Directed and co-written by Woody, Annie Hall was shot in both New York City and Los Angeles, mostly the former. It's considered to be the favorite Woody Allen film of most people, and several elements of the film (such as the wardrobe worn by the titular character) wound up to be quite influential into late 1970's society. Allen considered the film a turning point in his career, as working with cinematographer Gordon Willis brought about a new "maturity" and dramatic feel to his films, unlike his prior work. I've seen quite a number of Woody Allen films over the years, and I certainly have them classified into two lists of the ones I liked and the ones I didn't. Where will this one fall? Let's find out.
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From the first moment, the film is letting us in through the proverbial fourth wall, as standup comedian Alvy Singer (Allen) talks to us looking directly at the camera. Alvy is trying to figure out why his relationship with Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) ended last year. He thinks the problems started because as a child, he drove his mother crazy with questions and opinions that were way beyond the norm for a child his age, such as thoughts on the purpose of going to school since we're all just going to die anyway. A few flashbacks take place with Singer as a child talking to his mom, his shrink and others. He also gets sent to the principal's office by one of his teachers for kissing a girl in class.
Flashing forward to during a point in the Alvy-Annie relationship, Singer is socially awkward and would love for everyone outside of Annie to leave him alone. The couple arrive late for a movie, and since Alvy insists he can't watch a movie if they've missed even just the first few minutes, they decide on The Sorrow and the Pity, a favorite of Alvy's, even though they've seen it already. While in line for tickets, they overhear another man talking loudly and putting down the work of Federico Fellini and Marshall McLuhan. Alvy bemoans having to hear him, and Annie decides to talk loudly as well about their "sexual problem", which makes Alvy cringe even more. Finally, Alvy steps out of the line and talks to the camera, and the other man does the same saying he's entitled to his opinion. Allen brings McLuhan himself into view to criticize the man's opinions. Singer tells us, "Boy, if life were only like this."
At home that night, Alvy feels romantic but Annie doesn't. They instead talk about their past romances. Alvy met his first wife Allison (Carol Kane) at a political event. She was quite into Alvy but he would usually make excuses not to have sex with her, and he thinks the reason for that is the old Groucho Marx joke where he wouldn't want to be a member of any club that would let him be one. His second marriage was even worse as she hated sports and wasn't very orgasmic. Meanwhile, Annie's ex was a hippie actor.
Things were great for Alvy and Annie in the beginning, as we recall moments such as when they boiled lobster for dinner at home. We also see how they met. After a doubles tennis match with friends, the two engaged in awkward small talk that ultimately led her to drive him home. Annie's a horrible driver but she gets there safely, and then they have a glass of wine on her balcony while talking some more. In a funny sequence, while they're speaking we get simultaneous subtitles of what they're actually thinking. They decide to meet up for an actual date after Annie auditions for a nightclub singing gig. The audition is a mess, with lots of noise going on as she sings, but she gets through it fine. The couple then start out for the actual date, and while walking Alvy suggests that they kiss and get it out of the way so they don't have to act all cautious for the rest of the night, plus now they can digest their food. Annie agrees, they kiss, and the date goes very well. In fact, they hook up that night, with Annie relaxing afterwards with a joint while Alvy feels like a wreck.
Alvy buys a number of books for Annie, some with themes of death. In time, she admits she loves him, and she wants to move in with him. This freaks Alvy out but he rolls with it, saying his feelings for Annie transcend just "love". However, once they're living together, things get tense. Alvy encourages Annie to take night school, and in doing so she gets cozy with one of her professors, which leads to the two having an argument. He also wonders why she always needs a joint to be able to relax during sex.
Alvy has dinner with Annie's family and answers most of their questions with witty jokes that often fall flat. He has an odd encounter with Annie's brother (Christopher Walken) as well. More arguments occur over time, and the couple soon breaks up. Alvy, now back in present day, talks to us about how he's been trying to find the truth about relationships. He asks random people on the street about love and compares himself to Snow White and Annie as the evil queen, which brings us a pretty funny animated snippet.
