Do you know what makes me laugh, hugo boss man of today adverts. This is not one of those.

Twilight Time continues with their release of the early to mid-period works of director Woody Allen with this film, released in 1971 and the third feature that he directed. Keeping with his prior effort Allen not only co-wrote the film but stars in it as well.Allen plays Fielding Mellish, a nebbish if there ever was one, who spends his days working for a company that has him testing various products that seem to do him more harm than good. He meets a young activist named Nancy (Louise Lasser) who knocks on his door to ask him to sign a petition. Rather than just sign it, he talks her into meeting him on a dinner date and they begin dating. Until she tells him she's not interested, longing for more of a leader like those fighting the revolutions in Latin America and parts ways with him.In an effort to prove her wrong and having already having made plans to go, Fielding travels to San Marco. While there he is recruited by Gen. Vargas in the hopes that he will join with the rebels. Vargas' plan is to kill him which would force the hand of the U.S. to get involved and help him when one of their citizens is killed. But in only the way Fielding can, he isn't killed and goes on to join the rebels fighting there. He trains alongside this group learning their ways in the way only Allen could learn which is mostly wrong and potentially doing himself more harm than good.Eventually the rebels win and their leader Esposito takes over. But his plans for the country are no better than those of his predecessor so the rebels force him out and place Fielding in charge, fake red Castro-style beard and all. Visiting the U.S. as the new president he is re-united with Lasser who doesn't recognize him. From there things tend to get more strange and yes, that is possible.The plot at the center of the film is very simple yet works. It provides the groundwork for Allen to lay out numerous one liners and jokes that make sense in the context of what is going on. That being said it is quite easy to see that this is an early film. His later movies went on to follow a similar pattern with his comedies but also develop more of a story as well. Many have noted that his fondness for Groucho Marx shines in his early comedies and the fast paced banter and one liners is a definite give away that this is so.While this isn't the best movie that Allen ever made it certainly isn't close to one of his worst either. Much of what you see here definitely sets it in the 70s and you can tell. Interesting to note is a short sequence that features a young unknown (and uncredited!) actor playing a hood that accosts Fielding on the subway by the name of Sylvester Stallone.Twilight Time is offering the film in blu-ray format with a 1080p transfer. Extras are very limited here featuring an isolated music track, the original theatrical trailer and writings by film historian Julie Kirgo. As with all of their titles it is limited to just 3,000 copies so if you want to insure you have a complete collection of Woody Allen films make sure you order one today.

While, in my younger day, I loved these movies, I see now how hit and miss they could be. Woody takes his shtick to a banana republic where there has been a revolution and uses every cliché about how unstable a government can be. He ends up on trial for his life, being confronted by a black woman claiming to be J. Edgar Hoover. Miss America also shows up. There is a consummation of a marriage with commentator (big at the time) Howard Cosell. Anyway, the story is nothing but an excuse for sight gags and silliness. Allen is often at his best in vignettes and this is full of them. As time passed, he became of the world's great directors, but it took time to get the whole package. Actually, when "Annie Hall" came along. See this for a lightweight bunch of laughs and realize that all this stuff is still going on in South and Central America.

Not, in my opinion, one of Woody Allen's best, being not quite as endlessly quotable as Annie Hall, as heart-breakingly truthful as Husbands and Wives, as relateable as Hannah and Her Sisters, as visually beautiful as Manhattan or as ground-breaking as Zelig. But it is tremendously entertaining, very easy to like and is one of Allen's most accessible along with Sleeper and The Purple Rose of Cairo(also great films, especially the latter which is another one of Allen's best). Sure it has some uneven spots, the story does play second fiddle to the gags and does feel rushed with the odd occasion when Allen seemed to be losing control of his material somewhat; the ending personally did fall flat and there are too many copy and paste close-up shots which did have a dizzying effect. For its unevenness though, Bananas still works really well and is a case of being flawed but with the pros outweighing the cons by some considerable distance. The score is very catchy with the odd witty touch and is very fitting, Allen's directing is very competently done though with the understandable- seeing as Bananas was only his third film- sense that he was still properly finding his own voice and he does give a great performance too(one of his funniest actually), here he shows that he is completely at home in comedy without being too self-indulgent regardless of his intentionally neurotic character. The acting generally in Bananas is fine and there is good rapport between everyone with the chemistry between Allen and Louise Lasser quite sweet, though only Allen really stands out. But it is in the dialogue and sight gags that makes Bananas as fun as it is. The dialogue is deliciously biting and smart(though a few parts may not sit well with some today), with the best of the one-liners are unforgettably quotable. And the sight gags and slapstick are easily some of the funniest of any Woody Allen film, the best of which being the subway train, magazine and especially trial scenes. Loved the homages to Ingmar Bergman, Charlie Chaplin and Luis Bunuel too and the title, deriving from banana republics and the Marx Brothers' The Cocoanuts, is equally inspired. All in all, recommended highly, not a masterpiece but with a huge amount to enjoy. 8/10 Bethany Cox