BANANAS (1971) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Woody Allen

Written by - Woody Allen, Mickey Rose

Starring - Woody Allen

"Bananas is a great early Allen film, in which he plays a neurotic New Yorker who somehow becomes actively involved in the revolution of a small Latin American country. 

It is a highly imaginative Cold War comedy that despite its ludicrous plotline and free use of slapstick comedy is incredibly intelligent and seems to echo the anarchic satire of the filmmaker's beloved Marx Brothers. A laugh out loud characteristic take on an endless array of topics from masturbation to the Cuban revolution, and its narrative moves with exciting dreamlike eccentricities. 

Perhaps its thematic vision is a little outdated, but it remains representative of a type of cinematic bite and critique of socio-political situations that has been lacking for quite sometimes. And as far as Woody Allen goes, one can already notice many of the elements that would provide the backbone structure for the future masterpieces he would go on to make.

Comedy, USA