Falls short

Rating: Null/10 (11 May 2003)

Woody Allen's Annie Hall is a disturbing yet funny comedy between two lovers and the differences that keep them apart. Woody Allen plays a sarcastic, ego-centered, and obsessive over the misery of the world comedian, who meets Diane Keaton, whose character is based on the stereo-typical mid-western girl, who moved to the big city. Though I felt the film displayed many loose comical stereo-typical views of the time setting of the late seventies. I can not escape the feeling that there is an underlining message of society's negatives during this time period of American culture by Allen. The story line is of this film a meeting between the two in which they engage in a game of tennis with friends. Soon a relationship follows and the start of their problems begins. Allen's character whom obsessed with death and many other enlightened thinking pushes his ideas upon her slowly smothering Annie till she breaks. When Annie tries to confront Allen's character he only avoids her questions and comments by trying to move the subject to a sexual nature. In the end, the two break apart mutually, because of his smothering and her desire to have freedom. She lives in Los Angels while Woody whom refuses to live anywhere else stays in New York. His character's problems are the sole entertainment of the film and without his absurd behavior the film would be nothing but a sappy lover story.
Allen does a wonderful job in adding the desired affect a highly sarcastic, socially disabled comedian who fears change and can only be happy when misery is involved. His use of direct confrontation in acknowledging the audience only adds to the film. His use of it is not over done and usually unexpected. In one scene he and Annie are standing in line for a movie when a man disturbing him about the work of another man is forced to hear how his Harvard opinions are totally off based by the man whose work he was describing. Diane Keaton however is to Allen's character as yin is to yang. Though she makes the character believable, there are too many accruing stereotypes of the Midwestern girl in the big city. Citing a specific example of her constant old sayings, like la-de-da, which drives Allen character crazy, along with the undertone of her intellect compared to his of a Jewish man in New York, which displays a stereo type in itself. Woody displaying an intellectual Jewish man whiles her being from Wisconsin she is a sub-cultured, basic educated woman. Other stereo-types which can easily be seen are of the people of the time period, mostly when the two visit Los Angeles, though these are found comical never the less the films subplot of pointing out all the negative stereo types cannot be denied. In one scene at a party there are numerous stereo types of Hollywood, for example the people are all on drugs, or a more specific example, the shot of Jeff Goldblum talking on the phone to his spiritual advisor saying, `I have lost my mantra.' Though this only adds to the comedic level of the film there is something to be said of Woody's own personal opinions possibly being sent through this film.
To paraphrase my point Annie Hall is a magnificently hysterical film, though its humor acts as a double edge sword. Through the use of a cynical New Yorker whose only fate would seem is to be miserable, Woody Allen comically expresses his views of the total loose American culture of the late seventies. His stereo types of this time period and the people of this time period though undoubtedly a riot also can be seen to portray his own views of this time as though he was that cynical and shallow of a man.