When talking about Woody Allen it is extremely difficult to separate the art from the man, especially when his films all deal with human frailty and failings of romance. There are times where he engages in drama like Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point (which frankly are the same film). Then there are comedies, satirical more than a few, that would be otherwise uplifting. Here like Annie Hall, he evolves the dramedy, which he easily champions more than any other genre.
The dramedy is a safe bet more than any other genre; it caters to two audiences. Allen’s dramedies have a certain moral leaning and it is easy to spot the weakness of the anti-hero, but there is always something redeemable about the moral values the main character, an undeniable anti-hero. Simply put—it’s just Woody Allen
One thing that is uneven about the film is that it has New York as a character. Allen engages in a dialogue about New York, and then it suddenly disappears and isn’t relevant again.
The true question of the very subject of Woody Allen romance is the moral failings of the main character. Sure, he values monogamy and marriage, but here he is dating a high schooler, an almost legal 17 year old. He does find fault with the relationship, mainly meeting somebody else and divulging that he only feels bad about the high schooler after he has met someone else, played by Diane Keaton. But he stumbles through relationship after relationship, either getting dumped by women his own age, like his ex-wife, played by Meryl Streep, or dumping the high schooler, a small moral victory too little too late, but a moral victory nonetheless.
He makes that healthy decision, but towards the end of the film he goes back crawling to her. Woody Allen makes the perfect anti-hero because the audience doesn’t normally root for him; in fact they feel the need to shower after encountering his characters at the Cineplex. But like it or not—he moves the plot along and writes a damn good script. When he faces the high schooler at the end, his eye as director is also sharp. But don’t let that smile give it away: it’s still Woody Allen.
