By the time he got to Bananas, Woody Allen was reaching new heights in absurdist comedy. The idea of covering a South American revolution as a sporting
event certainly was original one. Even getting to the point of getting the voice
of American sports Howard Cossell to join the fun.
Allen is refining his schlepp persona in Bananas. Although he divorced his leading
lady Louise Lasser in real life the two worked well together here. Allen tries
to get a relationship going, but Lasser is interested in social causes. She has a
bleeding heart for the people of the South American country of San Marcos and gives Woody his walking papers.
So off Allen goes to San Marcos as the schlepp from Brooklyn mixes with all
kinds of folks there from dictator Carlos Montalban right down to the Che
Guevara revolutionaries.
So many absurd moments in Bananas to count. My favorite is ordering takeout
for the revolutionary army from a South American version of a Jewish delicatessen.
Definitely a must for Woody Allen.