The idea that Woody Allen is completely irrelevant struck me today win I read the most lackluster review I think Jonathan Rosenbaum has ever written. http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/2003/0903/030926.html It's a review of Woody Allen's latest film. Woody Allen became irrelevant for me about five years ago when I walked out of "Deconstructing Harry"- one of only two times I've ever walked out of a film in my life. I haven't seen a film of his since. For me, Allen simply ran out of anything to say.
Then you missed "Sweet and Lowdown" which IMO was his last good one. He hit rock bottom with his last movie "Hollywood Ending", which I could not sit through. This new one has to be an improvement on that one.
Nathan Rabin has some kind words for Anything Else: "Woody Allen's slow, sad decline continues apace with Anything Else, a joylessly plodding film that cannibalizes Allen's classics of the '70s and '80s while managing only a few decent one-liners." "Who would have thought that starring in a Woody Allen movie would prove an artistic demotion from pastry-f***ing in a teen-sex comedy" "If this were the work of anyone other than Allen, it would be widely and accurately derided as a terrible Woody Allen knockoff. Watching Anything Else, it's hard to shake the conviction that the venerable auteur has already made this movie 15 times before, always with superior results."
My guess is that his decline began around the time he started playing hide the pastrami with his adopted teenage daughter. And then every W.A. film became a case of a 60-something NYC nebbish trying to nail 20-something WASP trim. Just a guess.
That's an interesting question. In the last ten years I've watched (on cable) many of his movies, some multiple times (Whats Up Tiger Lily had an extrended run on IFC a while back, can't watch it all in one sitting, but can always watch parts of it 15 minutes at a stretch) but I have not watched any of his movies made in the last ten years. In fact I'm not sure I've seen one of his movies in its entirety more recent than "Hannah and Her Sisters". I know I saw part of a movie where the guy from Dumb and Dumber jumps out of the movie screen. But I'm always ten years behind the curve and maybe I'll be on here ten years from now talking about how underappreciated the later Woody Allen films are.
Re: Re: When did Wood Allen become irrelevant? Well, in Manhattan he was a 40-something NYC nebbish trying to nail a 13-something WASP trim (Mariel Hemingway, in a catholic-school skirt). So you can't blame it on the perversion -- it was there all along.
The thing with Woody Allen is that he makes good movies about as often as anybody else in the business. Every couple of years he puts out a quality film. The trouble is, he makes so many freaking movies, a substantial percentage of them are bound to be lame. Nobody can make movies as often as him without turning out a fair amount of crap. It's impossible. And his crap looks crappier than it really is because you know he's capable of so much more. He's like that kid in high school that always gets "not meeting potential" comments on his report card. Take a look at the 1990s. He made Sweet and Lowdon, Deconstructing Harry, Mighty Aphrodite, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Bullets Over Broadway, and Everyone Says I Love You. That's six movies that, while you may not have personally liked, were solid films that got above average reviews. But he also made Celebrity, Shadows and Fog, and Alice. Ugh. He's certainly in something of a slump right now. But I'm sure he'll bust out of it.
He's been irrelevant for years now. He thinks it's still the '70's. Time has passed him by. He may realize it, but doesn't care. He's writing and making pictures for himself and his cult, and isn't concerned with entertaining anyone else. Neil Simon has the same "problem" on Broadway. He's shot, but still keeps churning them out. Hasn't had a hit in ages. They should both give it up.
Irrelevant to whom? The majority of the American viewing public? Then the answer is pretty much "the late 70s," as I don't think his movies mean much to the masses in the post Star Wars era. As for those who actually enjoy dialogue driven intelligent comedies, then he's not only still relevant, he's still the best in the world at it. Granted, he's made some very mediocre films in the last decade, but they've been mixed in with some very fine ones (Sweet and Lowdown, Bullets..., Mighty A.). OK, actually...3 good films in a decade ain't fantastic. Note: he doesn't even appear in two of these, and in Mighty A., he doesn't play the standard old schlep trying to bone the young hottie. I'd thus revise to say he becomes irrelevant anytime he makes a flick in which the likes of Helen Hunt, Debra Messing, or Tea Leoni are his freakin' love interest.
That's worth $10, I guess. I actually enjoyed Small Time Crooks, which came out in 2000 I believe, but probably because it wasn't the 25th remake of his 70's romantic comedy. I still haven't watched Manhattan or Annie Hall thought I've been planning to.
Woody and Dreamworks are not a good partnership. Still, I've liked several of Woody's recent movies, and disliked several more. Nothing will compare to Annie Hall or Manhattan or Interiors or Hannah and Her Sisters or Bananas or Love and Death or Crimes and Misdemeanorrs or Manhattan Murder Mystery or Zelig or Sweet and Lowdown or....