After first discovering it back in high school, I fell in love with Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. The classic rom-com about a man and woman falling in and out of love (with each other and New York) quickly became my go-to choice whenever I wanted to show off my love of cinema, but over time, the 1977 Best Picture winner and I took different paths – I found more movies and my old DVD copy discovered more dust on the shelf.

Recently, my wife and I decided to give Annie Hall another spin after what had been at least a decade since I last watched it start-to-finish. Though it was an incredible experience that reminded me why I fell in love with the movie, and Allen’s body of work, I must say it left me a little conflicted for a number of reasons…

The Movie's Structure (Breaking The Fourth Wall, Non-Linear Structure) Was So Ahead Of Its Time

Breaking the fourth wall is something that movies have used to great effect over the years, with some of the best Ferris Bueller’s Day Off moments being those where Matthew Broderick’s character talks directly to the audience. Though Woody Allen wasn’t the first to use the practice in Annie Hall, the moments where he tears down that invisible barrier make the 1977 movie feel so ahead of its time.

This is best seen when Alvy Singer (Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton) are waiting at the cinema and are forced to listen to a college professor pontificate about Federico Fellini and other topics ad nauseam. After a couple of minutes of hearing this guy go on and on, Alfie looks to the viewer and goes on an epic rant that ends with him bringing out Marshall McLuhan. Brilliant!

What I also really like is the film’s non-linear narrative and how it brings an element of chaos to the romantic comedy setup. By starting and stopping in various parts of Annie and Alvy’s relationship, we’re given a more chaotic and unique experience.

However, There Are Some Things (Like The Sex Stuff) That Haven't Aged Well

There are a handful of scenes that have not aged well at all. There's a scene early on in the movie where a young Alvy kisses his classmate and when reprimanded for it, he says he was “expressing a healthy sexual curiosity.” A harmless kiss on the cheek by a six-year-old boy it may seem, but that combined with the other sex-obsessed behavior by Alvy in his adult years, sometimes when his partner wishes not to engage, is kind of off-putting.

This is also true in the scene where Alvy is bailed out of jail by his best friend Rob (Tony Roberts), who is a little upset because he was with twins, 16-year-old twins. The successful sitcom actor wasn’t a spring chicken when he was imagining “the mathematical possibilities” of the situation, with those girls being two years below the age of consent in Los Angeles (where the scene takes place), according to the California Legislature.

Maybe It's Me Trying To Hold A '70s Movie To Modern Standards

Should I stop trying to hold a ‘70s movie, one that is technically a satirical approach to the rom-com, to modern standards? I know it’s the argument we use when we attempt to justify our grandparents’ thought process (“It’s not their fault they were raised in the South in the ‘40s”), but maybe we should stop looking at classic art through a modern lens with modern sensibilities. Things were different then, and at some point I’m sure my hypothetical grandchildren will say the same about me and the movies I like.

This doesn’t mean I am just going to let everything from a bygone era fly and run with the idea of “things have changed,” but I will try to be more mindful and find that balance where I can point out the issues with something but not write something off because I’m offended by a 46-year-old movie.

This Is Diane Keaton's Best Performance, Right?

Diane Keaton absolutely kills it in The Godfather and Father of the Bride, but not even the quiet ferocity of Kay Adams or nurturing nature of Nina Banks can compare to her performance as Annie Hall. I mean, she won an Oscar for Best Actress in a group that included Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Marsha Mason, and Jane Fonda at the 50th Academy Awards.

In Annie Hall, we watch this young, naive, and chaotic character who’s unsure of herself and willing to do anything to please her man, grow into a woman who is the polar opposite. You could chalk it up to Woody Allen’s incredible screenplay, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else pulling off those scenes better than Keaton. 

I Still Don't Know If I Should Root For Alvy Or Detest Him

Though not as unlikeable as Isaac Davis in Manhattan two years later, Alvy Singer is an Allen character that is not easy to root for. Sure, he’s well read, has great comedic timing, and can go off on an extensive rant that’s so good you don’t care that it’s going on for way too long, but he’s also a self-centered, sex-obsessed jerk who wants things on his terms no matter what. Then he goes and changes the ending of the story when turning his relationship with Annie into a play.

This is something that I remember feeling when I was younger watching Annie Hall, but even more so today, now that many years have passed since I moved out of my parents’ house and matured a little bit (not too much, though). I get that his go-to style for the male lead in his movies is the self-absorbed neurotic mess of a man that is full of self-deprecating humor, but I’m still so conflicted about this. 

Still, That Closing Montage Is Perfection

I am a sucker for a good montage (I even dedicated a section to them in my Rocky III vs. Rocky IV competition) and so I cannot end this piece without mentioning the perfection that is the closing segment. Before the screen goes black we are given a little epilogue where Alvy reveals that he saw Annie years later and the two got caught up over a meal as a montage of the ups and downs of their relationship carry the viewer away.