Alvy returns to dating, but between his neuroses and finding his partners aren't sexually compatible, he's miserable. While in bed with one woman (Shelley Duvall), Annie calls him out of the blue and needs him to come over. He does so. Annie needs him to kill a spider. They take care of that, joke around a bit and then reconcile. Try as they might, through separate discussions with their respective therapists, they both know the relationship can't last.
Alvy receives and accepts an offer to present an award on television. He and Annie fly out to Los Angeles along with Alvy's friend Rob (Tony Roberts). They attend a party that is also attended by record producer Tony Lacey (Paul Simon), who's been wanting to sign Annie to a contract. Alvy tries to talk her out of signing. On the plane ride home, Alvy and Annie agree that it's time to end the relationship once and for all.
Annie returns to Los Angeles, signs with Lacey and begins dating him as well. Alvy returns to dating and has his usual issues, such as a lobster dinner with his new girl (Sigourney Weaver) not being nearly as fun as it was with Annie. Alvy tries one last time on his next visit to Los Angeles to rekindle the flame with Annie, even proposing marriage, but it is to no avail. Time passes, and both have moved on to someone new. Alvy stages a play of his relationship with Annie, but changes the ending to Annie accepting the marriage proposal. Alvy and Annie have a final meeting for dinner in New York during a visit from her, and both are seemingly at peace. Alvy's voice-over tells us that he's glad to have seen Annie again. "I realized what a terrific person she was and how much fun it was just knowing her, and I thought of that old joke. You know, this guy goes to his psychiatrist and says, 'Doc, my brother's crazy. He thinks he's a chicken.' And the doctor says, 'Well, why don't you turn him in?' The guy says, 'I would, but I need the eggs.' Well, I guess that's pretty much now how I feel about relationships. You know, they're totally irrational and crazy and absurd, but I guess we keep going through it because most of us need the eggs."
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Many have said that the story in the film is deliberately autobiographical by Allen, but he insists this was never the case. The only autobiographical part could be that it's set in Allen's favorite city of New York, as he's referred to this film as a "love letter" to NYC. The character of Annie Hall was written specifically for Keaton, and most of the wardrobe she supplied herself. This was Sigourney Weaver's film debut. Truman Capote makes a cameo, walking by as Alvy tells Annie "There's the winner of the Truman Capote look-alike contest." Marshall McLuhan isn't a name most are familiar with, but Allen wasn't able to convince Federico Fellini to make the cameo instead.
Annie Hall wound up the big winner at what was a very celebratory 50th Annual Academy Awards ceremony. The film scored five nominations and won four of them, with only Allen not winning for Best Actor (that award went to Richard Dreyfuss for The Goodbye Girl). However, Allen did win Best Director and Best Original Screenplay (with Marshall Brickman). Keaton took home the Best Actress trophy, and the movie scored Best Picture over The Goodbye Girl, Julia, Star Wars and The Turning Point. Allen, as had always been the case and continues to be today, did not attend the event.
Yes, Star Wars actually was nominated for Best Picture. Considering the impact it had on pop culture, which in fairness could never have been predicted back in 1977-1978, it would seem that should have been the film that won top honors, especially when you take into account the film took home SEVEN Oscars that night. With the exception of The Turning Point, I've seen all the Best Picture nominees for 1977. You know what? Star Wars actually is the best of the list. Annie Hall has funny moments, but this isn't even amongst my preferred selection of Woody Allen films. I've seen it twice now in six months, and I just don't get what the big deal was then, and is now. It's OK, but that's about all the praise I can muster. The neurotic Alvy character, with seemingly every other sentence starting with "What do you mean..." or "What are you..." gets tiresome. The best parts are quite funny, but as a whole, Annie Hall to me is just kinda there.
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