The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

The main players:
Mia Farrow-Cecelia
Danny Aiello-Monk
Jeff Daniels Tom/Gil

  I decided to start this column with "The Purple Rose of Cairo" because it reminds me of Allen's latest film "Midnight in Paris". Both films feature protagonists that escape their current, unhappy situations. Both films are light comedies and they both feature a strong fantasy element. Don't let my use of the word fantasy turn you off. We're not talking "Star Wars" or "Lord of the Rings" level of fantasy.  In the Woody Allen universe, fantasy is more akin to daydreaming at work.
  The plot of "Purple Rose of Cairo" is simple enough. Mia Farrow plays Cecelia, a Depression era waitress who escapes her dreary existence by retreating to her local movie palace. I'm not the biggest fan of Farrow, but I can tolerate her in the right role. She's the weakest character in the movie, which is surprising since Allen is arguably the best male writer of women characters in film history. Cecelia is fairly one note,She's a comically inept waitress, she's married to a guy that comes of as a slightly more sinister version of Ralph Cramden. She only becomes interesting when a character from the film notices her sitting in the audience night after night and jumps out of the screen to be with her.
 "Purple Rose of Cairo" is often seen as a "minor" Woody Allen work. It's light comedy as movie geek wish fulfillment. "PROC" (I don't feel like typing the whole title anymore) deserves to be looked at as more than just fluff. Allen gives his viewer a lot of interesting ideas to chew on while they watch. "PROC" talks about the importance of movies in people's lives, and it gives us an interesting glimpse into the thoughts 1985 Woody Allen had about his audience and the actors in his films.
  The simplest aspect of "PROC" is about how Americans got away from the harsh reality of the Depression by going to the movies. People flocked to see films set in glamorous locations populated by fabulous characters. For Americans living in the 1930's those types of movies may as well have been Science Fiction. As a modern filmgoer in living through harsh economic times, I find recent "Retail Porn" movies like "Sex and the City 2" borderline offensive. The people who produce films like that are asking cash strapped audiences to identify with characters whose biggest problems are which 700 dollar pair of shoes to buy or what trendy restaurant to eat at. It's ridiculous and I think Allen feels the same way about films of that type. When Tom Baxter, the dashing archeologist character from the film within the film enters the real world, he has no idea about current circumstances. He thinks jobs are easy to come by, money grows on trees, and he sees a bread line as a social gathering. One of the things about "PROC" that works for me is the idea that we want to escape to a world of silly, attractive morons to get away from our problems.
 Speaking of morons, it's very clear what Allen thinks of his audience and his actors during the phase of his career. The dozen or so movies he made while he was writing roles for Mia Farrow tend to be a little more high falutin' than the films of the early and later periods of his career. Allen made some excellent movies during that time but there is a sense that the love his audience and actors had for him was unrequited. When Tom escapes from the screen, the members of the audience are angry about the unexpected development. They were content to watch the same movie over and over again. Allen was said to be bitter about the fact that his audience only wanted to see retreads of "Annie Hall" year after year. When an audience member complains "I want to see the same movie I already saw!" it's easy to imagine Allen thinking that's what his audience wants.
  Actors don't fare much better in "PROC". When Gil Shepard, the actor who plays Tom, comes to New Jersey in an attempt to get him back into the movie he cares more about his career than the implications of having his double running around. Gil even uses and discards Cecelia in order to trick Tom into going back to the movie. Once she helps him, his offer for her to move to Hollywood with him gets forgotten and he leaves her in the dust. Allen seems to be saying that actors will step on anyone to get what they want.
  This viewpoint is also clear in Allen's portrayal of the other characters in the movie Tom leaves behind.  Every character, no matter how minor, thinks they are the star of the show. That aspect of the film seems to be Allen's viewpoint in general. Everybody sees themselves as the most important person in the world, according to Allen.
  Over all, "The Purple Rose of Cairo" is an enjoyable film. The Depression time frame feel authentic and the jokes work more often than not. Allen is one of those filmmakers that people either love or hate. "PROC" is a good film to use as an entry point if you're interested in catching up on his filmography. The fantasy and comedy might be more palpable to newbies than his more earnest work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp6YDZVVbj0

Technical Difficulties

My first analysis, of "The Purple Rose of Ciaro", was promised for today. My cable was out most of the day. I want to make a few more tweaks before I post. Tomorrow, come hell or high water, you'll be able to read my thoughts about a 26 year old movie most people don't care about. You'll also be able to leave snarky comments. Check back tomorrow.