The laughter, the sorrow, the romance, and the long walks through bookstores are all there, serving as a reminder that life isn’t all bad, nor is it all good. Instead, it’s somewhere in the middle with the perfect balance.

I guess you could say that my experience of revisiting Annie Hall is a lot like that closing montage. It had its ups, its downs, and those little moments in-between. Truth be told, I’m okay with that…

Mild spoilers below for Killing It Season 2, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched.

In Season 1 of Peacock’s must-watch series, the hilarious genre-bender Killing It, Craig Robinson’s less-than-dependable Craig was revealed to have not only wed, but also sired a child with Stephanie Nogueras’ Camille, though the two characters split up in the aftermath. Thankfully, Camille returned for more in Season 2, and with an extra passenger on board, leading even more chaos for the exes to deal with. Making it all the more unique for TV is that they communicate through lip-reading and sign language, with Noguera being a deaf actress as well as an ASL teacher (and more). 

When I had the chance to talk to co-stars Craig Robinson and Claudia O’Doherty for Killing It’s cliffhanger-addressing second season — as seen in the video above — the Office vet brought up sign language when I asked what they were interested in having explored with their characters in the new episodes. In his words:

I was happy to hear that further developing his ASL skills was a highlight of the season, as I’d already planned on asking him about working opposite Nogueras, since they’re easily one of the most adorable ex-couplings currently on the small screen. When I inquired about filming Craig and Camille’s scenes, and how it compared to others with more improvised dialogue. Here’s what he told me:

Strides have definitely been made in recent years for TV shows to embrace more characters who are deaf and hearing-impaired — among many other conditions — and more people than ever have the ability to learn ASL with ease. Killing It hits all the right notes in my book by immediately normalizing their relationship and communication patterns.

• Killing It: 7 Questions I Have After Season 2 Of The Peacock TV Show

That said, Craig Robinson also mentioned the Season 2 episode with moments that did hinge specifically on the use of ASL for plot mechanics.  

The episode in question, “Help Me Pay My Bills,” features some of Killing It’s most atrocious and awful characters by way of Tommy Dewey’s Tate and Ayden Mayeri’s Blythe, the couple paying Camille to carry their baby. I mean, they didn’t exactly make Tim Heidecker’s Rodney LaMonca look like a great person, but were awful nonetheless. In any case, Craig and Camille didn't have to worry much about any of the event's stuck-up guests chiming in on their low-key conversation.

Stephanie Nogueras didn’t just play a pregnant woman on TV, but was herself expecting, and gave birth to a daughter in November 2022. Thankfully, Tate and Blythe had nothing to do with that bundle of joy. 

If you haven’t yet binged the entirety of Killing It with a Peacock subscription, get on that immediately so the powers that be know there are more than enough of us out here waiting for Season 3 news. 

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains light spoilers for Strays. If you have not yet seen the film, proceed at your own risk!

The new comedy Strays features a number of weird, R-rated gags and surprises, but the best of them features the protagonists running into what’s referred to as a Narrator Dog. The bit parodies the films A Dog's Purpose and A Dog’s Journey, and it’s great not just because of the dark twist that’s thrown in, but because the Narrator Dog is voiced by Josh Gad (a.k.a. the star of A Dog's Purpose and A Dog’s Journey). It’s a great joke – but the movie’s director wasn’t always sure that it was going to work out as planned.

Prior to the release of Strays this weekend, I spoke with Josh Greenbaum during the film’s virtual press day, and I made a specific point of asking about getting Josh Gad involved. The filmmaker explained that asking for any kind of permission was never a thing because Universal Pictures produced the movies that were parodied, but he added that he wasn’t always sure how Gad would respond to the idea. Said Greenbaum,

In Strays, the Narrator Dog is a Golden Retriever introduced while the main characters are trying to find some food at a fair. He is featured standing by observing his owner and his girlfriend have a romantic moment… and he ponders her fate due to the fact that she is evidently dating a dangerous, violent psychopath who has multiple bodies buried in his backyard.

It’s a funny and messed up take on the romantic drama that is featured in Josh Gad’s other dog-centric movies, and apparently it wasn’t the only gag that was available for Josh Greenbaum to use when Strays was being edited. The director reflected on his time with Gad in the recording sessions and remarked that the actor came up with some wild ideas:

With the reference to A Dog's Purpose/A Dog’s Journey in Strays, I also asked Josh Greenbaum if there were ideas for other movie dogs to include in the film. Perhaps an encounter with a rabid Saint Bernard a la Cujo? The filmmaker said that idea wasn’t in the mix during production, but pitched his own version and suggested it could be material for a sequel:

Featuring a stellar cast that includes Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher, Randall Park and Will Forte, Strays is now playing in theaters everywhere – and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for more from my interview with Josh Greenbaum. For a look ahead at all of the films set to be released between now and the end of the year, both on the big screen and on streaming, check out our 2023 Movie Release Calendar.

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