The perfect screenplay

Rating: 10/10 (29 December 2004)

Woody isn't much of an actor except when he plays himself, but he is an occasionally brilliant writer. He and Marshall Brickman collaborated on Annie Hall, which may be the best screenplay ever written. There is not one wasted word in the whole script. Perhaps the greatest gag ever was when Woody produces Marshall McLuhan out of a movie line to contradict a loud-mouth Columbia College professor standing behind him. "If real life could only be like this." In addition, the separation of spirit from body was a brilliant gag, and nobody can cook a lobster like Alvie. The cinematography is gorgeous and the performances are splendiforous. La Di Da, La Di Da. This is not my favorite Woody Allen movie (Love and Death takes that honor), but it was his best. The Academy took a lot of flak for the Oscar nod, but I couldn't imagine a world where Woody did not win an Oscar. This was his Oscar-worthy movie. Unfortunately, he has fallen short of duplicating this high level of film-making ever since.