Welcome

1977. It was a pivotal year for my movie geek-dom. Yes, I was only 1 year old but it shaped the way I have felt about movies for my entire life. As far as I am concerned, there are only two movies that matter from 1977 (before you e-mail me about all the great movies that year, I do realize there were more than two movies released in 1977). Star Wars and the movie that beat it for Best Picture at that year's Academy Awards. Annie Hall.
  I must have spent every day of my first decade of life thinking about Star Wars in some capacity. Who am I kidding? I still spend at least a few minutes every day thinking about Star Wars. When I was about ten years old, my father called me into the living room with "Get your ass in here, you might like this!" I figured he was watching some sci-fi or horror picture. Turns out he was watching some romantic comedy starring a middle aged Jewish dude and the chick from The Godfather (as an Italian, The Godfather was as essential as Dr. Suess in my early years.) My father was watching some movie I'd never heard of called Annie Hall, but if he said I might like it, that was good enough for me.Most of the jokes went over my head. I laughed at the gag about living under the roller coaster at Coney Island and the lobster scene. It took me a few years to get the vibrating egg and sore jaw bits.
  Despite the lack of space ships and monsters I was hooked. I didn't really understand it, but Woody Allen displayed a sense of self depreciation that spoke to me. When he quoted Groucho Marx's line of "I wouldn't belong to any club that would have me as a member" I knew I had found a kindred spirit. I was a little too young to be a total outcast, but I sensed that was what was coming for me once I entered high school. I made it my mission to seek out every Woody Allen movie ever made.
   I remember watching Hannah And Her Sisters with my mom and trying not to laugh when Woody asked Tony Roberts to donate his sperm to him and Mia Farrow- "You don't have to make love to her, just masturbate into a little cup.", or being swept away by the fantasy of The Purple Rose of Ciaro, or laughing hysterically when I realized that Chazz Palmenteri's Cheech was going to wack Jennifer Tilly's Olive because he was ruining his play in Bullets Over Broadway (the first Woody movie I saw at a theater) I would describe myself as a hard core movie buff.
  For the past 25 years, I have lived on a steady diet of films by Spielberg, Lucas, Burton, Lynch, Tarrantino, Boyle, Anderson-both Wes and Paul Thomas, Scorcesse, Coppola-Francis Ford and Sofia, Cameron, Fincher, Ridley and Tony Scott, The Coen Brothers, Del Torro, Malick, Truffaut,DeMille,Eastwood, Lang,Polanski, Kubrick, Sam Raimi, Spike Lee, Ang Lee, Nolan, Van Sant, Kevin Smith (when he was still good) Jason and Ivan Rietman, Alexander Payne, J.J. Abrams, Jonez,Gondry,Lean, Demme, Zemeckis, Crowe,Biegelow,Foreman, Howard-the list could go on for days, there was always one filmmaker I kept coming back to, for great, good, mediocre or bad films. That filmmaker was Woody Allen.
  I started this blog, Wild Man Blues, as an attempt to watch and review all 43 of his movies from What's Up Tiger Lilly to Midnight in Paris. The list won't be in chronological order, and I won't be side tracked by his personal life. I can't promise objectivity since I love a lot of his movies that have been panned (Scoop and Whatever Works come to mind) or frequent posts. This blog exists as a tribute to and decounstruction of the films of Woody Allen. Shit, I should have called this blog Deconstruction Woody.
  I hope you read and get something out of all 43 entries. You can agree with me, disagree or think I'm a total douche for thinking anyone cares about my opinion. The first review will appear later this week. I'm torn between the movie that started it all for me, Annie Hall, or the first one on my Netflix queue, The Purple Rose of Ciaro. Leave a comment with suggestions. I look forward to your feedback and I hope you enjoy reading Wild Man Blues.