It Happened One Night

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934) is the prototype for “screwball comedies.” It was the first motion picture to win Oscars in all the major categories, including picture, lead actor and actress, and directing. 

     

The story starts on a yacht in the waters near Miami, Fl., which immediately shows we are dealing with a rich person. Alexander Andrews (Walter Connolly) is the owner of the boat, and he wears a uniform, because that what wealthy people did back then, appearing as if they were official men of the Navy when they just bought their way into looking like military officers. His daughter is Ellie (Claudette Colbert) who is on a hunger strike because her father doesn’t approve of her recent marriage and wants to annul it. The patriarchy is in full bloom here as daddy bullies his daughter, even suggesting force-feeding her, and then indulges in a full meal in front of her just to torture Ellie for her refusal to eat. He even calls her an “idiot,” but she shoots back that it is an inherited characteristic. He says that she does just the opposite of what he advises, but she accuses him of always trying to run her life. Despite his daughter being “over twenty-one,” Andrews tries to feed her like a little girl, and Ellie displays the rebelliousness of a young child against parental authority as she throws a temper tantrum, tossing the food platters. Since she is treated like a child, she acts like one. Ellie jumps overboard and swims away. Andrews orders a private detective agency to search for Ellie because she has run away “again.” What we have here, as was noted in Cool Hand Luke, is failure to communicate.

 Ellie may act like a child, but she is a clever one. Even though there are men staked out at the bus station to catch her, (they doubt the rich girl would travel by such ordinary means), she gets an elderly woman to buy a ticket to New York while she hides. Meanwhile, drunk reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) trades insults with his newspaper boss, Joe Gordon (Charles C. Wilson), who fired him (“peter” is a slang term for the penis, and there will be other sexually suggestive references in the film). We get the feeling that Gordon isn’t too sophisticated since he says Peter’s writing is “Greek” to him (he is not aware of the Shakespearean reference). Peter obviously feels superior to his boss, since he says a story he wrote was in “free verse,” equating his writing to poetry. Gordon hangs up, but to protect his pride, which will be on display later, Peter acts as if he is still on the line and pretends that Gordon wants him back. For show, Peter scorns the man’s make-believe apology. His fellow reporters, listening to Peter’s side of the phone call, label him “the King,” which is an inside reference to Gable’s nickname in Hollywood. 

 

On the bus, Peter throws stacks of newspapers out the window so he can sit down on the last seats available. The image is sort of a metaphor for his being jobless, and reveals his contempt for the profession that doesn’t recognize his talents. His rebellious action echoes Ellie’s tantrum and hints that they may be made for each other. Even though drunk, Peter is witty. When confronted with his action, he says that he doesn’t like sitting on newspapers because he did it once and the print came off allowing people to read his pants. His remark about the words imprinted on his bottom shows more distaste for the state of journalism and the people that follow it. 

 While Peter has the verbal confrontation with the bus driver for tossing the newspapers, Ellie takes his seat. He says to her, “that which you sit on is mine,” which sounds like her ass is his. She realizes the suggestiveness of the line by saying, “I beg your pardon.” Their first exchange is a sexual one, pointing to the chemistry that will develop between them. He squeezes in next to her and when she tries to put her bag up on the rack, the bus pulls out, causing her to fall into his lap. He smiles while she scowls, and so the romantic games have begun. 

 

At a rest stop, Peter sees a thief sneak away with Ellie’s bag. He chases after the guy but doesn’t catch him. She didn’t even notice it was gone and acts rudely toward him when he talks to her when he returns. After he tells her what happened, she doesn’t want to report the crime and will not divulge her name. After she shows no gratitude for his efforts and tells him to leave her alone, his conclusion is that she’s “a spoiled brat,” which seems to be how the public views her. When she gets back on the bus, she refuses to sit next to Peter. Instead she takes a seat next to a large, snoring man who rolls over onto her shoulder. When she attempts to return to her original spot, a supposedly sleeping Peter has taken it over as the two jockey for positional advantage. The awake Peter puts his open hand on the vacant chair, another suggestive gesture, but, of course, she moves his arm. He opens his eyes and wins a staring contest with her, then smiles when she turns away. The games continue.

