Annie Hall

A to Z Blogging Challenge: Movie Memories
Blogging about the movies that made an impact on my life

When I was in high school in the mid-1970s, I was a huge Woody Allen fan. While my friends were pinning up posters of Three Dog Night, I was reading Woody's essays in the New Yorker. My infatuation with Woody began in the 1960s when I started listening to Bill Cosby's comedy albums. I especially enjoyed "chicken heart." I've been a fan of stand-up comedy ever since.

In the 1970s, stand-up comedians were often featured on TV (Steve Martin, George Carlin, etc.) and that's when I first saw Woody Allen perform. I loved his dead pan humor, his neurotic mannerisms, and his pseudo-intellectualism. Something in my soul related to his style of humor. So much so, that he inspired me to become a comedy writer.

Annie Hall was released in 1977 and I couldn't wait to see my favorite comedian in a feature film. I was impressed with Allen's brilliant script and his innovative filmmaking techniques, such as breaking the fourth wall and the creative use of animation and flashbacks. 

Also, as a young woman, I was influenced by Annie's fashions. I started wearing men's shirts, neck ties, baggy trousers and vests. Her masculine style was well suited (no pun intended) to my personality at the time. I was not a girly-girl.

The movie went on to win four Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay) -- all this without explosions, car chases, and bimbos in bikinis.

ALVY: A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.