Bananas (1971)

Bananas
Directed by Woody Allen
Written by Woody Allen and Mickey Rose
1971/US
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental

Howard Cosell: Sir, you’ve been shot! When did you know it was all over?

Back when Allen was influenced by the Marx Brothers more than Bergman, he made some zany, funny farces like this one.  And it’s funny almost 50 years later.

Nebbish Fielding Melish (Allen) is not exactly setting his profession as an industrial products tester on fire.  One day he meets Nancy (Louise Lasser)  who is collectiong signatures on petitions for radical causes.  Her heros are the rebels against the dictatorship that governs San Marcos, a fictional Latin American country. They date but Nancy finds “something missing”.and eventually dumps Fielding.  Despondent, Fielding heads to San Marcos determined to prove himself to Nancy.

Well, the second half is pretty complicated so let’s just say that Fielding has many misadventures that turn out A-OK.  With Howard Cosell, fantastic as a sports announcer that gives a play by play of the action of certain key scenes of the movie.  If you pay attention you will see Sylvester Stallone, uncreditied, as one of the thugs on the subway.

In an interview with Robert B. Greenfield of Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, Woody Allen said: “They say it’s a political film but I don’t really believe much in politics. Groucho Marx has told me that The Marx Brothers’ films were never consciously anti-establishment or political. It’s always got to be a funny movie first”.

This movie has everything going for it — nothing but fun and foolery – and it is short.  It’s nice to look back at Woody’s beginnings.  Here, he will do anything for a laugh.