Annie Hall

***Talky romcom with Woody Allen and Diane Keaton is consistently amusing*** A twice-divorced neurotic stand-up comedian in New York City (Woody Allen) details his perspective on life and his relationship with the scatterbrained Annie Hall (Diane Keaton). The best movie I’ve seen by Woody Allen is the excellent “Match Point” (2005), but that was a crime drama/romance/thriller whereas a lot of his films are talky romantic dramedies, which is the case with “Annie Hall” (1977), winner of Best Picture and other awards at the AA. Was it worthy of all the accolades and does it hold up? Well, I laughed consistently if that tells you anything. The movie uses techniques that were probably innovative when it was released in 1977, like Annie’s immaterial essence doing something else why her body’s in bed with Alvy (Allen). The dialogue-driven approach is refreshing (today, that is) and the way Alvy sometimes breaks the fourth wall is amusing. I also enjoyed seeing the mid-70s period in the background, like “Messiah of Evil” (1973) on the marquee and a billboard featuring DESTROYER-era KISS. The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes and was shot in New York City & Long Island and the Los Angeles area. GRADE: B