Bananas

Plot synopsis:
Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) is the protagonist, but he does not appear until after the opening credits. The cold open, which featured the assassination of the president of the fictional "banana republic" of San Marcos and a coup d'état that brings Gen. Emilio Molina Vargas (Carlos Montalban) to power, sets up the situation in which Mellish would become embroiled. The scene was in the form of a championship boxing telecast on Wide World of Sports, with Don Dunphy as the host and Howard Cosell as the commentator.
Mellish is a neurotic blue collar man who tries to impress social activist Nancy (Louise Lasser) by trying to get in touch with the revolution in San Marcos. He visits the republic and attempts to show his concern for the native people. However, he is nearly killed by the local caudillo and then saved by the revolutionaries, putting him in their debt. Mellish then learns, clumsily, how to be a revolutionary. When the revolution is successful, the Castro-style leader goes mad, forcing the rebels to place Mellish as their President.
When traveling back to the U.S. to obtain financial aid, he reunites with his activist ex-girlfriend and is exposed. In a classic courtroom scene, Mellish tries to defend himself from a series of incriminating witnesses, including a reigning Miss America and a middle-aged African-American woman claiming to be J. Edgar Hoover in disguise. One of the witnesses does provide testimony favorable to Mellish, but the court clerk, when asked to read back this testimony, replies with an entirely different, wholly unfavorable rendition. Mellish is eventually sentenced to prison, but his sentence is suspended on the condition that he does not move into the judge's neighborhood. Nancy then agrees to marry him. The film ends with the between-the-covers consummation of their marriage, an event that was over much more quickly than Nancy had anticipated. Like the opening scene, it was accompanied by Cosell providing commentary.

Tags: cult, comedy, satire

Review:
There are numerous sexual jokes, including one of Woody's funniest scenes involving a magazine (the buying and holding on a subway, very silent comedy-like).
I get the feeling that Woody Allen had kept a journal in which he noted the funniest sights he'd witnessed and the cleverest one-liners he'd heard, over a period of years, and then set about mixing all of these totally unrelated funny things into one script.
"Bananas" is just that on the surface - a crazy, off the wall movie written by, directed by, and starring a very young Woody Allen as a clumsy New Yorker who winds up as the leader of a small country.
After a revolution breaks out in the small South American nation of San Marcos, a mediocre, unintellectual New Yorker, Fielding Mellish (Allen), travels there to impress his ex-girlfriend (Louise Lasser).
The film's satirical take on war, with the Vietnam War still raging in 1971, was very timely, and Allen also aims a few jabs at the media's handling of warfare  in the ridiculous and inspired opening, ABC's Wide World of Sports arrives in San Marcos to commentate the assassination of the current President.
'Bananas' is a type specimen of one of Woody Allen's "early, funny movies.".
"Bananas" is one of Woody Allen's earliest films: a pure comedy, with some satirical and political overtones (which are about 100% on-target - like when the leader of the rebels becomes a dictator himself when he rises to power).
(Bananas is neatly bracketed at the beginning and end by Howard Cossell playing himself in bizarre Wide World of Sports coverages.)  Allen has total control as writer, director and lead actor as in his later films, but in Bananas, the humor is broader and more cinematic.
In New York, the products tester Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) meets the political activist Nancy (Louise Lasser) and they have a love affair.
He wears a long beard and travels to USA seeking financial support to the country and he meets Nancy again, who falls in love with him."Bananas" is a witty joke with the US- sponsored dictatorships in Latin America in the 60's by Woody Allen.
Woody Allen's character is living in the States and falls in love with an activist who is looking for support of the people of San Marcos.
Because he already had plans to go, he visits San Marcos where he is unwittingly joined to the rebel cause.This is a very funny movie, especially is you are a fan of Groucho Marx - Allen's influence is quite obvious through lines such as, "I object, your honor!
"Bananas" shows why Woody Allen's early movies were far better.
