6.9
Bananas
1971, 1h 22min -
Writer-director Woody Allen’s supremely silly third feature channels the absurdity of the Marx brothers for a side-splitting satire of Cold War politics and American imperialism. He stars as bumbling New York City product tester Fielding Mellish, who, after he’s jilted by his activist girlfriend (Louise Lasser), heads to the tiny Latin American republic of San Marcos for vacation—only to wind up becoming the unwitting leader of a political revolution. Among the highlights: legendary sports announcer Howard Cosell delivering a honeymoon-night bedroom “play-by-play” and an uncredited appearance from a pre-stardom Sylvester Stallone as a subway thug.
