BANANAS
A film review by Ted Prigge
Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Woody Allen Writers: Woody Allen and Mickey Rose Starring: Woody Allen, Louise Lasser, Carlos Montalban, Howard Cosell, Charlotte Rae, Sylvester Stallone, Roger Grimsby
Before Woody Allen was making thoughtful neurotic character studies like "Hannah and Her Sisters" and intense dramas like "Crimes and Misdemeanors," Woody Allen was a comedian. He wrote for several shows and even did stand-up. He created the prototype for what would inspire MST3K (called "What's Up, Tiger Lily?") and directed bizarre, surrealistic comedies with several kinds of jokes being shot at the audience at high speeds. "Bananas" is one of his better ones, albeit a very convoluted one.
The story, which is a backdrop for expressing some of the Woodster's views on politics, rebellion and love, moves harshly from area to area. At one point, he'll be in New York, then he'll go to the figmented South American country of San Marcos. He starts the film off as a products tester, becomes a rebel and then the President of San Marcos then a married man. It's like this man has more of a life than Zelig and in less time.
The film starts off with a parody of political assasinations and the Wide World of Sports (eh?). Howard Cosell (giving a riveting performance as himself) is down in San Marcos covering the assasination of its president and interviews the dying man (getting his last words) and then the new dictator, General Vargas (Carlos Montalban, brother of Ricardo). The film goes to its silly titles (with a great Latino/Latina score by Marvin Hamlisch) and then introduces Fielding Mellish (Woody), a neurotic, insecure little loser who works as a products tester where they test out horribly inane machines, like the "Execucisor," a desk with weights and a basketball net that starts to physically harass Fielding.
We follow him around a bit as he gets into all kinds of trouble. Perhaps the funniest scene in the entire hilarious film takes place when Fielding enters a magazine store with the intention of buying pornography but is embarrassed because it is a very public place. He grabs a bunch of nice magazines (Time, The National Review...) and puts the magazine "Orgasm" at the bottom. When he goes up to the register, he casually stands there as the cashier sorts through them for prices. But he stumbles on "Orgasm" and shouts out to his co-worker, "How much is a copy of 'Orgasm?' This man wants to buy a copy." It's a hilarious scene done perfectly.
We also see a lovely silent performance from Sly Stone as a young man (looking faintly like Matt LeBlanc...bad omen for him) terrorizing people on a subway car...including the Woodster. He's not hard to find, trust me. To see him is alone a good reason to see this film.
Fielding meets the rebellious Nancy (Louise Lasser, of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" fame) and is smitten at first sight. He follows her around, takes her to dinner, goes to political rallies with her, and ultimately sleeps with her in a hilarious scene (He: "I love you, I love you, I love you." She: "Oh, say it in french. Oh, please, say it in french." He: "I don't know french. What about Hebrew?") But she breaks up with him for obvious reasons which she can't put into words (but we get a good 5-minute scene out of it with some of Woody's funniest dialogue). He's so depressed that he decides to go to San Marcos, which was the country she was trying to help out.
The rest of the film has him in San Marcos, becoming a rebel reluctantly then becoming its President since no one can do that job. He ultimately goes home to get money for San Marcos and winds up in court in the funniest court room sequence before "People Vs. Larry Flynt." He tosses in so many jokes that the film requires multiple viewings to see them all. The film is very short (82 minutes), but it seems a tad overloaded. Still, all the jokes work out, unlike "Take the Money and Run," which was a 1:2 ratio.
The film also works on a satirical level with the government/rebel thing, but not as well as in his later "Sleeper." His plot seems to move around just for the sake of jokes. But how can anyone not laugh at the hilarious lines, like the one where the U.S. sends troops to the rebellion and the one soldier asks what side they're fighting for and the commander or someone replies with, "The American government is not taking any chances. Some of us are fighting for; some are fighting against." The acting by Woody is outstanding, but the others really aren't. They're okay, but they don't get much to work with. Most of the good lines go to Woody, and he does them perfectly, in his neurotic tradition.
"Bananas" is a contender for Woody's funniest film and it is definitely one that gets laughs the whole way through. It may be incredibly uneven and the plot might be weak, but at least all the jokes work.
MY RATING (out of 5): ****1/2
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