Bananas
1971 Directed by Woody Allen
Synopsis
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
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Looking back, it’s weird to see just how much Woody Allen has evolved (and subsequently devolved…) as a director over the years. Before he hit his stride as the socially-aware author of some of cinema’s greatest romantic comedies, Allen was primarily concerned with sight gags and the comic style of the Marx Brothers. Rather than the social commentary that Allen is now most famous for, his earlier output dealt mostly in slapstick and surrealism, with Bananas being both the most famous and the most successful of these films. As a big fan of Allen’s later work, I’ve always been wary of films like this for the simple reason that I’m not the biggest fan of this style of comedy.…
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All over the place. Feels like Woody basically had a bunch of stuff he thought was funny and wanted it all in a movie. Some of it works, a lot of it doesn't.
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Following Woody's career as chronologically as possible has its perks. From just his first film to his second you can see a huge artistic development. Early glimpses of the neurotic New Yorker who is constantly dreading death and visiting a shrink emerge between extended slapstick sequences that are bafflingly, actually silent with a goofy (and somewhat irritating) soundtrack which plays as extremely loyal homages to the Marx Brothers. The commentary is light but consistently hilarious and Allen is beginning to get a hang of this whole 'filmmaking' business. The plot hustles forward at a constant pace and when the politics threaten to drown the fun, Allen swoops in with some perverse humour to keep things simple. Gotta love the guy.
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An early, funny one.
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Downright hilarious comedic sketch which places its gags high above characters, story, and any sense of continuity or realism. Besides a few dead stretches of more slapstick humour, Bananas is extremely amusing , completely runs with its zaniness, and in a couple of instances I was laughing uncontrollably. Even in the opening scene where a political assassination is commented on all play-by-play from sports journalist Howard Cosell, that manages to set the irreverent tone for the sheer craziness which follows. In his earliest of herculean tasks as a writer/director and star - Woody Allen is taken from his job as a test subject for new inventions, to revolutionary president of fictional South American country San Marcos, just to impress his…
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Not as funny as I remember but still some real solid chuckles. What's most interesting about this film is watching this young proto-Woody in action. No white Windsor credits, lots of cuts, weird film-school angles, etc. It helps you to better appreciate how rapidly he evolved over the next few years leading up to Annie Hall. One thing you can't deny is the greatness of Marvin Hamlisch's score.
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I realize that this is quite beloved in some comedy circles, but like Take the Money and Run, it feels like Allen had some funny ideas for skits, scenes, formed a story around that, then came up with a few more funny scenes to fit that, but it doesn't really fell like it is all of one piece. The story is a lot of fun, Allen gets a lot of solid silly humor out of it, but the film is certainly carried by Woody Allen the actor, not Allen the writer-director at this point.
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This is by far one of the funniest movies of all time!
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The comedy is much more of the ridiculous and slapstick variety, with the political satire falling flat on occasion but saying that there is a lot of enjoyment to be had. Especially if you're a Woody Allen fan. If not well... it's doubtful that this will convert you.
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This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
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The film is hilarious at parts, but it is a little inconsistent throughout.
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excellent
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Definitely the most surreal of Woody Allen movies. Has some really hilarious moments, but can drag at times. Can't really talk too much about it without revealing things. Worth a watch. 116 movies to go.
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Kinda amusing if not so all over the place.
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All over the place. Feels like Woody basically had a bunch of stuff he thought was funny and wanted it all in a movie. Some of it works, a lot of it doesn't.