 When they arrive at a breakfast stop, he is awake, but she has her head on his shoulder and her arm holds onto his jacket. It looks as if she subconsciously sees them as a couple. He lent her his scarf, which adds to the connection. When she wakes up, she is embarrassed, and giggles like a girl, apologizing for her intimate sleeping position. He says he didn’t want to wake her and then complements her by saying she looks “pretty” when she sleeps. She says she has to go to a hotel. She acts privileged when she tells the bus driver to wait for her until she returns. Her current behavior, along with the way she acted before, puzzles Peter, and he, being a reporter, probably is becoming curious about Ellie’s situation.

 

When she returns the bus has left and there will not be another one for twelve hours. Peter is there, too, and she warns him that he shouldn’t make presumptions about anything happening between them. She says she can take care of herself, but he hands her her ticket which she left on the bus seat, which undercuts her claim. He calls her “Miss Andrews,” because he discovered in the newspapers that she is on the run. He says she’ll never be able to escape from her powerful father. Peter also thinks that the man she married, King Westley (Jameson Thomas), an aviator, is a “phony.” (Peter was called “King” by his pals, so we have two monarchs vying for a princess). It is interesting that Ellie married a flyer which suggests a childhood fantasy to want to soar away from reality. Ellie is worried that Peter will give her up to get a reward from her father. She says she will pay him to keep his knowledge of her to himself, and will get him the cash when she arrives in New York. He tells her she thinks she can buy everything, and wouldn’t even think of connecting on a human level by just asking nicely for some help because that would mean she would have to get off her “high horse” and show some “humility.” He then walks off. But his higher ethical stance is a charade. He sends a telegram to Gordon and tells him he has the “scoop” on a big story. 

 

The two get on the next bus but Ellie avoids Peter and instead sits next to Oscar Shapeley (Roscoe Karns), who is quite talkative. He says he likes women that fit his name. Not a subtle person. He smokes a large cigar. Phallic symbols anyone? He comes onto Ellie, of course. Peter approaches the two and says he would like to sit with his wife, causing Shapeley to reel in his suggestive lines and become apologetic. He also finds he dropped his cigar, which could imply a metaphoric castration. Ellie is grateful for another rescue by Peter, who plays it tough by saying he didn’t try to help her, but instead just couldn’t stand hearing Shapeley’s voice. She is all wet from the deluge of rain and he gives her his scarf to keep warm, calls her “Brat,” and notes how she can’t take care of herself. She wants to buy candy, but he says no, and since she only has less than two dollars on her he is putting her on a budget. He is placing restrictions on her that her rich, indulgent father failed to impose. 

 

The bus stops due to flooding ahead so Peter and Ellie share a cabin at a nearby spot. She thinks he has worked the situation to take advantage of her sexually. He strongly denies any romantic intent. He is honest with her about being a reporter and offers to help her get to her husband for the rights to her story. He needs the news article for financial purposes, which is also why they could only afford one dwelling. Therefore, he registered them as husband and wife. If she refuses he tells her he will inform her father of Ellie’s whereabouts. She’s caught between two unappealing choices, and Peter’s is the lesser evil. (Because of his scheming, she notes that he has a brain behind “that face.” Her remark suggests that she finds his looks attractive). 

 

Peter hangs a blanket between their two beds, famously calling it their “walls of Jericho,” although he concedes they are not as strong as their biblical namesake. She is sarcastic by asking if that makes everything proper. He reverses the vulnerability perspective, and says he’s erecting the flimsy barrier for his purposes because he wants his privacy. After giving her a set of his pajamas, she doesn’t immediately go along with the plan by staying on his side of the divider. So, he starts to undress, delivering a humorous discourse on the various ways men take off their clothes, with no two doing it the same. He mentions how one man kept on his hat until last, because he wore a toupee, presumably the actual last piece to remove. She finally goes to her corner of the ring when he is ready to remove his pants. When she undresses she hangs her clothes on the blanket. It’s a sort of obscured striptease. He tells her to remove the clothing, an acknowledgment of his getting aroused. He teases her by singing, “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf,” since the name of the animal was a metaphor for a sexual predator. She asks his name which she hasn’t learned after all this time. When he tells her, she says she doesn’t like it. As a rebuttal, he says “Goodnight, Mrs. Warne.”

