There are certain film-makers who divide cineastes down the middle. Woody Allen would be such a Director. Whether for his style of humour or his unwavering commitment to a template for a Woody Allen film, cinema-goers either love him or hate him. Overall, I would be in the former camp, some of his work is undoubtedly among the pantheon of modern classics such as Manhattan, Annie Hall or today’s film, Radio Days.
A nostalgic tribute to the New York of Woody Allen’s youth, it weaves together the events of the time as seen through the eyes of a young boy and his family, combined with stories and anecdotes from the golden age of the radio. When everyone had a radio and it was the form of home entertainment.
The film is stuffed with a fine cast of character actors; you may recognise more faces then names in the cast list. Mia Farrow is excellent in a small comedic role. Just one of a number of humorous tales, though this is a gentle comedy with warm tale at heart which hurtles toward an obvious an inexorable conclusion that the glory days of radio are coming to an end. Don't mistake this for sentimentality though, there is some sharp observational comedy at times. The young boy, quite obviously based on Allen's own childhood, is played by a very very young Seth Green, he of the obnoxious gross out comedy. There also fine turns from William H Macy, Jeff Daniels and Larry David as the "neighbourhood communist".
This is Woody Allen’s finest film of the 1980’s and it is perhaps incidental that he doesn't star in the film. By this stage it has become quite the cliché to see a Woody Allen rom-com in which he pursues a much younger women and this is a refreshing change. Woody is there in the background though, acting as the narrator.
Overall, this is a very fine film which captures a bygone era with aplomb. Viewing it is like coming in from the cold and when the denouement arrives, on a rooftop on New Year’s Eve, you may not want to leave.
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