I’ll say it again, Woody Allen has made my life richer. He’s on track again with this one. It springboards off an intellectual discussion around a table at a NYC restaurant with Wallace Shawn proposing that “we run to comedies to hide from our deep dark fears of our mortality”. And takes off. Enough said.

This movie is a cartoon caricature of racism, and for the first 15 minutes I didn’t get it. Example after example of unresolved racist behavior had me squirming in my seat thinking “arty movie designed to make you uncomfortable”. But c’mon, this won an Academy Award, it can’t not resolve! I was not disappointed, once I settled in and accepted the rules: this was a grand exploration of the subject, intent on putting every well-developed character through intense challenges. And there are some beautiful responses. Check it out if you get a chance.

We seem to watch a Woody Allen movie every other week or so, and almost always love them – OK, we recently fell asleep on a late late night of watching “Life and Death” but fortunately woke up in time to nearly vomit with laughter at the ending scene (no spoilers allowed, sorry). There is so much to enjoy in his stuff – outlandish slapstick physical comedy that would make Benny Hill and Mel Brooks proud, unmatched philosophical perspectives – no one else is even in the ballpark on that one, fantastic characters all over the place, and plenty of poignancy and irony.

He’s nearly always center-stage, so if you are intolerant of his philosophically-driven cynicism, hypochondria and paranoia, or outright goofiness, sure it might not be your thing. (Ed.: he married his daughter. Rebuttal: Celebrities are allowed a few eccentricities! Ed.: Let me repeat… his daughter! Rebuttal reprise: I just said to Andrea “there must be a word to describe old guys that like younger women” and got the irony-laden response: “yeah normal”) But personally he’s made my life just a little bit richer. Don’t miss this one in particular – it boasts a central story on the inevitability of justice, reaching Poe-like intensity before… well, like I said, no spoilers.