Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
To me Woody Allen is never better than when he's at his most neurotic,but here he manages to combine this with a seemingly over confident New York talent agent who has some of the worst acts on the circuit,yet he constantly strives to get them work,even though there the kind of acts that wouldn't even get booking on New Faces (retro reference). But Danny Rose (Woody Allen) has one act who's star is on the rise,Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte) is a alcoholic lounge singer,but he's on the comeback trail due to a rise in the nostalgia ,slowly Lou Canova starts getting more bookings and Danny has high hoped for this ageing singer.Lou,who has a wife and three kids is having an affair with Tina (Mia Farrow) an recognisable Mia with big hair and even bigger sunglasses who also happened to date a gangster previously and still has associations with Johnny Rispoli (Edwin Bordo ) and his brothers. Although there's very little in the way of slapstick (Bananas and Sleeper have Woody at his silliest and his most likeable) this does feel more like his pre Annie Hall movie's. His constant verbal diarrhoea whenever he gets into a panic,is Allen's classic verbal self defence , whether he is being chased by gangsters through a warehouse full of Thanksgiving parade floats,or just being threatened in general ,Danny Rose:" I don't wanna get my legs chopped off cos I do a guy a favour. " Broadway Danny Rose is just chocked full of quotable lines,and there is know denying that the chemistry between Woody and Mia Farrow is both warm and caustic at the same time. Which makes Tina's betrayal of Danny with Lou Canova,as she advises Lou to change Agent's and leave Danny,that gives the film a nice bitter sweet ending . Shot entirely in black and white,the film does look tremendous although it would of been just as good in colour (same goes for Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull in my humble opinion ) I love Woody's earlier films,but really can't stand allot of his later films except Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993),even Whatever Works (2009) with the great Larry David failed to really capture there great talents combined together.Broadway Danny Rose premise is all told via flashback through a group of ageing comedians who are all trying to remember there best Danny Rose story,until Sandy Baron (vamp) tells the Lou Canova story.In a strange way the film reminds me allot of Goodfellas, and I have no good reason to compare the two,except there both have great stories,and both have few gangsters of course.Its to Woody's credit that it does almost feel like a true story, and the characters,especially the variety acts that Danny Rose handles as an agent,all feel so real.
out 0f 5