Woody's Best

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 2006)

This has so many layers from intellectual humor to pratfalls. It has some of the most memorable characters in all of movie history. First of all, the script is full of what all comedy should be about: timing. The scenes where Annie and Alvy start their relationship are amazing. He, like his constant schmuck, has arrived at a place in his life, and even if he could change, he really doesn't want to. She is just starting to blossom, but carries around enough hangups to sink a battleship. He sees her beauty and her innocence, but can't pull himself out of growing up under a roller coaster. The scene with the lobsters, which he tries to reprise with another woman, and then he falls flat on his face. Her nutty family, particularly her brother, played by Christopher Walken. This was my first experience with one of the most wacko people in show business. At least his movie persona. Alvy is rooted in New York and that who California thing. The cocaine. The convertible with the destroyed top which he obviously tried to put up while he was cruising on the freeway. No one can present unrequited love as well as Woody. Every time I see him in his comic roles, I think, "I really like him, but I would never want to be him." There is a constipation in his characters but that's what makes it all work. You want them to be happy, but it's not in the cards.