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Hangout Review
W. Allenpalooza
At Jim and Samantha’s apartment in Eagle Rock, CA
November 6, 2004
You are an idiot if you don’t consider Woody Allen to be one of the top five most important, original and brilliant American filmmakers ever. That’s a pretty idiotic statement, I know, but it’s the truth. Those yelping, “He’s the same in every movie”, “I like his funny stuff better,” “He’s morally disgusting,” “Hollywood Ending was terrible,” or most any other complaint posited about Allen, need to put their eyes on Stardust Memories and put that sense of self-righteousness up their schmackle.
Hangouts that begin at 10am on a Saturday are thankfully rare. Five cups of coffee, three trips to the bathroom and extreme nervousness almost overpowered our first movie, Sleeper, but slapstick, it turns out, is comforting. Samantha made these amazing packets with interviews and photographs that initiated some light film appreciation discussions. Unhindered by any hardcore theory talk, we felt free to wander through various topics Allen and un-Allen. We estimated that I’d made-out with an average of three (lucky) gals a year since I was sixteen1 whilst marveling at the awe-inspiring clip at which Woody releases movies. Taking into account Woody’s nearly two films a year since 1971, if we equate movies to makeouts, I’m well on my way! We had to break for Thai food after Stardust Memories. We were emaciated after that monster. It’s manic, joyous and gloomy, full of despair and hope, and it’s flat out genius. Our audience bloated to four after Vic joined us and we became collectively creeped out, Beckett style, by Shadows and Fog. The structure of the hangout veered off-road at this point. The original plan, Crimes and Misdemeanors followed by Mighty Aphrodite, was eschewed for some serious shop talk, a couple of European beers and much laughing. Overall W. Allenpalooza was a great hangout and I suggest it to all Woody Allen fans. To all non-Woody Allen fans, you’re not invited to Jim and Samantha’s… ever.
1Unimpressive, yes, but considering I had a girlfriend for more than two of those years and for fun I organize four person film festivals, I think three different girls a year is a fair number.
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