HotToastyRag Woody Allen plays the title character, a manager of various small time performers. He hasn't helped them get them to Broadway yet, though, and most of his clients are pretty ridiculous. One of them asks Woody for a special favor: bring Mia Farrow, his mistress, to see his concert for good luck. But a couple of thugs show up and think Woody's her real boyfriend—and they're not happy about it! Broadway Danny Rose isn't one of the go-to Woody Allen movies most people think of, but it's actually pretty cute and funny. Woody is pretty adorable in his hapless way, trying to appease everyone at the same time and unwittingly getting into trouble. Sometimes in other movies he overplays his hand or is a little too neurotic for his own good, but in this movie, he's in his prime. Mia Farrow looks beautiful in her curly blonde updo, heavy makeup, and darling clothes; with her thick New York accent and hardened attitude, she's completely different than she is in her other movies. If you like the films of the former sweethearts, you won't want to miss Broadway Danny Rose. Watch the trailer and see if you laugh; if you do, you'll probably like the full movie.

Red-Barracuda Broadway Danny Rose is one of the films from Woody Allen's early 80's period. Like others from that time, it's a less well known effort and slightly more left-of-centre. It has a framing device where a group of show business types reminisce about an unsuccessful talent agent called Danny Rose who was well known for representing any act, no matter how hopeless. The main story thread is about the time when Rose almost makes it when a lounge singer he represents starts to unexpectedly become popular; matters become very complicated when Rose is tasked with getting together with a girl mixed up with the singer, a girl whose boyfriend is a jealous Mafioso. Before long he sends out two of his heavies after them with violent intent.This is one of several Allen films that was shot is crisp black and white. It's definitely to the films advantage as it looks very nice, with some fine cinematography overall. While on the surface it's another of Woody's comedy-dramas, in reality its closer to a straight comedy on account of the screwball narrative that goes slightly over-the-top. It essentially feels like a comedy-drama, while effectively being a light comedy. In this way it isn't serious enough to work as the former and overall isn't really that funny to score as the latter – although there are some inspired comic moments such as the helium scene. I suppose its storyline is more of a tragedy, seeing as it is about a man who selflessly helps others only to end up losing himself because of this. The narrative does lack a certain drive on the whole though, and the knockabout story doesn't always amount to a lot. Allen is good enough as Rose, while his former muse Mia Farrow does fine work as well. On the whole, this is not top drawer Allen for me but, as is usually the way, it still is a film with several good things about it.

[email protected] Woody Allen is more of a schlemiel than usual in Broadway Danny Rose and it's not as hilarious as some of his comedies. However, there are some very funny throw-way lines delivered more or less as a side-dish rather than as the main course. The premise -- Woody as a talent agent with the worst acts imaginable as his clients and one half-way good has-been (Nick Apollo Forte) whose career is revived by a nostalgia craze for singers of yesteryear. Broadway Danny who gives very personal service to his clients wangles an audition for the singer, Lou Canova, with Milton Berle and must bring Canova's mistress to the performance to keep his client in working order. Danny is a "beard" in Damon Runyon terms (a pretend boyfriend to disguise the mistress from the wife). Canova's mistress (Mia Farrow) is also the beloved of a guy who belongs to a crime family and when Danny takes her away, his two-hit man brothers vow to murder this interloper. The mistress, meanwhile, has convinced Lou Canova to abandon Danny for an agent with better connections. Other complications that needn't be recounted ensue, but eventually the mistress regrets what she's done and visits Danny to apologize. The implication at the end is that she and Danny will fall in love. During most of the movie, Mia Farrow wears large sun glasses and a blonde wig in her role as a brassy broad with few morals and no conscience. Only at the end, as she feels sorry for what she's done, do the sun glasses disappear and Farrow emerges as the delicate beauty she was when this movie was made. A typical Allen gesture frames the movie. A number of relatively obscure comedians, playing themselves, are gathered at the famed Carnegie Deli exchanging jokes and comic tales. The movie is launched as an extended anecdote told by one of the comedians about Broadway Danny. This is not among Woody's best but it's still worth seeing if you're a fan of his work.

Rockwell_Cronenberg This was an absolute delight, no way around it. Simple, hilarious and ultimately beautiful. I love the interesting ways that he structures his films and this one has one of the best techniques yet; the story is told as a story, told by a group of comics just hanging out at a restaurant shooting the breeze. It's a great way into the narrative and gives the film a very loose, vintage feeling. It truly does feel like a story that a veteran comic is telling around a table of friends. The black and white shooting helps even more in this interesting tone that he established, it all comes together beautifully.Usually Woody Allen's films benefit from their large casts of great scene-stealers but here he relies almost entirely on the chemistry between him and Mia Farrow and it was such a wise move. What we get is this delightful little adventure movie with the two of them constantly bantering with classic Woody dialogue, "I don't wanna badmouth the kid, but he's a horrible, dishonest, immoral louse. And I say that with all due respect." I feel like Allen is underrated as an actor because people feel he always "plays himself", but I think he's great and always manages to add layers to his characters. Yes, there's the neurotic cynicism in everything he does, but there's always something more (and honestly even if there wasn't I would be fine watching him ramble on forever). In Deconstructing Harry there was the brutally sad undertones of a man who had spent his life trying to find happiness only to find himself alone and lost in his work, but here was a man who had spent his life trying to find happiness for others only to find himself used and abused. As wildly fun as a film like this is, there's also an aspect of it that absolutely breaks my heart.The final act was surprisingly solemn and depressing (although there's the classic smile of an ending), but the film shined brightest when Farrow and Allen were just being wild and bouncing off each other. Farrow was unrecognizable here, for a while I wasn't even sure it was her. Behind large sunglasses and a wild wig, she totally disappears and it's the most fun I've had watching a performance in a while. She is so in control and absorbed in this character, it's a riot. The two of them are tremendous in a wickedly entertaining film that in the end has a lot of heart and something important to say about the industry. Another work of Woody genius.