Review of Radio Days (1987) by Pedro P — 09 Feb 2008
Although Woody Allen is always weakest when nostalgic - indulgence leads to caricature and overstatement - Radio Days is still fun and pleasant to watch. Set at the start of World War II, the film follows the fortunes of a family of Jewish underachievers.
Mia Farrow shines as a Manhattan nightclub cigarette-girl turned celeb of the airwaves, but the real star is radio itself, that pre-TV device that provided the everyday unreality against which wartime America measured its dreams.
Allen opts for a Fellini-Amarcord approach of formless narrative, larger-than-life coincidence, and rambling ruminations on what times there used to be. It's an obviously personal, very nostalgic film in which Allen only narrates.
It's both a tribute to radio and a somehow self-gratifying celebration by someone who grew up listening to it.
This review of Radio Days (1987) was written by Pedro P on 09 Feb 2008.
Radio Days has generally received positive reviews.
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