Day 176: Don’t Drink the Water

51K2CVB5NDLWoody Allen adapted this 1994 movies from his 1966 play of the same name.

Don’t Drink the Water, the 25th film Woody Allen directed, opens to voice-over narration, delivered in that sonorous, well-modulated radio-announcer (or TV news anchor – a la Ted Baxter, “The anchor man”) style, and period visuals of the Cold War, circa early 1960s.

But the narrative is convoluted, hard to follow, runs on too long, and uses too many words.

Sort of like the movie itself.

By the time Michael J. Fox appears – and he seems woefully miscast – I’m not only not hooked, I’m turned off.

Plus, Woody used hand-held cinematography again. Yuck. It totally interrupts the flow of the movie, although it appears he was going for a documentary style. So perhaps he Continue reading