 

Today we have “helicopter” parents. In this story, Andrews is an airplane father as he seeks information as to Ellie’s location while on a flight to New York in his personal aircraft. There is a nice segue to Ellie waking up as we hear an airplane soaring above. Peter is already up, dressed, and had Ellie’s clothes pressed. He is that stern paternal presence, telling her if she doesn’t get out of bed, he’ll drag her out. He softens that attitude by complimenting her hair. Her rich girl upbringing hasn’t prepared her for traveling on the cheap, and she is taken aback when Peter tells her she has to go to the communal showers at the site. She doesn’t realize she has to wait in line to get washed. After surprising a woman soaking up, Ellie exchanges tongue-sticking-out behavior with a girl in line, which stresses Ellie’s lack of maturity. 

 Peter prepared a frugal breakfast for them. She does not complain, and is even grateful. She tells Peter that he thinks she is spoiled but she says that would mean that she always got what she wanted. On the contrary, she argues, because she was always told what to do, where to go, and how to be. Her actions were always monitored by nannies, guards, and detectives, who she tried to outwit, like a game. Her lack of privacy suggests that she’s never been given the chance to develop as an individual. He criticizes her for having all that money and not knowing how to dunk a donut. Her response is that she would trade places any day with a plumber’s daughter. This exchange reflects American praise for the lower-class worker and disdain for the snobby elite.

 

Her father’s detectives show up at the cabin and Peter takes her reference to plumbers and uses it as the two improvise an elaborate scenario as an arguing, disheveled rural couple. They get the detectives to leave, and Peter and Ellie have a good laugh as they compliment each other on their acting skills. He says they could travel and call themselves, “The Great Deception,” a critique on the harsh economic times they live in. She offers an alternative title, “Cinderella or a real hot love story,” which reverses the rags-to-riches plot she finds herself in, but also reveals some growing passion between the two. 

 

Neither Gordon’s reporters nor Andrews’s detectives are having any luck finding Ellie. So, Andrews offers a $10,000 reward and has Ellie’s picture placed in newspapers. Shapeley recognizes Ellie from her photo while a traveling band sings “The Man on the Flying Trapeze” on the bus. The song talks about the acrobat stealing the singer’s love interest. Could this song refer to the flashy pilot, Ellie’s husband, King Westley, and how he is Peter’s rival? As she sings along, Ellie is having fun as she travels with regular folks instead of being insulated by her father’s wealth. 

 The bus driver gets carried away joining in on the song and drives the vehicle into the mud. A little boy is crying as his mother passed out as she hasn’t had anything to eat because they spent their money to get to a job in New York. Ellie gives what money they have left to the boy, which at first surprises and upsets Peter, but which leads to admiration for Ellie’s generosity and compassion. While the bus is stuck, Shapeley approaches Peter with a proposition, now that he has read the newspaper story and knows Ellie is not Peter’s wife. He offers to split the reward with him if Peter helps to deliver Ellie to her father. Otherwise, he’ll inform Andrews about what he knows concerning his daughter. Peter pretends to be a gangster seeking a million dollars in ransom for Ellie’s return and tries to recruit Shapeley to help with any gunfire exchanged with the police. When Shapeley backs off out of fear, Peter threatens him and his family if he says anything about Ellie. Shapeley runs off and falls in the mud, mirroring his dirty scheming.

 Peter takes the objecting Ellie away from the bus in case Shapeley does decide to expose them. Peter suggests that Ellie may want to call her dad and have him wire her some money to buy food. But, she vows to continue her quest even if she has to starve, which reflects her resolve to be independent from her father’s domineering power. Peter carries her across a river, and Ellie says she hasn’t ridden piggyback since her father carried her when she was a child. Peter points out that her father didn’t know “beans” about piggybacking, calls her father a “stuffed shirt,” and says, “I never knew a rich man yet who could piggyback ride.” He is voicing more of the movie’s anti-upper-class attitude. When she insists that her father was a great piggybacker, he spanks her on the behind, something we would consider reprehensible today. Given the context of the film and its time, he is administering neglected discipline to a spoiled child. 

