Cafe Society: Woody Allen Channels Billy Wilder

Warning! Spoilers ahead.

There I was, blissfully enjoying “Café Society,” Woody Allen’s latest film, on its own merits. The setting of Hollywood in the golden 1930s was a home run for me and the characters and plot were pure Woody – whose work I always enjoy. So, imagine the extra  jolt of pleasure when I started seeing similarities to one of my favorite films, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment.”

Buddy Boy and Bobby - 2 up and comers

Allen’s hero Bobby (played by Jesse Eisenberg, an acceptable Woody-stand-in) is a young man of ambition, wanting to leave the hum-drum fate that would surely be his by following his father’s footsteps in Brooklyn, to the glamour of Hollywood. Lucky for him, his uncle Phil (Steve Carell, who just seems too nice) is a big shot agent. Like C.C. Baxter, he is a young man who is eager to succeed.

Uncle Phil and Mr. Sheldrake - bosses with benefits

After some false starts, Bobby finds a place in his Uncle’s office,  but the place he would like to be most comfortable is in the arms of his Uncle’s lovely assistant, Vonnie. Vonnie clearly likes Bobby and the 2 become good friends. Bobby wants more and Vonnie holds back. She has a boyfriend. And so, like CC Baxter waiting outside the Music Man for Fran Kubelik, Bobby waits for a romantic dinner with Vonnie. But both ladies had other plans.

I was riding along on a single track with Woody when the breath was knocked out of me a bit as Vonnie met in a darkened restaurant with her lover, who just happens to be Bobby’s Uncle Phil – Vonnie’s boss and Bobby’s, too. It was the same breathless reaction I had when Miss Kubelik meets Mr. Sheldrake for the first time. A little shocked, a little sad.

Kristen Stewart as Vonnie steals the show. Like Shirley Maclaine, but not at all like Shirley Maclaine, she is different from the other girls, She is genuine and unique in a world of bland prettiness.

As Vonnie keeps her double life secret, both Bobby and Phil pursue her. Unlike the cad Sheldrake, Phil actually does leave his wife, but not before he does much soul searching (Woody is never as cynical as Billy Wilder).  In both films, an important item sets our clueless heroes straight. For CC Baxter, a broken compact reveals the heartbreaking truth that the girl of his dreams in having an affair with her married boss. 

For Bobby, a framed letter love letter from Rudolph Valentino to an unnamed amour that sits on Uncle Phil’s desk provides the same shattering realization. In the end, Vonnie chooses Phil and Bobby’s hopes are crushed. What if Sheldrake had left his wife for Fran? “Café Society” presents an alternate view of “The Apartment’s” triangle, a photograph in negative.

Vonnie embraces her choice; Fran dodges a bullet

The break-up only reinforces Bobby's need to return to New York where, working with his gangster brother, he helps run a fashionable night club. His rough edges get polished, his confidence grows and he even marries a beautiful shiksa goddess (whose name is also Veronica – go figure - and played by an impossibly nice Blake Lively). All is well (well, except that the brother is executed) when, years later, Phil and Vonnie visit the café and old memories, never far from the surface, are again stirred. It all culminates at a New Year’s Eve party, just like in “The Apartment,” but instead of a happy ending for the lovers, both are left with the melancholy longing for the road not traveled.

The choices made by the characters in both films determine the outcome. Phil chooses to change his life for Vonnie and his decision made her chose him. Sheldrake, tossed out by his wife, chooses Fran by default, but she chooses CC Baxter. Fran remains true to her self, while Vonnie changes (as most people do). While Woody is more romantic than Wilder, he is also a sadder and wiser realist operating in a sadder and wiser world. In 1960, perhaps there was hope that CC and Fran would make a go of it and stay the same sweet kids who leave us playing gin. In 2016, we know it is most likely that Vonnie and Bobby would not risk all for love without a gilt-edged guarantee.

DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT WHEN.......

Don't you just hate it when an artist's work is judged by the personal life of the artist? Doesn't it just irk you if someone declares their dislike based upon an artist's  love life, family life or political affiliation? Well, it really bugs me, and here are three of my pet peeves.

