Broadway Danny Rose
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Nick Apollo Forte
I could sit around and watch Woody Allen movies all day. The way he writes dialogue and characters is hilarious and intelligent. Though it sometimes bothers me when actors play the same role over and over again, Woody somehow remains entertaining to me. Sure, he's always the same neurotic guy, but I like that. I can never get enough of the guy. It's just comforting to see a familiar face over and over again in his movies.
This movie has a little more adventure to it than some of his other movies. Woody plays an off beat talent agent (Danny Rose) who manages bizarre acts (blind xylophone player, piano playing birds, etc). His one profitable act is a has-been Italian lounge singer named Lou Canova. Lou is having a gig that could be his big breakthrough and he needs his mistress there to ease his nerves. Danny has to go get this girl and pretend that she is his date. She is a feisty Italian lady (played by Farrow) who gets Danny into many messes (including almost getting killed) on their way to the gig. There is a particularly hilarious scene in which they are being chased by a man with a gun in a warehouse with a helium leak. It had the over the top comedic aspects of his early films, which was a great change of pace. They whole story is being told by a group of old comedians having dinner together, which added some great atmosphere.
Farrow really surprised me here. She usually ends up playing a female version of the standard Woody Allen character. Here, she has beehive hair, big shades, and a loud mouth. So so different from what I was expecting from her. Allen also turns a great performance as the desperate Danny Rose.
This was yet another great comedy from Allen. I wonder if I'd even love his critical flops as well (I did enjoy Scoop quite a bit). Maybe I should have seen Whatever Works instead of Public Enemies last night...
Lesson learned: Don't take business personally.
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