COSELL'S BANANAS

Any film with Howard Cosell playing himself is an instant classic. He opens up Woody Allen's Bananas by covering live, from South American banana republic San Marcos, the assassination of "El Presidente". Cosell's patented crawling manner of speaking, along with the association of him covering similar but less catastrophic events for ABC's Wide World of Sports, makes the onscreen proceedings come across as comical; to the extreme. His characteristic deadpan delivery helps. (Apparently, Allen allowed Cosell to improvise his lines.)

There is no one like him.

One thing that struck me watching Bananas again after so much time has passed since the last viewing -- the first was as a double feature with Sleeper back in 1974 -- is how nothing has really changed. Allen makes pointed remarks about U.S. foreign policy with this strip of celluloid. I could imagine that if he was able to make this film post-9/11 (and had managed to secure funding) he would be accused of being unpatriotic and anti-American.

Of course Woody Allen hates the United States of America. Didn't you know?

Proof: Woody, as Fielding Mellish, is approached by San Marcos revolutionaries to become the new El Presidente. Woody just does not feel comfortable with the position. He suggests that they give him the role of Vice President instead. "Now there's a real idiot's job!"

Bananas has a wonderful Marvin Hamlish score. It's all very hummable. I'm not a big Hamlish fan but the man can surprise me. The title song, done in a very Latin American style, compliments the marquee-like opening titles.

Before long, Allen would often depend on old jazz tunes to track the audio portion.

Another surprise for me: I had forgotten how short it is. Being consistently funny, although I admit I have seen it far too many times to laugh as loud as I was known to do, helps make Bananas fly by.

Like Take the Money and Run, Sleeper, and Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex, Bananas is more a bunch of filmed gags as opposed to real cinema. That would change when he teamed up with cinematographer Gordon Willis.