I could be black!") After a brief fling with political activist Nancy (Louise Lasser), who is trying to restore democracy in the Latin American country of San Marcos (the movie begins with Howard Cosell hosting a "live, on-the-spot assassination" there).
The plot is pretty ridiculous (a neurotic product tester goes to the fictional San Marcos and ends up joining the rebels and eventually becoming president), but it's really secondary, and only serves to provide transitions from one comedy skit to another.It's pretty much a hit and miss movie, but when he hits (which is more often than not), it's very funny.
Obviously, this isn't like Woody's later movies, just take it for what it is -- a silly comedy -- and I don't think you'll be disappointed.Also of note, the opening credits are very funny and rivals Monty Python and the Holy Grail for best opening credits sequence..
And much of what is "dated" is not only because of changes in politics and other areas over the years - but also because many of the gags and techniques have been adapted by others in many films since.It still contains the clear Woody Allen "imprint," and gives us a memorable view of his earlier work..
"Bananas" is a quietly angry commentary on America's involvement in the Vietnam War. Woody Allen, obviously very upset at the nation's conflict in the 1970s and wanting to show a comedy that pointed the finger at U.S. policy and diplomacy, would come up with one of the more hilarious products of the period with this one.
Allen is a New York consumer products tester who falls in love with glassy-eyed political activist Louise Lasser (never really feeling right in this film) almost immediately.
Although this is funny at a number of times, this film could have been a biting political satire on how America deals with other nations, or maybe even how rebels fail once they come to power.
The best and most recent work of Allen is by far "Manhattan Murder Mystery." If you like dumb slapstick and some tacky but sharply hilarious jokes, check out BANANAS..
Then he becomes a subversive mother." But mostly it's a screwball comedy, one that for me was most interesting in the desperate relationship Allen's character, Fielding Mellish, has with a political activist (played by Louise Lasser), with her pointing out all of his shortcomings, always in such a nice tone.
This material isn't revolutionary, the parody has already exploited by Mel Brooks and Monty Python, but Woody Allen elevates them to much higher summits by juggling with other forms of humor, without never distracting from the core of the story, and even when it does, it's always redeemed by a hilarious punch-line.Many viewers would look at the film as a series of disjointed sketches, each one working alone but not necessarily making a good film altogether.
There are so few comedic film-makers who can make me laugh out loud but early Woody Allen (just like early Steve Martin) does it for me every time - how I wish those guys had stayed true to their (comedy) school instead of getting all serious on us with their deeper although only arguably higher artistic ambitions.Anyway I watched "Bananas" afresh (probably the third or fourth time in all) and laughed my head off again at it, as I'm sure I will again any time in the future.
I can't claim the comedy as timeless, but hey, it works for me.The gags come thick and fast from the start with the brilliant bookending devices of the spoof TV coverage of an actual assassination at the start and Woody and his new wife's marriage consummation at the end (and how much closer life is now to imitating art with CNN 24 Hour news coverage and reality-show television) delivered like a trouper by the iconic Howard Cosell.
By the way, I loved the line about the "ritual burning of the American Embassy - plus ca change...!.Of course the story is wholly episodic, moving from one gag-setting to another and Allen pays his due homage to the silents with some hilarious slapstick along the way, amply seasoned with more than enough sex-jokes to go round.My particular favourites are the the car-parking scene, the harpist scene and the interpreter scene, often bordering on the surreal at times.
I also loved the torture by operetta scene which reminded me of Monty Python's hilarious Spanish Inquisition "torture by comfy chair" scene.You could argue that the mix of monologues, Jewish humour, sight gags and more besides makes for a disjointed movie and the sexism against women is a little dated now, but carping apart, it all pretty works for me and if it landed some telling shots about US foreign policy against the likes of Cuba and the manipulation of news media on television, more power to Woody's elbow.
The fairly curious look at a Latin American banana republic, with well filmed, beautiful scenery, and the absurd mix of New York humor as in the scene of Allen ordering a thousand tuna sandwiches for the rebel troops.
