Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham of a Mockery of a Travesty of Two Mockeries of a Sham
September 15th – September 21st
Bananas – Woody Allen again. This one is described on the back of the DVD case as “an early example of what Allen called his slapdash approach to comedy.” Certainly, you can see the comedy here that eventually makes its way into Annie Hall, albeit much restrained in the latter. The Howard Cosell stuff is just great. Those scenes go to show how much of politics is stagecraft and how much of television news is hamming it up. I was reminded of the ridiculous live remotes that pop up during hurricane coverage. And, of course, the Cosell scenes also go to show how much of sexual intercourse is both stagecraft and hamming it up. While I still prefer the “smarter” comedy of Annie Hall, I’m surprised at how much smarter Bananas is compared to some of the comedies produced today. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
