I will admit to having been a Woody Allen fan since I saw "Bananas" in college, back in the days when phones were attached to walls and had dials. In fact, one of my favorite movies is "Annie Hall", which I think all film makers should be forced to watch before they fill their films with a bunch of time-wasting nonsense.
As much as I admire his films (and, his standup comedy, if you can find it!), he has made some stinkers. He has been up and down in the past 20 or so years, making some brilliant stuff like "Deconstructing Harry" and "Match Point", and some that just leave you scratching your head, like "Small Time Crooks".
As a patriotic American, I thought there would be no better way to spend our nation's birthday than seeing Woody's latest "Midnight in Paris". If anyone was worrying that Woody had lost his fastball, well, this movie is proof that he is still brilliant.
The last time I raved about a comedy film on this page was a few years ago, when I compared "The Hangover" to "Animal House". Well, this comedy can best be compared to.......the best of Woody Allen. Smart, clever, makes you laugh from start to finish without ever making you feel dirty for doing so. The fun of revelation of who the main character hangs out with as he goes to Paris in the 1920's is hilarious, and the only disappointment is that the main character turns down Hemingway's challenge to a boxing match (oh, and Corey Stoll is fantastic as Hemingway!).
And clearly Woody Allen could care less about selling tickets to his movies. Do you see him on Letterman or Colbert promoting? Never. And in this case he has made a film for a group of people who barely exist anymore.......people who read books. If you are one of those people, put the book down for 90 minutes (yes, Woody still knows that a comedy film should only last that long!) and go see "Midnight in Paris"!!
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