Don't Drink the Water (1994)

How sad is this?

In truth, any opportunity to see the film on the big screen is welcome.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Not that the 1969 film was terrible, for me it was not quite as bad as said to be, but while there were bright spots it was an average film overall. This second version does have some claustrophobic-feeling camera work and the ending does feel too neat but it is the much better version of the two. The production and costume design are done beautifully, which despite the camera work makes it a more appealing film visually. The editing here actually compliments the timing of the gags rather than hinders it. Allen's films nearly always have great soundtracks and this soundtrack doesn't disappoint at all, it's fresher-sounding and far more mellow and is in a style that I much prefer, it's also more fitting. The dialogue is smart and hilarious as well as intelligently structured, it's sharper, more witty and has much more bite(all three of which were missing in the earlier version) that sounds more like Allen's writing style. The pacing is zippier, with the film just flying by, and much more farce-like, like it was always intended to be, instead of taking the premise too seriously. The characters are indeed broad which is never a bad thing for farce and they are more interesting and likable even if deliberately neurotic. Allen's directing is just fine, and his performance does show genuine and more consistent comic timing, neurotic sure(not unusual for Allen) but not in a too samey way. Julie Kavner shows great chemistry with him and she matches him in comic timing, she's also one of the most strong-willed Allen female characters-which was refreshing-and a more interesting character than Estelle Parssons'. Michael J.Fox is actually charming and funny and never too much of a dunce(yes even for a character where that trait is called for), while Dom DeLuise provides much entertainment in how hilariously bad his magic tricks are while more restrained than he could be. Edward Hermann is inspired casting though could have been seen more. Mayim Bialik is not quite as effective as everyone else and a little plain but she is more than serviceable still. Overall, it may not be among Allen's best and is one of his weaker outings of the 90s(with only Shadows and Fog, still a decent film, and Celebrity, which to me is one of Allen's overall weakest, rated lower) but it is a lot of fun and fares much better than the 1969 film. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

Don't drink the water is a rarely recognized masterpiece by Woody Allen. Filled with unforgettable characters and a fabulous script, this film is a must see for any comedy loving person. In my opinion, the best characters were Mr and Mrs Hollander. Michael J. Fox also delivers with wit and charm. There is a tricky priest, a paranoid American chef with a gun, an overly oppsessive housewife who is constently waxing the floors of the diplomatic relations building,a crazy walter-hating chef who cannot make an American meal,a diplomat who got hit over the head and now believes that he is the wright brothers, and an Axel loving young woman who believes in fortune-tellers. This movie has everything.

This 1994 TV movie released to video in late 2000 tells an inane tale of a Jewish American family that, while vacationing in Russia, is mistaken for a ring of spies during the height of the cold war in the 1960's. This is the story of their exploits as they are holed up in the American Embassy waiting for their chance to return to the U.S.The story was written and directed by Woody Allen, who is one of the most accomplished auteurs in the history of film. It is clear that Allen purposely dumbed this screenplay down for TV. Instead of his trademark cerebral humor that cuts like a scalpel, he uses a machine gun approach, hitting the viewer with a fusillade of lowbrow jokes and slapstick gags. The humor ranges from insipid silliness to standard sitcom fare with occasional intellectual ironies thrown in for his devoted fans. Though most of it is infantile, the sheer volume of material (literally five to ten jokes and gags a minute) insures that something will tickle you every couple of minutes.The cast is rich with accomplished comedic talent. Michael J. Fox plays the son of an ambassador who is a hapless diplomat in training. His frenetic and tortured style of comedy is perfect for this role. Dom DeLuise adds his wacky brand of humor as a priest who has been in hiding in the embassy for six years and is trying to learn to be an amateur magician. For him, the extra inhabitants of the embassy represent a captive audience on whom he can inflict one botched magic trick after another. Julie Kavner brings her whiny New York accent and her wonderful sense of sarcastic timing to play off Woody Allen's inimitably overwrought caricature of himself. Kavner is a refreshing change for Allen. We are used to seeing him across from flaky wimps played by Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow. The use of the bluntly badgering Kavner added significant energy to his performance. The cast is rounded out by Mayim Bialik (TV's, Blossom) who was decent, but not great as the Jewish American Princess in captivity.Overall, this was a good comedy that was significantly below Woody Allen's standard. There are plenty of funny lines, but it is a much too farcical. I rated it a 6/10. If you enjoy Woody Allen's normal introspective and intellectual humor, this might be a disappointment.

I have been recommending this movie to friends for ages, not knowing that they had no possible way of actually seeing it since for some reason it never came out on video. The earlier version (with Jackie Gleason leading the cast) is a poor substitute. It has some of the same jokes, but none of the wit. It also does not have the SOUNDTRACK which in the 1994 made-for-TV-version was a sublime showcase for some very hot Bulgarian tunes. (I am a folk dancer, so I know my Bulgarian music!) The Gleason version gets air time ten-twelve times a year on cable and regular TV, but the 1994 version does not. It may have been made for TV, but seemingly it never comes back to the TV. I know because I have been reading the TV guide every week for a year now looking for this movie(!)