The Definitive Woody Allen Movie

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2005)

I am not a huge fan of Woody Allen and my wife can't hardly stand to watch him. As a result, I have only seen a half-dozen of Woody Allen movies. With the exception of "Manhattan", I have been unimpressed or felt them to be downright horrible.
I have heard so much about "Annie Hall" that I had to take the time to watch it. It was on HBO in Hi-Definition, so why not? Indeed, this is a wonderful movie. While not a big Diane Keaton fan, it was most certainly the best performance of her career that I have seen. I think the casting was exceptional and she handled the material well.
I tend to like to immerse myself in a movie. Woody's use of the aside (talking to the audience), is a little distracting, but the short scene with Marshall McLuhan was a wonderful shot at self-absorbed intellectuals.
The plot idea is very good. I think so many of Woody Allen's characters in so many of his movies have been this same character over and over again. I think this is the definitive Woody Allen character. So much of his recent work as been a pale imitation.
Even if you aren't a Woody fan, I have to recommend this as a creative piece of comedic cinema.