 

They continue their journey through the woods until late in the day and Peter pulls down some stacked hay to make beds for them. (Could this act imply that the two would really like a “roll in the hay”?). Ellie complains about being scared and hungry. He reprimands her for her whining. While she lies down she comments how disagreeable he has become and says that he could leave and she would be fine. She is really talking to himself because he left to get some carrots for her to eat. When she realizes he is not there, she undermines her prior courageous words by hysterically calling out for him, afraid he truly has run off. When he returns, Peter tries to comfort her by covering her with his coat, tucking her in like a father would a child. But as he gets closer he is ready to kiss her like a lover and she seems willing. (Surprisingly, the two never kiss in the movie). He pulls back, most likely worried that he may fall for her and she is a married woman.

 

The next day they find a road and Peter says that they will be hitchhiking. As they stop on the side of the roadway he uses a pen knife to cut up some of the carrots he gathered. She says she can’t abide the vegetable, especially for breakfast. She says she wished he could have found something else for her to eat. He will not beg for money or food for her, and writes off her carrot-shunning as another example of her snobby background. (IMDb notes that the film may have influenced the creation of the Bugs Bunny cartoons. In this scene, Peter talks while eating carrots. Earlier, in his conversation with Shapeley, Peter said he worked for a gangster named Bugs Dooley, and some of the other characters may have been the bases for Yosemite Sam and Pepe Le Pew). 

 Peter brags about knowing so much, and says he could write books on men undressing and hitchhiking. What follows is the famous hitchhiking duel between them. He says it’s all in the thumb. A steady one means you really are not needy, a wiggling one with a smile means you have a farmer’s daughter story to share, and then there is the one with a pitiful look and a sweeping arm movement. Ellie’s complimentary commentary, like saying his gestures are “amazing,” is a sarcastic take on how conceited Peter is. His attempts at his various techniques are failures and Ellie comically says on the number of tries, “When you get to a hundred, wake me up.” Peter becomes exasperated and angrily points the thumb in the opposite direction to show his scorn. He abandons his three types of ploys and starts to wave his hat instead as cars speed by. He finally gives up and hilariously flips the drivers the bird. When she says she’ll give it a try, he laughs at her. She ridicules him for thinking he knows “it all,” and says she’ll stop a car and doesn’t have to use her thumb. She goes to the edge of the road and hikes her dress up to the top of her thigh. The approaching male driver jams on his brakes and stops his car. Peter jumps up surprised and stares. Even though by our present-day standards the scene objectifies women, it remains one of the funniest and sexiest shots in movie history.

 

While riding in the car the sharp humor of the film is on display. Ellie says that she proved that, “the limb is mightier than the thumb.” Peter says if she would have taken off all of her clothes she could have “stopped forty cars.” Her quick retort is, “Well. ooo, I’ll remember that when we need forty cars.” The man who gives them the ride (Ernie Adams) stops for something to eat and Ellie wants to get him to buy some food for her. Pater is feeling impotent (double meaning intended) that he couldn’t secure the ride and doesn’t want the driver to be the one to help Ellie. He acts irritated because he isn’t the knight saving the damsel in distress anymore. He does hold her hand and apologizes for being grumpy after they step out of the car. The driver is a thief and drives off with Peter’s suitcase. Peter runs after him and returns driving the man’s car. He has facial bruises and says he gave the guy a black eye and tied him to a tree. In his mind, he has restored his manly standing as her protector. 

 As they drive she cleans the wound on his face to show her gratitude. She is now the nurse, so there are obviously older, stereotypical roles assigned to men and women in the movie. She said she hated carrots but now acquiesces and chews on one, demonstrating her thanks for his getting food for her (given some of the suggestive subtext in the film, the carrot could be considered a phallic symbol and she is now open to him sexually. Or, maybe a carrot is just a carrot). 

 

Andrews meets with the husband, King Westley, and tells him flat out he doesn’t like him, most likely assuming he is just interested in the family fortune. Westley will not agree to an annulment, however. At this point Andrews is only concerned about getting his daughter back safely and says he will not interfere in the marriage if Westley will get the word out to the reporters that she can return to her husband without her father trying to stop her. Ellie reads the news article about the agreement. But she is not in a rush to get back because she is falling in love with Peter. So she insists on stopping for the night. The story he will be writing doesn’t seem to excite him that much now either because he probably will miss her. Peter sets up the “walls of Jericho” again. She wants to know if she will see him in New York, but he says he doesn’t get involved with married women. She asks him about being in love and says that he could make someone “happy.” He admits to having romantic hopes, but with a woman who is vital and exciting. When he talks about wanting to take a woman to an island in the Pacific and how he and this woman would feel part of the cosmos, Ellie stares off, as if joining him in this fantasy. She then goes around the blanket and confesses her love for him, saying she wants to go with him to that island and admitting she couldn’t “live without him.” She sobs and they embrace but he says, “go back to your bed.” He reconsiders and quietly asks if she would really go with him, but she has fallen asleep.

