# Just watched Woody Allen's Bananas to see if it still stands up **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2017, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224 "2017-08-20T22:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/41 "2017-12-20T18:28:14Z")
aldiboronti writes: \> That was funny, as was an exchange with Mia Farrow in the park. You mean, I presume, Louise Lasser. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/42 "2017-12-20T19:37:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I still do the bit where the spy hero wakes up after being knocked out, feels his head gingerly, and moans “Oh! My leg!” > > Regards, > Shodan > > PS - Don’t use embalming fluid. I want to be stuffed with crabmeat. I do the bit where the guy in the tux is walking along the deck of the boat, seeing all the ladies, and saying, “Hello…how are you…good evening…” when I see any beautiful woman. Just so’s I’m not creepy, I only say it in my mind, and I’m very careful not to say it out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/43 "2017-12-20T20:35:00Z")
Do you finish by saying “Mom!” in a surprised voice. And then she says, “You never write.” Regards, Phil Moscowitz PS - Name three Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/44 "2017-12-20T20:43:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Do you finish by saying “Mom!” in a surprised voice. And then she says, “You never write.” > > Regards, > Phil Moscowitz > > PS - Name three Presidents. She would say that, but she’s not Jewish. But she does chide me about staying in touch, and fortunately, email’s good enough. (She’s 92 next February, by the way. And I talk to her by phone every week. We live 2,000 miles apart.) PS - Saracen pig! Spartan dog! ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/45 "2017-12-20T21:35:33Z")
I’m not a big fan of Woody Allen’s, but I did love it when he compared Alan Alda to Mussolini. He’d become insufferable in real life by then. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/46 "2017-12-21T04:13:53Z")
It’s really none of my business if Woody Allen’s banana still stands up, and even if it were I have no interest in knowing. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/47 "2017-12-21T04:27:23Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > When my grandson started playing cello in middle school orchestra, I naturally had to show him the clip from “Take the Money and Run” where Woody plays cello in the marching band. That gag still cracks me up. Me, too. > [@GreenWyvern](#): > > I think that [Radio Days](http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/182071/Radio-Days-Original-Trailer-.html) still stands up very well. > > It’s very funny, but not frenetic or forced, and if you grew up listing to the radio, as I did, it has some genuine nostalgia. I agree - and now I’m earwormed with “Get Regular with Relax!” > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > What comedies of 1971 do you think are better than\* Bananas\*? _Harold and Maude_? _Support Your Local Gunfighter_? _A New Leaf_? _The Barefoot Executive_? _And Now for Something Completely Different_? _Taking Off_? _The Million Dollar Duck_? _Plaza Suite_? _Such Good Friend_s? _Kotch_? _Cold Turkey_? _On the Buses_? _Something Big_? _How to Frame a Figg_? _Minnie and Moskowitz_? _B.S. I Love You_? _Little Murders_? _Carry On Henry_? It’s startling to me that I’ve seen at least 4 of these (not counting “Bananas”). ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/48 "2017-12-21T12:26:55Z")
Bananas seems to me mostly a collection of c. 1970 trademark Allen gags assembled around an extended riff on his “Viva Vargas” short story (collected in Getting Even). By itself it is quite enjoyable when you want something light. In my case of course there’s a sentimental connection in that the “San Marcos” locations are part of my own environment and even workplaces, and a large number of the Puerto Rican actors and film people of that generation are part of the cast (including later-Academy-award-nominee filmmaker Jacobo Morales as the rebel leader Esposito) But how can I disapprove of Howard Cosell narrating the assasination and later Fielding’s wedding night. That may date it for younger generations but it is a pleasant callback for me. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/49 "2017-12-21T16:37:21Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > **Sleeper** is one of my favorites, largely because of the New Orleans ragtime soundtrack. But also some good satire of Kubrick’s 2001, the orgasmatron, and the scenes where the scientists are trying to get him to identify 20th century artifacts. I haven’t seen it in years so I don’t know if I’d feel the same way now, but I agree. I always thought _Sleeper_was pretty hilarious. The scene where Allen is trying to escape using the individual flying machine, which he does not know how to operate, is one of the funniest bits of visual/body movement humor ever, IMHO (almost tied with John Belushi tiptoeing/zigzagging beautifully in _Animal House_). Obviously, the helicopter-type blades are supposed to do the work of lifting you into the air, but Woody flaps his arms - a useless yet understandable effort - as he tries to take off. Plus, the way he flaps makes him look like a drunken stork. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/50 "2017-12-24T16:57:23Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I haven’t seen it in years so I don’t know if I’d feel the same way now, but I agree. I always thought _Sleeper_was pretty hilarious. The scene where Allen is trying to escape using the individual flying machine, which he does not know how to operate, is one of the funniest bits of visual/body movement humor ever, IMHO (almost tied with John Belushi tiptoeing/zigzagging beautifully in _Animal House_). Obviously, the helicopter-type blades are supposed to do the work of lifting you into the air, but Woody flaps his arms - a useless yet understandable effort - as he tries to take off. Plus, the way he flaps makes him look like a drunken stork. “Goddamn cheap Japanese flying pack.” When the jetpack takes off out of his hands I’m dying with laughter every time. It’s like watching Wile. E Coyote. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224/51 "2017-12-24T17:15:30Z")
One thing to keep in mind about a _lot_ of old stuff is that large parts weren’t all that funny. It’s the few genius parts that make the films/TV shows and which stick in our memories. What’s a “gub”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-woody-allens-bananas-to-see-if-it-still-stands-up/794224.md?page=2)