Bananas Review

It is loosely based on the book by Richard Powell Don Quixote USA in initially named El Weirdo, Woody Allen's second movie as a writer, director and actor is a wild concoction that transcends its lack of continuity and coherence to include funny, surreal, and slapstick gags in an incredibly fast pace. The first version ran two hours, however Ralph Rosenblum persuaded Allen to cut 37 mins of the film (with the deaths being an attack on the camp of the guerillas by a rhumba-band and an homage to Bob Hope entertaining the troops) as well as the comedy and speed contribute in obscuring the lack of quality of of the material.

Opening and concluding with scenes that feature broadcaster Howard Cosell commentates upon the assassination of President San Marcos and the consummation of Fielding Mellish and Nancy's marriage The film is about the way in which America has a tendency to trivialize all things for mass consumption whether that's the promotion of cigarettes or the coverage of a major story in the news.

It's also a parody of the dissimilarity in a society that is a place where nothing happens to expectations and nobody keeps their word. Much like the Execusisor, revolution appears to provide an easy solution to the challenges of a country in transition however, President Vargas's promise to make changes only leads to the enactment of two-hourly underwear modifications and Swedish as the country's official language. Only in this snarky world can a man sporting faux Castro beard (who could not even manage to buy a magazine for porn or dissuade subway muggers back from New York) become an iconic figure.

While there are some lovely homages of Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Eisenstein and Harold Lloyd here, this is a scattershot collection of political satire. But, Allen frequently patronises Latin America and his harsh attacks against State Department officials. State Department quite atone for his cliche-filled choices and caricatures.