 

Peter decides to leave during the night and trades his belongings to get to New York. He pitches the story to Gordon about Ellie and says the marriage will be annulled and he is going to marry her. He wants a thousand dollars so he has some money, and is not just out to acquire some of hers, before asking her to marry him. Gordon accepts the deal. The motel managers realize Peter is gone and they throw Ellie out. She thinks Peter has abandoned her and she calls her father to come and get her. The father and Westley arrive with a police escort which Peter sees. He is angry with Ellie for giving up on him. He chases after the departing cars, but his own vehicle is breaking down. There is a shot of air going out of a tire which reflects the deflated feeling that Peter is experiencing.

 The newspapers show that Ellie is glad to be home and there is a photo of her holding Westley’s hand. Peter returns the thousand dollars to Gordon, who is sympathetic about Peter’s lost love. Ellie’s marriage to Westley has been planned. There is a warmer side of Andrews now on display as he sees that his daughter is not happy. She begins to cry, and he insightfully realizes that she is in love with another man. Her father wants to get in touch with the man, but she believes she hates her for her spoiled upbringing. When she mentions his name, Andrews reaches for a letter since the name is familiar. He received a communication from Peter about a financial matter involving his daughter. She is now cynical since she thinks his only interest in her was to collect the $10,000 reward. 

 

Andrews calls Peter in for a visit in his study. He probably wants to size up the man who his daughter has fallen in love with. All Peter wants is $39.60 to reimburse him for the expenses he incurred while he was with Ellie. He says it’s a matter of principle because he feels he was used. Andrews sees that Peter isn’t in it for the money and now knows that the two are in love and there was that “failure to communicate” again between them. Andrews keeps asking if Peter loves his daughter. Peter at first says someone would “have to have his head examined” to fall in love with Ellie, but he finally admits he fits the bill, so he must be “screwy.” Peter sees Ellie all dressed up and enjoying a drink as he exits the study, which just angers him more. She snidely asks if he got his money and he says he did, but she doesn’t know it’s a paltry sum. He leaves by saying he doesn’t have the “stomach” to hang around. Andrews is about to tell his daughter what transpired, but she doesn't want to hear it.

 The lavish wedding takes place on the ample grounds of Andrews’s estate. As he marches with her toward the nuptials, Ellie’s father finally is able to tell her how Peter didn’t want any reward, just payment for the expenses, and that Peter felt cheated. Andrews thinks Peter is an okay guy and tells her that Peter said he loved Ellie. Dad says it would make him happy if she was with the man she loves. The opulence of the ceremony contrasts with Peter’s pedestrian life and the journey they were on where she learned more about life and herself than what she knew in her wealthy cocoon. Ellie pulls a runaway bride (no Julia Roberts in sight) as the vows are read and drives off.

 

Andrews pays Westley $100,000 to not contest the marriage annulment. There is a message from Peter that says those “walls of Jericho” are toppling. The couple were married and are in a cabin like before. Interestingly, we don’t see them together. To the movie’s credit there is no sentimental ending. There are only the proprietors saying Peter and Ellie wanted a trumpet and a rope to hang a blanket. There is then the sound of the trumpet that heralds the walls of Jericho falling, and there is the image of the blanket coming down. The wall separating these two from different socio-economic worlds dissolves. The film seems to be saying that love can unite us.

The next film is Reservoir Dogs.

Manhattan

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

In Manhattan (1979), Woody Allen, who stars, co-wrote, and directed the film, shows his love for the New York City island through the movie’s cinematography, courtesy of Gordon Willis, and the soundtrack. But, the story shows romance between individuals to be an elusive, incomprehensible, and sometimes heartbreaking experience.

