Annie Hall - More 31 Days of Oscar

Annie Hall


My 2nd Woody Allen film of the month on TCM. This one, I'd seen bits and pieces of before, but the action jumps around all over the place, and is mostly just character and jokes, so having already seen parts didn't affect my enjoyment at all.

This is my favorite of Woody Allen's stuff that I've seen so far. Some of the jokes are very, very funny. As is typical for Allen, it gets philosophical about life and relationships and all that, but they're fairly interesting observations, mostly presented in the form of jokes. Whereas Hannah and Her Sisters changes mood from drama to comedy (with most of the storylines being almost straight drama, and Allen's character serving as comic relief), the laughs in Annie Hall are mixed in with the drama. And I think that works much better. Plus the funny parts are funnier, and the relationships are more interesting.

I also liked the New York vs Los Angeles aspect. I haven't spent much time in New York, and I've never been to LA, but I like the different mood of both cities, and just how out of place Woody seems in LA. And at the very least, it's a feeling I think everyone gets sometimes when they're lost, and is very well captured in the scene at the party in LA. Some interesting cameos, too. Paul Simon, Jeff Goldblum's on camera for a half second, Carol Kane, Christopher Walken, Shelley Duvall... probably some others I can't think of.