BEFORE: Woody Allen carries over again as an actor, but I think my linking luck runs out tonight. This was his last regular appearance, I think he had a couple more acting roles after this, but starting tomorrow I've got to get more creative in finding links.
I'm taking a spring break next Sunday, we're going to Atlantic City for a couple of days, so I'll have to put the chain on hold. I think once I get back I can still finish the Woody Allen chain before the end of the month.
THE PLOT: A romantic comedy about the relationship between an older guy and his younger protege. The older guy guides the younger through a messy and hilarious love story.
AFTER: At some point, Woody Allen wisely stepped aside from playing the leads in his own films - in this one he plays more of a mentor to the lead, who clearly represents himself, since he's a divorced Jewish/atheist comedy writer who's struggling to write a novel and dating a series of crazy women.
By "crazy", I don't mean clinically insane, it's more like the lead female here acts extremely illogically - like getting depressed, binge eating, and then complaining that she's overweight. When you step away from a situation like that, it's somewhat easy to suggest a solution, but someone who is stuck in a cycle like that may not even realize it.
Concerning relationships, she also acts in ways that don't make much sense - like sleeping with another man to see if she can still get excited sexually, but not considering that to be "cheating". Which it clearly is, so we're left to wonder if she's just a compulsive liar, or doesn't really understand what constitutes infidelity. So, is she duplicitous or just dumb? It's hard to say which is worse.
Woody, just because you've had a couple relationships with crazy women does not mean that all women act illogically all of the time. I've known a couple women who might tend to act strangely from time to time, but not 24/7. Maybe instead of blaming every woman you've dated for being crazy, it might be time to look at your own behavior to see if there's something you might have done that causes them to act a certain way - because the common link in all of those relationships might be you.
I'm getting the feeling that Woody considers men and women to be like oil and vinegar - they can be brought together, and the combination can be quite zesty and enjoyable, but given enough time, due to the differences in their chemistry, they are destined to separate again.
This film is really about knowing when to make changes in one's life - when should you end a relationship, when should you move out to L.A., when is it time to scrap what you've built and start over? There's no easy answer to these questions - people might think I'm nuts for staying in New York when most film + TV work is done in L.A. For jobs and relationships, all that someone can do is to make the best of what they have, and pull up stakes and start over when necessary. It's not easy, but sometimes it has to be done.
The ending of the film is a bit out of left field - it stems from Woody playing a right-wing survivalist, gun nut, which admittedly is a change from his typical leftist Democrat. But we're left wondering if what his character says is true, or just an excuse to not make that big change. For that matter, what if his character isn't real at all, but an extension of the lead character's imagination? Or himself from the future, who came back in time to give himself advice? An interesting proposition, but no, it doesn't seem to ring true.
Also starring Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci (last heard in "Alpha & Omega"), Danny DeVito (last seen in "The Big Kahuna"), Stockard Channing (last seen in "Where the Heart Is"), Jimmy Fallon (last seen in "Fever Pitch"), William Hill, with cameos from Diana Krall, Fisher Stevens (last seen in "Reversal of Fortune"), Adrian Grenier.
RATING: 4 out of 10 slices of cheesecake
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