". In his earlier film, a pure comedy "Bananas", screen writer/director Woody Allen stars as Fielding Mellish, a timid and nervous New Yorker products tester for a marketing research.
I should be working at a job that I have some kinda aptitude for, like donating sperm to an artificial insemination lab" and gets rejected by his political activist girlfriend Nancy (Louise Lasser, second Mrs. Woody Allen with whom he had made three comedies) who tells him that he's missing something and doesn't have leadership ability.
Mellish takes a trip to the South American country San Marcos, reluctantly gets involved in a revolution and becomes the president of the country."Bananas" contains some great jokes and scenes and proves that Allen is one of the true comic geniuses along with Chaplin and Keaton.
Having seen every movie Allen directed, I prefer his later work and his funniest movie for me is "Manhattan Murder Mystery" (1993).Very young Sly Stallone make a short appearance in "Bananas" - he played one of two hoods who terrorized the passengers in the subway car..
Like any comedy that is 100% screwball, it has its parts that fall flat, and many of them happen in a row, but there are so many huge laughs, especially in the courtroom scene.Whoever views Bananas after seeing many of Allen's later works---actually from Annie Hall to the present---will be surprised at the difference in his earlier screen persona to that of the immutable style he's had since Annie Hall in 1977.
Still there are some hilarious lines and scenes that make this film worth watching (especially for Woody Allen and slapstick comedy fans) and Howard Cosell is great in his cameo..
Woody plays Fielding Mellish, a typical New Yorker (that is typical by Woody's standards) whose brief fling with a political activist (Louise Lasser) finds him involved with South American revolutionaries, the end result being his rise to the presidency of the fictional San Marcos.
It is said that much of the material was improvised -- way out of line for a Woody Allen film -- and it shows especially when characters seem at a loss about what to say or how to react.One doesn't expect great character development in such a comedy, but vivid performances would certainly have helped.
The bookend appearances by Cosell, first covering a political assassination like a sporting event, then returning to do the same as Woody consummates his marriage to Lasser, are both funny as gags and as a satire of the way the media views sports, politics, entertainment, sex and celebrity gossip as being interchangeable.
Social satire starring Woody Allen as a neurotic New Yorker who is frustrated by not being taken seriously by his politically active girlfriend (Louise Lasser) and thus travels to a troubled South America dictatorship to join a revolution.
Woody Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a timid New Yorker who goes to San Marcos, gets involved in a revolution and becomes head of the country!Plays as bad as it sounds.
Woody Allen's Bananas is simply one of the 10 funniest movies of all time.
He is also a natural comedian, which helps him when it comes to his screenplays, directing, and acting.Coming off the Vietnam War and the troubles regarding the Banana Republic in Latin America, this kind of film was ripe for the taking and Allen seized his opportunity to make a satirical, over-the-top movie.
From the scenes I mentioned to the mere fact that Allen's character becomes a dictator of a random, foreign country, it's clear Allen is embracing the over-the-top style of the movie.Woody Allen's second directorial effort is about some awkward man named Fielding Mellish (played by Allen himself) who is a consumer product tester.
Bananas isn't started with the Woody Allen voice-over I love so dearly, but it does open with a fantastic scene in which the mood is set for the political comedy we are about to see.
Woody Allen is so well known now as more an "artist" than a comedian, it's hard to remember just how successful and ahead of his peers he was in his early days as a funny-man writer and performer.Bananas is a case in point.
Woody Allen is at the top of his wackiness here as a product tester who after being dumped by his activist girl friend goes over to a South American country, joins the rebels and ends up becoming the president.
When the aliens in Stardust Memories tell the Woody Allen character they liked his early, funnier movies best, this was the sort of thing to which they referred.The premise here is: what would happen if a coffee house philosopher got caught up in a revolution and wound up running a central American republic as its new dictator.
A few bits feel dated, and it didn''t make me laugh quite as much as 'Take the Money and Run' when I recently re-watched Allen's 'early funny' films, but still has more than it share of great comic moments.The whole lengthy trial sequence is genius worthy of the best of the Marx Brothers or W.C. Fields.
