One of the Stronger Woody Outings in Years

Forget the critics -- I thought this movie showed a re-energized Woody, coming off his high of Paris, his highest grossing film ever.

Why do I say this? Firstly, I think one point many people miss is the long time love affair Woody has had with Italy, classic Italian films, and specifically with the director Fellini. If you have not seen those classic films, you do not see the cultural context in which Woody produced this film.

Fellini was, of course, one of the all time directing greats -- but some things he did consistently, and that Woody riffed off of, were the idea of the multiple goofy story lines, the light hearted Joie de Vivre anything goes mentality of them, the over the top humor of the Benigni 'fame' storyline, the beautiful women, which is an Italian film staple in general, the 'just folks' typical daily life among the citizens feel, and the idea of romping among the ruins of storied [Roman] history in a post historic, relaxed manner, as a context and springboard for romance and fantasy. I am sure others can find other connections to Fellini, as well as Antonioni and other directing greats.

Beyond that, I thought the film had a nice VIGOR I have long not seen in other recent Woody films where, despite the quality of the films, it often felt as if he was getting tired with his writing and humor. For instance, while I thought Vicky Christina was one of his stronger recent films, it was a 'small' film in a lot of ways. Paris to me was interesting and literate, but it seemed like it was a movie-long joke run too far -- the great conceit of that film was that the storyline itself was genius, then it was just a matter of filling in the blanks with the requisite content, coloring in between the lines.

This film, on the other hand, was everything OUTSIDE those lines, and for once it did not feel overwrought or forced, but merely exuberant. The ultimate symbol of this outside-the-lines 'freedom' was, of course, the goofy opera storyline.

Some of my favorite moments and lines were the second woman coming in during the Benigni bedroom scene telling him the rules don't apply to him, the way Woody Allen during the meal time scene could not drop the idea of making this guy famous, the seat-leaning-back pratfall of the boyfriend in the restaurant, the cast off Woody line about them finding the plane's black box, the wife of the fat actor storming off with the hotel staff urging her along down the hallway, Benigni's whole role was a treat, my estimation of Alec Baldwin has also gone up based on his role here, from 0.5 to 1.7 on a scale of 1 to 10 (I can't stand his arrogant know-it-all LIBERAL smirking).

Some moments that worked less well: I wish directors would quit casting the dueling schmoes Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera, both of them are like a wet rag laid over a film, likewise Ellen Page, while a good actress, did not seem to quite fit the role that I could see Naomi Watt eating up (though she is likely to old for this specific role), also I was kind of tired of seeing Penelope Cruz play her sexpot role for the umpteenth time.

Overall, I place this film in among the top 20% and maybe even top 10% of Allen's long canon of films.

Before Allen departs this Earth, I would love to see him take a stab at a Tokyo film (harken back to his early days doing his techy, funny roboto riffs in Bananas and Stardust Memories, among others), and maybe something in Eastern Europe again, maybe a Berlin or Austrian/Swiss film (he's already done homages to Prague and Russia).

True Allen fans will, of course, not miss this film, but to the rest of you, quit listening to the critics who consider this film a disappointment after the obviousness of Paris. Consider this film a more complex, lively return to a bit of the humor of Allen's early work, before Manhattan and Annie Hall.

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