Review of Bananas!* (2009) by Adam P — 17 Dec 2009

More early silliness from Woody Allen. I don't think I'm ever going to enjoy Allen's early stuff as much as his mid-period, but that's less because of any faults of their own and more because that later work - Annie Hall, Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, The Purple Rose of Cairo - is so transcendent and perfect.

Bananas, by contrast, is essentially a joke delivery system. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever, especially when the jokes are consistently funny (I can't deny a deep affection for a movie that gets equal mileage out of a fake beard and references to Russian cinema).

But with the characters essentially existing as setups for a joke, there's less of the rich depth of humor that Allen would late be able to mine. I say all this, but I can't say that Bananas isn't very funny and very entertaining.

From an assassination covered by sports broadcasters to a surreal set of demands by a new leader to a hilarious gag involving a telephoned henchman, Bananas definitely shows off Allen's knack for great jokes.

I think I'm just spoiled by knowing what was to come.