Woody's character tries to date a political activist (Louise Lasser) but when it doesn't work out, he decides to join the rebels in San Marcos, who've just gotten a new dictator (another funny sequence is the opening scene where we discover what happened to the old president).
The rest of the cast are OK and I did enjoy the use of sports and news casters covering the action at the start and end of the film (although their dialogue is not funny enough to support the joke going on for as long as it does).Bananas is amusing but it is far from being the classic comedy that collective wisdom will tell you that it is.
Some random parts are funny but it cannot deliver consistent laughs  this will satisfy those who love Allen to the point that they love everything he does but for the casual viewer it will be far too messy and hit/miss to satisfy and be anything other than an amusing film  not a great or hilarious one..
After touring around in South America and especially Cuba, learning about the Political history of the relevant time period, one can see how brilliant the assassination on live television scene is in the beginning.Howard Cosell plays the role brilliantly, and to see more of his characteristic antics that are satorized here, watch "Monday Night Mayhem" and "Ali" (played by the brilliant John Turtorro and Jon Voight).Unfortunately the movie doesn't live up to its promise and doesn't fall within the all-time Woody Allen greats as Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, Play it again Sam, Bullets over Broadway and Sleeper.
This movie is a lot like Allen's prior film, TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, in that there are so many hilarious moments as well as very flat and unfunny ones.
One of Woody Allen's earliest and most personal films about someone very much like himself Fielding Mellish a product tester for the latest office exorcise equipment.
Despite the seriousness of the charges Fielding only receives a suspended sentence!The movie "Bannans" ends like it started with ABC sports commentator Howard Cosell, looking like an Americanized version of Bela Lugosi, giving a play by play description, like he did of the president of San Marco getting assassinated at the beginning of the film, of Fielding and Nancy who has since came back to him, after finding he's the new and rebel president of San Marcos, making out under the covers on their wedding night.
"Bananas," while not a great movie from the perspective of plot or production values, contains the greatest number of laughs of any film, ever.
While it hasn't aged as well as some of Allen's other early films (particularly the classic "Love and Death") fans of his "earlier, funny" movies will definitely get a kick out of this one, which combines wacky visual comedy with a wry script..
One of Woody Allen's Best Early Films.
Those of you who are familiar with Woody Allen, and anybody who has seen any great amount of his movies know that his films have mainly two periods.
Since I am not, I didn't enjoy it at all.Plot In A Paragraph: Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) works as a product tester.
And the sight gags and slapstick are easily some of the funniest of any Woody Allen film, the best of which being the subway train, magazine and especially trial scenes.
Bananas is not your typical Woody Allen movie although it has got a lot of dialogue and verbal jokes in it.
This performance would go on to be,together with Rocky, the best in his career if you ask me.(I hate Stallone) Woody Allen's performance is great as ever and he carries the movie to an insane frenzy that is Bananas.
While a lot of so-called comedies only have one or two memorable moments in them, this one has one in almost every scene, starting with a political assassination being covered live like it's a sporting event, complete with Howard Cosell.I have read some criticism that the film tries too hard to get laughs, but the last time I checked, that was what a comedy was supposed to do.
He meets and falls for 'Nancy' ( Louise Lasser, Allen's real-wife wife at the time ), a political activist keen to end American aid to the banana republic of San Marcos in South America.
Many hilarious parts, like the scenes with Howard Cosell, the part where Woody Allen's character falls into the sewer, the trial, and many other parts.
The film ends with Fielding himself becoming President of San Marcos after a revolution and then, on his return to the United States, being placed on trial as a subversive.This film was made in 1971, near the beginning of Woody's career, and like most of his other early films such as "Take the Money and Run", "Sleeper" and "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex." it is a "pure" comedy, without the philosophical depth or analysis of human relationships that were to mark later films such as "Annie Hall" or "Manhattan".
It's all quite funny, if you are willing to suspend your belief.Woody Allen's film is about a man named Fielding Mellish who is a consumer products tester.