“THERE ARE NO BANANAS IN IT”

By Raymond Benson

Woody Allen’s second feature film as director/writer/actor is ranked #69 on AFI’s 100 greatest comedies list… and it is indeed a very funny, zany picture (arguably one of Allen’s funniest) that today says more about the early 1970s than perhaps was intended at the time. But would millennials find Bananas funny in this day and age? Would they get the jokes? Can an audience that hasn’t “grown up” with Woody Allen movies get past what has been said about his personal life since the 1990s? I can’t answer those questions. But I can place Bananas within the context of when it was released and attest that it still makes me laugh.

At this point in his career, Allen was mostly interested in making low budget movies with little substance, but with lots of gags. He was still developing his nebbish bumbling on-screen persona (his character’s name in Bananas is “Fielding Mellish,” and that in and of itself is funny). And, as he would do so throughout the decades, he co-stars with either the current or former lady in his life—in this case, Louise Lasser, to whom Allen was married from 1966-1970 (they remained friends after the divorce; Bananas was made immediately afterwards, so go figure). The jokes are plentiful, bang-bang-bang, all the way through—today some of them fall flat and some are shockingly inappropriate given the “standards” of 2017, but others are still as classic and hilarious as they were in 1971.

The story concerns a revolution in the fictional Latin American country of San Marcos. New Yorker Mellish, in trying to impress liberal activist Nancy (Lasser), goes to San Marcos to get involved. Eventually he becomes a revolutionary himself, ending up replacing the dictator as the country’s president (albeit in disguise). On a diplomatic visit back to the U.S., he is exposed and put on trial for fraud. Nevertheless, Mellish ends up getting together with Nancy anyway for a happy ending.

When asked why the film was entitled Bananas, Woody Allen replied, “Because there are no bananas in it.”

In 1971, the film was rated M—for mature audiences. This rating was eventually replaced by PG. In those early days of the 70s, society was still experiencing a sexual revolution that had begun in the 60s. Hollywood movies pushed the envelope in this regard, and sexual humor was commonplace in comedies. Bananas is full of it. While it’s not quite R-rated material, it is assuredly not for younger kids. If there had been an equivalent rating back then, it would have been PG-13. (One memorable bit is the scene in which Mellish peruses the adult magazines in the crowded convenience store in New York and attempts to buy one mixed in with Time, Newsweek, and others; the proprietor ringing him up calls loudly out to his colleague, which everyone in the place hears, “Hey, how much is a copy of Orgasm?” Mellish, is, of course, suitably mortified.)

The courtroom scene is perhaps the highlight of the picture. A black woman who is allegedly “J. Edgar Hoover in disguise” testifies against Mellish; the court reporter reads back testimony that is the antithesis of what was actually said; and even Miss America shows up to testify. There are other notable moments—for example, famed TV sportscaster Howard Cosell has two memorable sequences in the movie, and a young and unknown Sylvester Stallone pops up (uncredited) as a New York subway mugger.

As with Allen’s first feature, Take the Money and Run (reviewed <here>), the filmmaking is clumsy and unsophisticated. The director was still learning the ropes, but that’s not what’s important here—Bananas is all about the laughs.

Twilight Time’s limited edition (only 3,000 units) Blu-ray looks fine in 1080p High Definition, taking into account the low budget video quality of the original film. The 1.0 DTS-HD sound is terrific. The only supplements are an isolated music track and the theatrical trailer. Julie Kirgo provides the essay in the booklet.

Bananas is a little time capsule that captures where we were at in 1971 (there is even a sight gag involving then U.S. president and VP, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew). Ribald jokes, political satire, and freedom of expression—if this is your bag, then check out Bananas… but leave your political correctness at the door.

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