattan and L.A. You can't say that either Alvy or Annie are people you might actually want to hang out with, but they make an engaging sort of couple for the movie if nothing else. Allen won Oscars for writing (along with Marshall Brickman) and directing and was nominated for his performance; Keaton won the Best Actress Oscar, and the movie won Best Picture.

Verdict: Not really a masterpiece as such, but lots of airy charm and creative fun in this. ***.

MANHATTAN

Allen, Keaton, Murphy, Hoffman

MANHATTAN  (1979 ). Director: Woody Allen.Written by Allen and Marshall Brickman.

"I think people should mate for life, like pigeons or Catholics."

"My first wife was a kindergarten teacher. She got into drugs, moved to L.A. became a moonie. Now she's a William Morris agent."

41-year-old Isaac (Woody Allen), whose wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), left him for another woman, Connie (Karen Ludwig), is now dating an adoring 17-year-old named Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). Isaac's buddy, Yale (Michael Murphy), who is married to Emily (Anne Byrne Hoffman), is having an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton), but Isaac and Mary find themselves drawn to each other, especially as Yale shows no signs of leaving his wife, and Isaac is all too aware of the age difference between him and Tracy. As Manhattan begins, it seems to be a love valentine to New York City, but as the movie proceeds it becomes clear that it is just another Woody Allen Movie with the same fake, self-serving Woody Allen-type characters.you see in most of his movies. This "Manhattan" is strictly for and about rich white upper eastsiders -- you won't see a Black, Latino or Asian face throughout the movie (although there is a gay couple, as mentioned)! 

As expected, there's some good dialogue, and the acting is mostly on target, although Keaton tries to be amusing and generally fails. A built-in problem with Allen's movies is that, while the real Allen probably has no problem getting dates because he's rich and famous, having all these women throwing themselves at a less successful fellow who looks like Allen is highly improbable. Given what we now know of Allen's private life, it's easy to see why the plot goes in certain directions. Bella Abzug has a cameo and the repulsive Wallace Shawn, even less attractive than Allen, shows up very briefly as Keaton's ex-husband. Back in the seventies, Allen's films were seen as sharp and sophisticated and altogether wonderful, dealing frankly with adult subject matter, or what passes for same, but many of them don't really hold up and are due for reevaluation. Manhattan does its best to avoid the real dramatic scenes, especially in the depiction of Yale's discarded wife. The ending to the film makes Isaac seem even yuckier.

Verdict: Allen has made some good movies, but this isn't one of them. This should have been called A Nerd's Fantasy Life. **.

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY

Woody Allen

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (1993). Director: Woody Allen. Screenplay by Allen and Marshall Brickman.

Carol Lipton (Diane Keaton) is convinced that an older neighbor, Paul House (Jerry Adler), murdered his wife, who supposedly died of a heart attack. Carol's husband, Larry (Woody Allen), thinks she's nuts, but their divorced friend, Ted (Alan Alda of Same Time, Next Year), thinks she may be on to something. When Carol and Ted team up to track down House's possible girlfriend, Larry is afraid something may be developing between the two. A book editor, Larry convinces one of his authors, Marcia Fox (Anjelica Huston), to go on a date with Ted, but then Carol gets jealous when Marcia gets involved in solving the mystery ... Manhattan Murder Mystery is obviously a homage to those comedy-mystery films of the forties with the plucky heroine determined to get to the bottom of a case, and it's an entertaining, well-acted picture, even if Allen and Keaton aren't exactly William Powell and Myrna Loy. Leisurely-paced, and longer than some of his dramas, the movie keeps introducing enough perplexing elements to keep the viewer in suspense. I do wish the picture didn't ape the final sequence of the far superior The Lady from Shanghai, which is playing in a theater where the climax takes place. Carol and Larry make a likable couple with a basically warm relationship. Melanie Norris, Lynn Cohen, Marge Redmond, Joy Behar, and Ron Rifkin have smaller roles and are fine. The credit music is Cole Porter's marvelous "I Happen to Like New York," sung by Bobby Short.

Verdict: I liked this a lot more than the more "serious" Manhattan. ***.