A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy (1982)

Runtime: 88 minutes

Directed by: Woody Allen

Starring: Allen, Mia Farrow, Tony Roberts, Julie Hagerty, Mel Ferrer, Mary Steenburgen

From: Orion

It was not only time to clear a movie from the DVR, but to view a film that was mentioned in a discussion between me and a mutual in the comments of my review for Bergman's Smiles of a Summer Night, a rare comedy from the legendary director. This film is Allen's “tribute” to Smiles; as many likely know, he is a gigantic fan of Bergman. Like I always feel obliged to when talking about Ol' Woody, I am separating the art from the artist and my reviews of his work is NOT an endorsement of him as a human being.

As in Summer, a variety of different characters spend time in a country house. This time, Allen's a nebbish inventor, Mary Steenbergen is his frustrated wife, Tony Roberts is a horny doctor, Julie Hagerty is the doctor's love, Mel Ferrer is a prideful philosopher and Mia Farrow is the philosopher's much-younger paramour. It's a nice ensemble cast where Woody stepping away from a lead role resulting in everyone having a chance to shine—while Bergman's version of the general idea is better, this was still a humorous (rather than uproarious) picture with characters wanting to engage in affairs w/ each other.

The early 20th century setting was mostly irrelevant, aside from creating an excuse for a scenic rustic rural New York State location for most of the movie. It also allowed for a score mostly devoted to composer Felix Mendelssohn, who wrote a piece called A Midsummer Night's Dream and also was the backbone to the score from the 30's version of Shakespeare's play.

This isn't my favorite Allen either; be that as it may, I was amused by this ensemble piece which featured drama, romance, chuckles, a few dark moments and even some magic. Woody using a flying bicycle wasn't even the wackiest moment. As the movie was shot by Gordon Willis, it at least looked swell.