Manhattan (1979)

Woody Allen at his most vulnerable in acting. He's a childish, enjoyable neurotic and a good time for the irritable introvert in you, who teases with being an extrovert, ya know, at those times when you think there's a point in trying it out. And hey, maybe you'll find someone to be miserable with.

For his character Isaac, life just fumbles him. Or he fumbles badly in life. Or I was right the first time and life itself is the thing that just gets in the way of his plans, which mostly are him being with girls he finds most desirable, or in this case, in "Manhattan", one he puts more of a thought into. Because hey, she kind of grew on him. Plus the girl he wanted (Mary played by Diane Keaton) ends up not wanting him, or better, she was confused. Which I find kind of a useless type of denial and irresponsibility. My advice to all women who constantly date men, spend more time alone and learn what catharsis is. I guess the same goes for Isaac, who seems like he's staving off maturity by always needing a woman to emotionally co-depend on, in this case it's a teenage girl named Tracy, (Mariel Hemingway) which makes it hilarious, but also a strange foreshadowing into Allen's future personal life. I don't judge him, but I'm sure he would judge me. And that's okay. I'd probably laugh!

Isaac, -or simply Allen playing himself again- always has a remarkable way of making the simplest things inane obstacles and goals so out of reach, you might as well hang yourself, because the world is always conspiring against you. To be rational, it's not, he's just being a narcissist and he's standing in his own way. Usually his ex-wife Jill (played by Meryl Streepy-deep) slips him some useful criticism about himself that he makes a joke about, or gets defensive about. Oh yeah, she left him for another woman and she's writing a tell-all book about him -yikes.

If anyone needed to be tickled more, it's Woody Allen. A release of endorphins might do you.

Is this a review of Woody Allen, or the movie? Well, he always plays the same character, so you can predict his behavior. In "Manhattan" he's more whatever about his dialogue (but it's good) and the scenes he deems throwaway are classic and humorous. He hated this movie and thought his acting was so bad that he offered to make another movie for free if they buried this thing. Let me tell you, this movie is very good and if he thinks it's garbage, then maybe he underestimates his own garbage. Apparently this one was his first big success, after "Annie Hall". I don't see a mainstream audience of today giving one fuck about it, but it sure is refreshing to watch today. It's very relevant to today.

Allen, as Isaac is so immature in this movie, that when you see the ending scene it makes you laugh at his response to the girl when she tells him he has to wait 6 months to see her again. His impatience and smug-about-it look on his face is priceless. Reminds me of an old friend I had who never knew what not having his own way felt like. Suck it up. The teenage girl can handle it and so should he. It's not so bad being an adult-child, only if you don't complain too much about things. This is an impossibility for Allen/Isaac though. If I were his friend I can hear myself saying; we'll find a solution for things, we can work things out. I'm here for you, for moral support. But why the fuck did you quit your job? -"I know, I'm an idiot!" Always have a plan B. But for Isaac, it's always another girl. He always seems to make a woman the center of his universe, when he's the center of it first. So, it kind of never works out. Poor him.

Mariel Hemingway, (who I mistook for a young Daryl Hannah at first) who acts as Tracy is not bad, her acting was okay. She was young and I find that young girls generally act like they are acting already anyway. If you don't believe me, just go out and talk to one. Her wild eyebrows kind of bothered me at first though, because I was having a Woody Allen moment at the time and became overly fixated on something. I was able to get over her eyebrows and come to terms with the fact that she's very sweet, however this comes naturally for naive teen girls. The scene at the bar when he tells her that he's in love with someone else is probably too savagely honest to lay on a teenage girl. To a girl with less experience in dating men I mean. And naturally we feel bad for her. The scene is pretty funny though, when it should probably be more dramatic. The romance in this movie is more like fucking around with a girl downtown in the city. I didn't find any of it to be momentous. When reviewer's say; "it's a perfect mix of comedy, drama and romance!" That usually makes me think, who cares, it's about life then. It's more like capturing moments in life then, well good I guess. What is a "perfect mix" by the way? It's not a perfect mix in this movie, I found the comedy always at the center of things. More like a dry wit. Kind of like being around a passive-aggressive man that you are struggling through a date with. Only you're watching it objectively and not literally being right there and subject to it. That makes for a way more enjoyable time. A lot of people enjoy witnessing car wrecks too. He's kind of a car-wreck, but that's why we love him.

I'd make a T-shirt with Woody Allen's face on it. If me saying this inspires you to do that, then go for it!

I don't like to rate movies in stars or numbers. This movie was great, in it's own way. And nothing less than a good time. A movie I'd watch again and laugh to, which is always a real joy.
  
Written by Fil Mouth