Tuesday, August 4, 2009

"My one regret in life is that I am not someone else."

Who doesn’t love a funny Jewish comedian? The number of them is seemingly endless, from Jon Stewart and Jerry Seinfeld to Mel Brooks and Adam Sandler and many of them are considered the greatest comedians to ever live. I have personally looked up to many of them as my idols and have even attempted to be more like them. But there is one out of this group that really posses not only the amazing funny gene of all the others, but also an artistic talent and style that has never been rivalled. This man is the movie genius Woody Allen.

I was in some ways raised on Woody Allen as my mom sat me down as a young child to watch many of his movies. She lives by one of his jokes, that it is “illegal to buy retail,” and Annie Hall is her favourite movie. I went through a long Woody Allen hiatus, but recently I went on a whirlwind of movie watching and watched at least a dozen of his movies I had not seen. I was addicted to his wit and literary genius. I loved the all the beautiful New York apartments his characters live in. I loved the intellectual feel to the movies and his clear distaste of ignorance. Every actor you could imagine has been in his movies and Woody Allen is superb at casting and writing the perfect roles for them. As you watch the movies the common themes, mainly his clear distrust of the institution of marriage, become clear and get played out again and again but never stop being funny.

Not only is Woody Allen a master of satire and comedy, but also makes amazing dramas. A couple of his latest movies which were filmed in London, Match Point and Cassandra’s Dream, show just how great and exciting a story he can write. They are suspenseful and enlightening and Allen leaves you with a crystal clear message from the movies.

Whether it is a comedy or drama, a satire or a musical, one thing you can count on when you see that classic white lettering during the credits is that you’re in for a great movie. For those who want to watch some Woody Allen movies, here’s a list of my favourites.

Annie Hall, Crimes & Misdemeanors, Husbands & Wives, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Deconstructing Harry, Match Point, Scoop, Cassandra’s Dream