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford was a great star. These are not just words. From a career that started in 1925 and ended in 1970, this woman was the very definition of a Hollywood star and was loved by millions. True, her latter years were a bit hard to bear, but who doesn't struggle with aging? Joan Crawford carried on the tradition of the glamorous, goddess-like star of the silent era, never giving in to the "just like us" image that started in the 1930s.

While Joan did look a bit scary in her later years (it was the eyebrows and the lip-liner), "Mommie Dearest" destroyed her reputation. And now you just know that you can't discuss Joan Crawford and her 45-year career without someone mentioning wire hangers and stating that they will never watch her movies because she allegedly abused her children.

Don't fret, Joan, I am always on Team Crawford

I confess I read the sensational book when it was first published and I feel sorry for all of the tortured souls involved, but whether it is true or not, I will not be denied the great star power of Joan Crawford at the height of her powers. Her personal life does not diminish her art.

Charlie Chaplin

I am going to get all emotional here, because I practically worship this man as an artist. His accomplishments are legendary and his story larger than life. While his left-leaning political inclinations seem to have been forgiven and rarely held against him nowadays, there is always someone out there who will say "oh him - he was a pedophile, wasn't he?"

Ack! He did like young girls and it caused him a world of trouble, but this is the man who gave us "The Kid," "City Lights," 12 perfect Mutual short films, "The Gold Rush," "Modern Times" and the very courageous "The Great Dictator." He breaks and warms my heart and the same time and as long as he wasn't eating babies for breakfast, I really don't care what he was doing off of the screen.

Woody Allen

Woody Allen is a comedy god to me. While he may not be everyone's cup of tea, there is no denying that there is a funny, brilliant mind at work. His stand-up routines of old still bowl me over and his films rank among my favorites. Woody, like Chaplin, had lady trouble, frequently using his leading lady off-screen as his on-screen muse (chiefly Louise Lasser, Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow). And it was with Mia that all of the trouble began. Once the Woody-Soon Yi story broke, Woody was poison.

Now, admittedly, I might not want to have Woody for a son-in-law and the story is distasteful, but who cares? I love Woody for "Annie Hall," "Manhattan," "Take the Money and Run," "Hannah and Her Sisters," "Midnight in Paris," and so many more. Cries of incest (Soon-Yi was not his daughter) and pedophile fall on my deaf ears.  I am so glad he has hung in there and still continues to make interesting films.

I don't care what they say, baby, just watch my films.

I don't or didn't know any of these artists personally. Maybe if I did, I would feel more qualified to judge them, but I feel only qualified to judge their works. And for me, Joan, Charlie & Woody rock.

BLUE JASMINE: Woody takes a cable car named Desire

Imagine if Blanche DuBois was married to Bernie Madoff and you have an idea of the flavor of Woody Allen's latest film, "Blue Jasmine."

As the story of Jasmine French (a scorching performance by Cate Blanchett) unfolds, you can't help but immediately think of Ruth Madoff, the elegant, suffering wife of financial swindler Bernie Madoff. A Park Avenue socialite, she knows all the best people, throws the best parties and wears the best clothes and jewels. Her husband, Hal, (well played by that old slickster Alec Baldwin) keeps her in the dark and she seems to be a willing innocent, content to let him deal with the business while she tends to their social life.

Jasmine and Hal before the fall

We first meet Jasmine after the fall. She has left New York and run to San Francisco to live with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), a character as down to earth as Jasmine is in the clouds. The reach of Jasmine's husband's thievery extended all the way to Ginger, whose ex-husband lost his lottery windfall by listening to Hal's bad investment advice. Ginger now has a new brutish boyfriend, Chili, (shades of Stanley Kowalski) and the mundane, unrefined life that Jasmine must now share with Ginger frightens and repels her. 

Ginger and Chili argue over the produce

Jasmine, like Blanche, is a wounded bird who lives in a dreamland. She longs for the beautiful but is confronted with ugliness wherever she turns. Ginger's boyfriend thinks she is a snob and Jasmine tries to convince Ginger she can do better, driving a wedge between the formerly happy couple.

Hal gets ready to fleece his brother-in-law

Jasmine gives ordinary life a try (she works for an amorous dentist and tries to learn how to work a computer), but her prayers are seemingly answered when she meets Dwight, a rich widower with political ambitions. Dwight has no idea who she is and Jasmine, knowing that the truth would make a commitment from Dwight impossible, lives a lie and almost gets a ring, but fate, in the person of Ginger's fleeced ex-husband, intervenes and her identity is revealed on the street right in from of the jewelry store that sells the ring she almost got.

