For the next Woody Allen double feature we have a double that feature Louise Lassser as his co-star.
This was the first time I have seen 'Bananas' and much like Woody's earlier films is full of lots of visual humour. The plot is very crazy and very silly. It is one of those that is not terribly believable but still really funny. It opens with a hilarious scene of famous sports commentator, Howard Cosell, commenting on the assassination of a South American dictator. So right from the start you know the level of humour that Woody is going for. Some jokes do not quite work but most of them do. I was surprised at how much I laughed.
The first time I saw 'Everything You Wanted ...' was when it played on TV one day as the midday movie. I was quited shocked that a quite sexually explicit movie was being shown during the day. There are no actual sex scenes but many sexual references that really push the envelope. This is also the type of film that I we have not seen for quite a while and I wish we could see more of now and that is the sketch movie. My favourite is the doctor who falls in love with a sheep and still makes me laugh. I also love the last sketch about what happens in a guy when he has sex.
Woody is in his silly mode in both these films and does an excellent job. He does though have an annoying habit of talking to the camera a few times. It works in some of his films but not in either of these. Loise Lasser is a very deadpan comedy actress and does a nice job of playing Woody's straight person. There is a very funny cameo by Sylvester Stallone in 'Bananas'. In 'Everything' my favourite by far is Gene Wilder. I've long been a fan of his and he is brilliant in his sketch or segment. When he first looks at that sheep I break out in hysterics.
A really nice pair of Woody's films and nicely showcases some of his very funny early work. Proving he knows how to do some great visual comedy and verbal comedy. 'Everything' is my favourite of the pair but 'Bananas' is still good.
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