It seems that the farther back you go in Woody Allen’s body of work, the sillier his films become. Such is definitely the case with 1971’s Bananas, Allen’s fourth directorial effort. Though it relies more heavily on slapstick sight gags than his later work, it still has that signature neurotic charm that makes Allen’s movies so delightful.
The film stars Allen as “Fielding Mellish,” a consumer products tester and professional sadsack who becomes infatuated with “Nancy” (Louise Lasser), a political activist. When Fielding follows Nancy to the fictional South American country of San Marcos, he finds himself smack in the middle of a revolution, eventually taking on a wildly unexpected leadership role.
It’s a very funny film, written with all of the wit that we expect from an Allen comedy. The difference between it and, say, Annie Hall, however, is that it’s much more reliant on visual humor and flashy one-liners. It’s not that that’s a bad thing – on the contrary, in fact, it generally works brilliantly – it’s just a less subtle side of Allen’s sense of humor than the one he shows in later movies.
The one thing that’s still familiar, though, is the typical “Woody Allen” character – the fearful nebbish with a hearty sexual appetite who can’t seem to catch a break. It’s a self-inspired character that Allen has played over and over again, yet it always feels fresh, thanks to Allen’s peculiar charisma.
Bananas is a fun little movie, particularly for those who are already familiar with Allen’s more acclaimed work and wish to dig a little deeper into his filmography. I wouldn’t recommend it as a starting point for the uninitiated, but for Allen fans, it’s a treat.
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