Jasmine, like Blance Du Bois, cannot deny the ugly truth

Before Jasmine came to San Francisco, we learned that she had been found wandering the streets of New York, talking to herself. Our last view of Jasmine is as a confused woman, sitting on a bench talking to herself. However, it does not appear that the kindness of strangers can save her.

The laughs are more like chuckles here, as Woody is going for a penetrating character portrait of a broken woman. She is a phony, but the make-believe that was the foundation of her former life is all that she has to cling to. The fact that she is shallow and somewhat unsympathetic does not make her plight any less harrowing. Sure, Marie Antoinette fiddled while Paris burned, but we kind of felt bad when she lost her head, and we know Blanche put on airs, but we pitied her, nonetheless. And there always those who stand on the sidelines and smile with smug delight when the mighty are brought low.

As always, the performances in a Woody Allen film are stellar. Cate Blanchett is perfection and she is well supported by Baldwin, Hawkins, Louis C.K. as a philandering fling for Ginger, Peter Sarsgaard as Dwight and Bobby Cannavale as Chili, giving a real Stanley Kowalski-type performance. A pleasant surprise is the very good performance by Andrew Dice Clay as Ginger's bitter ex-husband. 

"Blue Jasmine" is lovely to look at and hard to forget.

Another Oscar nomination in Cate's future

Post 9/11 Film Disorder: I'll Take "Manhattan"

Forgive me if I come off a bit cranky here, but I'll admit it: the 10th anniversary of the atrocity of September 11, 2001 has weighed heavily upon me. Living and working in the shadow of the great city, it is the "go-to" place for everything new, better, delicious, glamorous, beautiful and fun. It still is that place, but like a beautiful person who  sustained a life-threatening injury, the scar remains.

Maybe there have been good movies that tell this story, but I haven't seen them. It's only natural that this story should be told on film, but frankly, I couldn't bear to watch it. Instead, I opted to spend some time today watching the most beautiful love letter to New York: Woody Allen's 1979 masterpiece, "Manhattan."

The Sights of Manhattan

Filmed in beautiful black and white, Allen and cinematographer Gordon Willis capture the fearsome, romantic beauty of the city in 1979.

The Music

The music is a major character in this film and Gershwin is the perfect choice, hands down. You can take your pick of the greatest composer of that golden era: Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein - but Gershwin personifies the sound of New York. Rhapsody in Blue? All of the romance, ambition, pressure, energy and dreams of a city in one musical piece. 

The Characters

Woody Allen: Issac Davis - neurotic nucleolus of a bunch of other neurotics. Issac is a writer who loves Manhattan, jazz and the wrong women.

Diane Keaton: Mary Wilkie - lover of Issac's best friend, Issac's lover and nutty to the core (in her own delightful way, of course). The scenes of their short-lived romance (running in the rain to the planetarium, sitting at the foot of the 59th Street Bridge) are among Woody's best and most touching.

Michael Murphy: Yale - Woody's professor friend and cheating husband. His midlife crisis propels him towards a mistress and a sports car.

Meryl Streep: Jill - Woody's lesbian ex-wife who writes an embarrassing tell-all book about their marriage. Meryl is hilarious and quite beautiful here.

Mariel Hemingway: Tracy - the 17-year old adult who outgrows Issac. Tracy is the heart of this story and much too mature for those "adults" who love to manufacture problems because the real problems are just to horrible to face.

There is that disturbing premonition of the attraction to the young girl. Well, to hell with it. Chaplin had the same hang-up and I can't let it stop me from loving him.

Finally
I really don't care what Woody has done in his private life and I am tired of hearing it. If we limit ourselves to the work of artists who live morally exemplary lives, we'd only be listening to Pat Boone and watching - well, no one. As long as he doesn't eat babies or become a Nazi, I will follow Woody's every move as an artist. He is now making his Rome movie and I will be one of the first on line to see it, as I was with "Match Point," "Vicky Christina Barcelona," and the fabulous "Midnight in Paris." But, Woody, seriously, it's been too long. Come home.