 

The film is in black and white which suggests an imagined as opposed to realistic view of the city and its inhabitants. It opens with shots of the Manhattan skyline and throughout the movie there are many images of famous New York City locales which provide a definite sense of the setting. The opening music is from George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue,” which starts slow and breezy, like walkers on the street, and then soars as do the city’s skyscrapers. Allen doesn’t want to spoil the mood with credits so he announces the title of his movie with a blinking building sign that reads “Manhattan.” A voice-over from Isaac (Allen), a successful television writer (Allen’s old job), shows him struggling to capture in words what he feels for this place that enthralls him. But his narration reveals that he “over romanticizes” almost everything, which means that nothing can live up to his fantasies. His complaint about those unappealing aspects of the city, such as the garbage and the drug usage, reveals him to be someone who would rather live in an idealized nostalgic past than in the here and now. As the music reaches its crescendo, it is matched visually with fireworks exploding over the lit buildings at night.

 

Isaac is having dinner with his girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemmingway). Now this is the uncomfortable part, because he is forty-two years old and she is seventeen and goes to high school. But, within the context of the film the age difference is ironic, because she acts more mature than he does. In addition, her youth symbolizes for him a romantic ideal unspoiled by life’s corruptions. But, Isaac is also very aware of the age difference and goes through the story feeling guilty about her youth instead of really seeing her intrinsic worth. They are at the noted eatery, Elaine’s, with Isaac’s friend, Yale (Michael Murphy) (His name communicates northeastern intellectualism), and his wife, Emily (Anne Byrne Hoffman). Yale is waxing on about how art helps to enlighten a person as to how to “get in touch” with one’s feelings. Isaac says that artistic “talent is luck. The important thing in life is courage.” He asks if any of them would jump into icy water to save a drowning man. He jokingly says he’s off the hook because he can’t swim. It is an interesting statement since the rest of the story shows Isaac to be a coward when it comes to emotional commitment. This inability to maturely connect in a relationship is reflected in the fact that Isaac has two failed marriages. His second wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), is writing a book about their union. The movie is intolerant of tell-all books that invade people’s privacy.

 

As Isaac and Yale walk ahead of the women, Yale admits that he has become seriously involved in the prior two months with someone else, a female journalist named Mary (Diane Keaton), and doesn’t know how to proceed. He admits to having a couple of earlier flirtations, and yet he says how much he loves his wife. Yale obviously is another clueless male trying to navigate the romantic road without a sense of direction. At least Isaac knows he is not the one to ask for advice on the subject. He says when it comes to relationships he is “the winner of the August Strindberg award,” a literary reference to the dramatist who was a misogynist. It is a funny line, but does not paint Isaac as someone who truly values women.

 

At home, Emily asks Yale if he has given more thought to having children, which is a normal question for a serious couple to consider. But, the immature Yale says, “Oh, my God. Kids,” like it’s an unreasonable topic for discussion. He then comes up with selfish excuses not to be a parent, such as getting a book finished and acquiring money to start up a magazine. She mentions their plan to move to Connecticut, but he says all of his “stuff” is there in New York. He sounds like a child who doesn't want to put away his toys. He goes so far as to say he can’t “abandon” Isaac, as if he's a playground pal who can’t function without his childhood friend.

 Isaac confronts his ex-wife Jill about her book. He argues how revealing details about what should be left behind closed doors would be humiliating if disclosed in public. She is humorless and says it is “an honest account of their breakup.” Although some may say that public figures, such as Isaac, known for his writing, are subject to different rules than the rest of the population. But, the film argues that despite invoking honesty as the justification to disclose information to the public, there are private topics that nobody has a right to know. From today’s viewpoint, Isaac’s sarcastic question asking whether his son is playing baseball or “wearing a dress” seems intolerant. Jill is now in a lesbian relationship and Isaac obviously subscribes to outmoded notions of sexual orientation. His stance is that Jill acted as an “immoral, psychotic, promiscuous” person. Obviously, Jill’s idea of honesty differs from that of Isaac, raising the question as to how objective are the types of books told from one person’s perspective.

 

In Isaac’s dark and spacious apartment (Roger Ebert notes in The Great Movies that the shot shows how empty Isaac’s life really is), Isaac keeps telling Tracy, who confesses her love for him, that he is just a “detour” on her life’s road. She says she has had three intimate relationships at her young age and found those boys too immature for her. He is giving her sound advice about not focusing on him. But, he has fostered the relationship, selfishly using her emotional and physical closeness while also attempting to distance her. 

