1984
Directed by Woody Allen
Some people forget, but Woody Allen had the whole attractive woman improbably falling for a neurotic and relatively unattractive man thing down long before Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow were old enough to walk. But instead of burnouts and immature man-children, Woody Allen played the gawky (and talky) yet erudite intellectual - something to be desired in this age of ignorance.
To begin with, I should note that I am a Woody Allen fan. His later work has seemed mediocre to me at best, but all of his old movies I consider to be ingenious and classic. Broadway Danny Rose fits nicely into that category, and I would have to say it's one of his best. However, if you already don't care for Allen, this probably won't change your mind.
Populated by stuttering ventriloquists, poetry-spouting mafiosa, blind xylophone players, and starring Allen as Danny Rose, a bottom-rung New York talent agent, BDR is sort of like Allen's tribute to vaudeville and the old-timey entertainment industry. Saddled with mostly crap, Danny Rose still gives everything he's got for his clients, working his ass off to find gigs for them. Rose is a refreshingly un-cynical protagonist for Allen; watching him get pumped up over a balloon-folder is both hilarious and oddly touching in its sincerity. Needless to say, a man whose main clientele include a man whose birds play the piano is not really doing too well for himself. Things start to change a little when a surge of interest in nostalgia brings some popularity to one of his clients, washed-up crooner Nick Apollo Forte. Allen wanted a real lounge singer for the part, and found that small-time act Lou Canova fit the bill. With no acting experience whatsoever, Canova does a teriffic job and lends a lot of authenticity to the role. Set up for a show at Carnegie Hall, Forte convinces Danny to accompany his girlfriend Tina Vitale (Mia Farrow) to the show (as her boyfriend, as Forte is married). What Danny doesn't realize is that Tina is involved with the mafia, and his involvement with her may cost him his life.
Danny Rose has got to be the most endearing and appealing of Woody Allen's many incarnations. In spite of the fact that he's clearly a total loser, he's almost always sweet and earnest - and also quite funny. It's a nice break from some of Allen's more curmudgeonly intellectual roles. Danny is frequently funny without intending to be. He uses the same bag of old vaudeville jokes to win people over throughout the movie. It's a lot of fun to watch him bend over backwards to accommodate everybody. You can really tell that the whole cast had a good time making this film. The narration by the group of old entertainment biz types in the Carnegie Deli is a nice touch and adds to the overall warm tone of the movie. (Been to the Carnegie Deli with my girlfriend, by the way - it was good but the sandwiches are massive, there's no way you can eat one while sitting there. I recommend the cow tongue sandwich!) Mia Farrow is pretty entertaining as Danny's unexpected love interest.
There are plenty of Allen's tossed-off jokes and gags to keep you laughing throughout most of the movie. The man makes writing these sorts of movies look effortless, but if it were, there would be more of them out there. Woody Allen is one of a kind, though, and nobody, including himself, makes movies like this anymore. It's too bad, because beneath the lighthearted silliness, Allen always digs deep and works hard for his laughs. Such consummate professionalism is sorely lacking from the contemporary comedy.
9.5
No comments:
Post a Comment