Pluskylang Great Film overall

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

SnoopyStyle Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) is a pathetic worker drone. He tries to push out a couple of subway thugs (Sylvester Stallone) but it doesn't quite work out. Political activist Nancy (Louise Lasser) knocks on his door and he falls head over heels for her. He tries to impress her by going to the banana republic of San Marcos ruled by dictator General Emilio Vargas and then joining the revolutionaries.The humor is a bit random and a bit too broad. Also Louise Lasser is not compelling enough. She definitely doesn't add anything to the comedy. I just feel this comedy is way too disjointed. I get whiplashed from one comedy skit to another. One scene may be funny but the next one has me scratching my head. Even the camera style seems disconnected and too much of the comedy fails to hit. It's suggested that there are some improvisations but that is a particular skill that not all comedians or actors have. Woody seems capable but I wouldn't bet anybody else in the movie is quite as capable. Woody needs a good co-star to play off of him. This is a movie that has some great jokes but when the jokes don't work, they really bother me. And he really needs better comedy partners in the movie.

slightlymad22 I think your enjoyment of this movie depends if you are a fan of Woody Allen or not. Since I am not, I didn't enjoy it at all.Plot In A Paragraph: Fielding Mellish (Woody Allen) works as a product tester. Fielding has the hots for Nancy (Louise Lasser), the girl collecting petition signatures door to door for the liberation of San Marcos, so he pretends to be interested in her cause. A relationship develops between them, but when she dumps him, he is devastated. He thinks he'll have to get very involved in the situation in San Marcos to win her back.I did enjoy the scene with a young Sylvester Stallone (as subway thug) interestingly enough, Woody Allen initially sent Stallone back to the casting agency after deciding he wasn't 'tough-looking' enough. Stallone pleaded with him, and eventually convinced him to change his mind". And I did like Howard Cosell's scenes at the beginning and end of the movie, but I am at a loss as to why it was called "Banannas"

Marc Israel Whay isn't slapstick taken seriously? Because the reason it works s because folks take things so seriously. Bananas is a silly foray into the life and silliness of Fielding Melish, a product tester who falls in love with the first girl who knocks at his door, yet she's as neurotic as he. A perfect match? Not for a while, and we get to see why through skits, set ups, and ridiculously immature delivery. For me, this plays like a record with a theme that gets lost throughout but the excursions are funnier than the main plot. While a banana republic being propped up by a U.S. government is laughable conceptually, the small time nature of such a follow through seems only a set up for more gags. All of the rebel camp bits could be translated elsewhere and were in later movies such as the weapon assembly and training camp shenanigans in Love & Death, The Howard Coseel boxing match calls at the opening and closing scenes completely work for me, but your mileage may vary.

heatherderringer This film is an excellent depiction of how people construct narratives of their own past. They take what they like, exaggerate those aspects, try to fit it into a coherent story. They try to construct stories that depict them as who they want to be. People may tell these constructed stories to others, but they also try to convince themselves of the veracity of their constructed stories. This movie explores these ideas in a very powerful way, through the viewpoint of a boy growing up. I found it especially meaningful because I can personally relate to it. I'm not going to spoil the best scenes for you by telling you the way in which the ideas are presented.