Saw a Double feature with these 2 flicks at the New Beverly last week.
Whatever Works was ok. Pretty much typical for Allen these days. Always polyamorous relationships. Always a intellectual type who believes that life is pretty miserable and to enjoy the small amount of happiness that one finds. I heard an interesting interview on NPR once interviewing Woody about this film. The interviewer asked Allen about the similarities between his life and the main character’s (they both had a relationship with a much younger woman). Unfortunately, I can’t remember anything about what he said. So, oh well. Whatever works right.
Annie Hall on the other hand, is one of my favorite movies of all time and definitely my fav Woody Allen film. There’s something about his character and relationship with Annie that really cut to the heart of me. And all the funny little devises, like breaking the 4th wall and talking to the viewer, or when he calls the guy out at the movies about Marshall McLuhan and than McLuhan is actually there and tells the guy, “You know nothing of my work.” Fun stuff. If you haven’t seen it, you really should.
It amazes me how prolific Allen is. He has come out with a film nearly every single year since 1966. And who knows when they’ll stop. I’ve heard that he never shoots past like 6pm unless it’s a night shoot cause he always has to catch the Knicks’ games. It seems that there are very few who just continuously work on movies without really stopping, basically like a day job. He may be kind of out of touch of recent times, but damn, I do admire and respect the guy. I would love to meet him someday, or better yet, work for him.
