Bananas (1971)

I love this movie so much

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

As we near the end of 2017, one of the most prolific directors working today is Woody Allen. He directed a film every year since the early 1970's and at a ripe 80 years young, he is still going strong today. My review is for his second directorial effort, Bananas. No, this film is not about bananas although if you know Latin American history, the movie has a country resembling one from the Banana Republic. Actually, bananas is a slang word for "crazy." Truth be told, that is an apt description for this movie. The movie is totally bonkers, but in a good way. You learn right away that Woody Allen has a flair for dialogue. Not clichéd dialogue, but words that are different and that mean something. He is also a natural comedian, which helps him when it comes to his screenplays, directing, and acting.Coming off the Vietnam War and the troubles regarding the Banana Republic in Latin America, this kind of film was ripe for the taking and Allen seized his opportunity to make a satirical, over-the-top movie. The movie lambasts topics ranging from politics to relationships and it's really easy to find the humor in it. I really love how Allen does not take the film seriously. If the film became too serious, or bogged down in political correctness this film would have been a major disaster. Many of the jokes or scenes work, but not all of them do. The scene where Allen was showering with another man in his suit was distracting and not that funny. But the funny scenes outdo the other scenes in a great way. My favorite scene is after Allen's character marries a girl, Howard Cosell of all people delivered commentary on the first sexual encounter between the newlyweds as if it was a boxing match. My God, I loved that scene very much. For those of you who don't know, Howard Cosell was a commentator on ABC's very popular program, Wide World of Sports. From the scenes I mentioned to the mere fact that Allen's character becomes a dictator of a random, foreign country, it's clear Allen is embracing the over-the-top style of the movie.Woody Allen's second directorial effort is about some awkward man named Fielding Mellish (played by Allen himself) who is a consumer product tester. After his girlfriend Nancy (Louise Lassier) dumps him, he decides to travel to the fictional South American country of San Marcos to take a break from his current life. But he gets caught up in a revolution (a very similar look to the Cuban Revolution), and somehow becomes a dictator for San Marcos after the rebels overthrow the government. But now the American government and the FBI turn a keen eye on Mellish.The film is practically devoid of any big name stars. I would say the quick cameo by Howard Cosell brings the most star power to the film, and he's not even an actor. I'm not knocking on anybody in the film, but they just don't have the star power as of yet. In the case of Allen, that will change. But here we have an early example of what kind of auteur the man is. He knows his way with words and he can be a very funny guy. Case in point where he decides to go to a sub shop and order thousands of orders for his rebel camp. Just seeing people bring the food to the camp in wheelbarrows was priceless. Louise Lassier was married to Allen at the time of filming, and she does a decent job as the girl who is awkward in relationships and is in love with political rallies more than her boyfriend. If anyone is good at spotting cameos, keep an eye out for Sylvester Stallone. He plays one of the thugs on the subway.I thought Bananas was a very entertaining, well-written satire by Woody Allen. He certainly has a style you have to grow accustomed to and it's still hard for me to do that. I used to refuse to watch any of his works because his style turned me off, but I'm slowly warming up to his movies. I was able to enjoy this movie very much, but some jokes didn't land well as others did. Regardless, this is an effective movie from early in Woody Allen's career and despite some small flaws, I can easily recommend it.My Grade: B+

It seems like a running line of commentary I'll be giving Woody Allen films through this retrospective project I've embarked on is that I'm constantly fascinated with the creative ways he opens his films. Bananas isn't started with the Woody Allen voice-over I love so dearly, but it does open with a fantastic scene in which the mood is set for the political comedy we are about to see. I don't need to see any further evidence that Woody Allen is the best film-opener of all time anymore, though I'm sure I will see further proof. The 1971 film, stars Allen as a bumbling New Yorker named Fielding Mellish who is dumped by his girlfriend who wants someone as committed to activism as she is. In an attempt to become more of the political type, Allen's character, a products tester by trade, runs off to San Marcos to expand his leadership potential needed to woo back his ex-girlfriend. While in San Marcos, he joins a team of rebels and accidentally becomes president of the nation. During his time as president, Fielding meets his ex-girlfriend who then falls for him unknowing that it is Fielding. Another installment of sharp ping-pong dialogue with a perfect score makes Bananas a rowdy comedic gem from the master, Woody Allen.

Bananas is a prime example of one of Woody Allen's early 'funnies'. In other words it's a pure comedy it's as simple as that. The story is extremely broad and silly. It's about a product tester from New York who follows a political activist girl he has designs on to the Central American country of San Marcos. Soon, through a series of unbelievable events, he becomes the leader of the revolution and the nation's new dictator.This is far rawer and less refined than Allen's later work and at this stage in his career he was working with lower production values. So it might seem surprisingly basic at times and a little lacking in focus. But within all this, there are plenty of laughs and the more naive presentation is really a bit of a positive really, as it sets Bananas apart from most other Allen movies and gives it more charm. The action jumps from New York to Latin America and back again, so the story structure can be viewed as being made up of three parts. But in essence it's very episodic from start to finish being made up of a collection of comic set-pieces joined together by a loose plot. Some work very well, some not so much and others probably had more relevance back in 1971. But there is more than enough good stuff to satisfy Allen fans, with lots of slapstick, sight gags, light satire and one-liners. It also has, atypically for an Allen flick, a lively original Latin American influenced score. He would soon go on to soundtrack his movies with refined jazz and classical numbers but I personally enjoyed this early diversion from this formula. All-in-all, while he may have went on to make much better films, Bananas remains one of his most uncomplicatedly fun efforts and for this reason it's definitely recommended.

Woody Allen is so well known now as more an "artist" than a comedian, it's hard to remember just how successful and ahead of his peers he was in his early days as a funny-man writer and performer.Bananas is a case in point. The fast moving episodic sketch and parody comedy is something that was often done by groups associated with Harvard Lampoon, SNL and Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker , but Bananas came out in 1971!The courtroom scene near the end, is highly reminiscent of that in Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), for example. And the fake ads an "Execuciser" is highly Not Ready for Prime Time Playerish as any.Funny, because in Manhattan, Allen portrays himself a successful TV writer who has it up to here with broad, scatological sketch comedy and quits. Maybe by then he'd done it all, before, and perhaps better, than others, and simply had to move on.