I watched A Rainy Day In New York on Amazon Prime, this evening. And I have to say I loved it. But then I’m something of a Woody freak. I have almost all of his movies on DVD. For me his purple patch began in the mid ’70s, and ran all the way through to the middle, possible even late ’80s.
In the decades since that time his films have been rather more patchy. Nevertheless, there have still been a good number that are superb. Even a pedestrian Woody Allen movie stands head and shoulders above most of the dreck served up by the modern film industry.
I didn’t know this as I watched the film, but Amazon, who had a deal with Allen at the time he made this film, refused to release or promote it, leading to Alan suing them over the whole sorry mess. This is part of the fallout from the ongoing Alan versus Farrow farago. Incidentally, something going by that very name, Alan vs Farrow, is due out soon, on HBO.
Up until 2017, Woody had produced a film pretty much every year for a long, long time. With an output that prolific, it’s perhaps not surprising that numerous movies he’s made tread very similar paths. And this belongs in that camp. So, it’s relatively formulaic. But with a formula as winning as Woody has, that ain’t necessarily a bad thing.
Have you seen it? What did you think? And what, if any, is your, or are your, favourite Woody Allen movie/s? Teresa’s favourite, no contest, is Midnight in Paris. I, on the other hand, have far too many to narrow it down to just one. And given the breadth of his overall output, favourites change with moods.
The ones I go to most include Play It Again, Sam (a Woody Allen masterpiece not actually directed by the man himself!), the sublimely nostalgic Radio Days, A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy, an Allen-esque take on a Bergman film (Smiles of a Summer Night), the deliciously weird and technically marvellous Zelig, Broadway Danny Rose, Manhattan, Shadows and Fog (expressionism, and paranoia were never so beautiful or so funny), Bullets Over Broadway, and even the later Curse of the Jade Scorpion.
Rainy Day in New York isn’t really close to any of the latter that I mention, quality wise. It’s a pot-boiler, frankly, Allen style. And I can’t even really be bothered to say much about it, in terms of plot, setting, or actors. Picasso was a prolific artist, whose every touch is imbued with a kind of deft magic. For me Allen is a close if very different kind of cinematic equivalent.
So, if like me, you love Woody, you’ll probably enjoy this movie. Not his greatest, not by a long chalk. But solid Allen-esque fare, hearty, delicious and highly enjoyable.