Every Wednesday, FM writers Simon Columb and Brogan Morris write two short reviews on Woody Allen films … in the hope of watching all his films over the course of roughly 49 weeks. If you have been watching Woody’s films and want to join in, feel free to comment with short reviews yourself! Next up is September and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask…
Simon Columb on September…
“I’m not who I thought I was” notes Steffie (Dianne Wiest) in Woody Allen’s sober and sincere September. Loosely based on Chekhov play Uncle Vanya, Allen contains the drama within a single house. Friends and family are supporting clinically-depressed Lane (Mia Farrow) following a failed suicide attempt but everyone finds it difficult to cope. Lane loves her boyfriend Peter (Sam Waterston), but he has fallen for Steffie, a married woman going through a rough patch. Lane’s Mum, Diane (Elaine Stritch), a retired actress is desperate for Peter to write her biography frustrating Lane further. Suffice to say, no-one is, emotionally, who they think they are. Lacking the laughs, September provides a solemn approach to relationships. Allen takes a step towards seriousness as affairs are not flippant and suicide is real. A tender story, September lacks the pace and immediacy that drives a drama forward making this more miss than hit.
Brogan Morris on Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex…
Like many sketch shows, not all in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex is comedy gold – opening sketch ‘Do aphrodisiacs work?’ falls back on unimaginative wordplay, and the homage to Fellini and Italian cinema, ‘Why do some women have trouble reaching an orgasm?’ mostly feels flat. But the stuff that hits is excellent: the sketch in which Gene Wilder’s doctor falls in love with a sheep is darkly amusing, as is the episode of fictional game show What’s My Perversion? One segment, a dead-on B movie parody about a giant, murderous breast, shows Allen could’ve turned a Mel Brooks-esque knack for lampooning other movies into a side-career, but all leads up to one scene of Woody Allen genius: ‘What happens during ejaculation?’ in which the body of a man having sex is manned by a crew of hundreds, digesting recently consumed Italian food and operating his erections.
Brogan Morris – Lover of film, writer of words, pretentious beyond belief. Thinks Scorsese and Kubrick are the kings of cinema, but PT Anderson and David Fincher are the young princes. Follow Brogan on Twitter if you can take shameless self-promotion.
Originally published February 19, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
