daily nebraskan
page 39
Wednesday august 18, 1982
Allen farce mixes
love with mild lust
By Chuck Jagoda
I found myself going to Woody Allen's latest film al
most before I knew there was one. With a name like "A
Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy," it promised the charm
of Shakespeare and the laughs of Woody Allen. I was
surprised to find no waiting lines one night after its open
ing. (There were none on opening night either.) It seems
Allen, never one to seek publicity, kept the prerelease
publicity to a minimum. Not unexpected from one who
forbade theater owners to use the Best Picture Oscar given
to "Annie Hall" in 1977 in their advertising. But I must
admit I did expect more laughs from Allen.
I found out I was expecting too much as soon as the
credits rolled. When "Felix Mendelssohn" appeared under
"Music by," I thought Allen was using one of the charact
ers from "Side Effects," his most recent collection of
comic prose. But NOOO! He meant the Felix Mendels
sohn whose wedding march was an excellent choice for
the background music of the film (as was the Gershwin
music in "Manhattan").
The story is based on Shakespeare's multi-plot "Mid
summer Night's Dream" and set in turn of the century up
state New York. Allen, a Wall Street stockbroker and
crackpot inventor, is married to Mary Steenburgen. (Their
sex life is somewhere between frigid and none.) Allen in
vites Jose Ferrer, a renowned professor who is as pompous
as he is renowned, and his the virginally beautiful but sex
ually experienced fiance, Mia Farrow, to a weekend
vacation on the eve. of their marriage. Also invited is Tony
. Roberts, a doctor in continual lust, and his equally lust
ful nursedate, Julie Hagerty.
Under the influence of the long summer day, Allen's
magical inventions (an updating of Puck), the lusts of the
characters and the impending end of sexual freedom for
Ferrer and Farrow, all the men fall in love (lustf) with
Farrow, Hagerty falls for Ferrer, and Farrow finally gives
in to Allen. The complications and permutations aren't as
involved as in Shakespeare, but the elements of magic,
romance and overpowering desire are well represented -especially
the romance.
The lighting and cinematography are excellent. The
twilight lasted forever and bathed the performers and
scenery in a golden glow. Most of the latter scenes must
have been painstakingly shot in those few moments of
natural twilight available with each of many sunsets.
The actors play well together. They are very believable
and sympathetic. Ferrer's recitation' of some of the more
poetic lines conveyed a nice touch of the poetic. Roberts
did some of this as well. Hagerty's lust was lovely -earthy,
yet not dirty.
Steenburgcn deserves special mention for creating yet
another personable, charming character - someone you
really want to get to know. She seems never to be acting
only behaving. And she does this in spite of such a
distinctive voice you expect to be able to recognize her as
the same character in each part. She does such a good job
of involving us in her struggle to overcome frigidity (by
means of a detailed instructional lecture on sexual
technique from the experienced Hagerty) that we barely
notice that the lecture turns into a Freudian analysis of
the causes of the frigid condition.
How come we don't notice, you ask? Can't an artist
of Allen's comic ability point a joke and make us laugh if
he wants to? Of course he can. The king of cute comedy
has achieved a higher laugh-pet-frame count in farces like
"Bananas" and "Everything You Always Wanted To
Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask." But in this -and
indeed in all his later comedies - Allen seems to be
exploring the subtler realms of the comic form. In this
film he finds the positive, romantic, beautiful aspects of
human love and shows them to us. If you like romance
and gentle lust in a good plot - Allen's tighest comic plot
to date - and don't mind doing without some of the
belly laughs of a broad farce, this is the summer comedy
for you.
WELCOME BACK
STUDENTS
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Staff Photo by David Wood
Elvis Costello croones a ballad to a full
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