Bullets over Broadway
My Woody Allen chronology works like this: There’s the Diane Keaton time, his early years which ended with “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy”, his middle years which, for me, go all the way up to 2005 with “Match Point” and then his late years until today. These middle years span quite a lot of time and have some sort of variation to them, but ultimately, for me, they mostly sandwich Woody Allen’s best times (for me, at least). But incidentally, none of the films during that times really stood out to me, and among those, “Bullets over Broadway” is my absolute favorite so far.
So, what did I dislike about the film in comparison to Allen’s greatest masterpieces? Perhaps the fact that, similar to most Woody Allen films around the time, nobody in this film is having a serious relationship – at all. Not even the brilliant John Cusack can make up for it. He is doing a great job considering his young age, normally you’d expect somebody to have the age of Larry David to give off a believable Woody Allen alter ego. But then again, the last scene sort of makes up for it. Just like when Woody Allen realizes through the Marx Brothers that life is worth living, or comes to realize that he is in love with a 17-year-old at the end of “Manhattan”, Cusack’s character got the lovely redemption when he finally realizes that he is no artist. It gave the whole film something like a meaning, a lesson for life which elevates it over these films like “Everyone says I love you” or “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy” which were very funny, but less, uh, meaningful. I probably like “Everyone says I love you” because I find Julia Roberts absolutely perfect for Woody Allen movies, and adore Drew Barrymore swallowing her engagement ring.
On the other hand, however, I thought the film was a little less funny. Sure, I have thoroughly enjoyed it, but without an overly neurotic main character a Woody Allen film doesn’t live up to its potential; sadly, John Cusack is a mildly neurotic character who is mostly just confused about himself.
On a side note, I am amused that Woody Allen’s trademark line “I can’t believe this!” has been spoken by the most unlikeable character of the whole film, the girlfriend with the horrible voice (what was her name again?)
There was something I cannot quite pinpoint why I enjoyed “Bullets over Broadway” less than certain other films of the master, but is that due to high expectations? In general, it’s a wonderful movie, one that wins on almost every account except for the lack of Woody Allen himself, and I can see how it is a little bit like Annie Hall in how it gets better the often you see it. In fact, “Annie Hall” is the prime example of such a film, and maybe one day “Bullets over Broadway” will enter the list of these films too.