Despite their age difference, Tracy and Isaac agree on what they appreciate, such as movies and art. At a museum they meet Yale and the woman he has been seeing, Mary, who completely disagrees with Isaac about which exhibits are praiseworthy. Mary is pretentious as she says a piece of sculpture has “a marvelous kind of negative capability.” That phrase comes from an observation by John Keats about the works of William Shakespeare. She continues to flaunt her intellectualism by talking about writing for a literary periodical. When she asks what Tracy does, the unapologetic, unassuming young woman says, “I go to high school.” Mary’s esoteric comment, “Somewhere Nabokov is smiling,” makes a reference to the writer’s Lolita which dealt with an older man’s obsession with a young girl. Yale adds to the condescension by placing people such as Gustave Mahler, Isak Dinesen, Carl Yung, Lenny Bruce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Norman Mailer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Allen’s favorite director, Ingmar Bergman, in the “Academy of the Overrated.” Allen punctures their elitist attitude by saying that all these figures are “terrific,” and says why not throw in Mozart since they are “trashing” people. Obviously, Allen is well read, but he has contempt for those who broadcast their knowledge in a snobbish, and sometimes inaccurate, manner. In contrast to Mary’s self-important proclamations, Isaac and Tracy do the needed mundane activity of shopping. Isaac tells Tracy that Yale is a sucker for women like Mary, which doesn’t say much for Yale. This film may be one of Allen’s most conservative movies, as he tells Tracy he doesn’t believe in extra-marital affairs. He says, “I think people should mate for life, like pigeons and Catholics.” 

 

While showing contempt for “pseudo-intellectual” types, Isaac also can’t tolerate the dumbing down of society by way of the TV programs that are sort of circus sideshows that he has become involved in. One of them is comically entitled, “Human Beings - Wow.” One episode exploits an affliction for supposedly humorous entertainment by featuring a catatonic woman. Isaac loudly argues against this type of so-called comedy, saying it is not funny. He says, “standards have been lowered over the years,” and have now reached a nadir. One of the men in the production booth tells him to calm down by taking a Quaalude. Again, we have a reactionary response, in this case to drug usage. Isaac tells the young people there that they think the material they are programming is funny because of all the drugs they are taking. He says to them, “you should abandon the show and open a pharmaceutical house.” He has the strength of his convictions here, and quits. Upon reflection, his pragmatic side surfaces and he complains to Yale that he will have to cut back on the expenses that allow him to enjoy all of the cultural perks that Manhattan has to offer. But, he hopes his book will eventually come out (the one he was dictating at the beginning of the movie).

 

At a dedication at the Museum of Modern Art Isaac again encounters Mary. We once more see Isaac’s no-nonsense approach compared to the mental over-analyzing, and thus passive, manner of other New Yorkers. He mentions about a Nazi march that is scheduled to occur in New Jersey. He urges that they have to get some people together with “some bricks and baseball bats and explain things to ‘em.” One man there says there was a “devastating satirical piece” on this event in the New York Times. For Isaac, that approach of retaliation is like bringing a rolled-up newspaper to a gunfight. He counters with, “bricks get right to the point,” and “physical force is better with Nazis.” One man, Dennis (Michael O'Donoghue, who used to write for Saturday Night Live), changes the topic by saying they were talking about “orgasms.” One woman there says she finally had an orgasm but her doctor told her it was “the wrong kind.” Isaac leans backwards in surprise and he looks sideways at the woman as if she is from another planet. He says, “I’ve never had the wrong kind. Ever.” The movie satirizes these New Yorkers who overthink everything to the point of sabotaging their own pleasure.

Isaac and Mary share a cab ride and Isaac comments that her friends are like characters out of a Fellini movie, implying they resemble the filmmaker’s portrayal of grotesque individuals. Mary says she divorced her husband, Jeremiah, because she “was tired of submerging my identity to a brilliant, dominating man.” She says he was a “genius,” which is the way she describes many people. Isaac continues to ground the discussion by saying instead of listening to all these geniuses, she should “meet some stupid people. You could learn something.” She says that he is probably with a young girl because she is less threatening, given his experience, than being with a more mature woman. When he questions her cold analytical assessment, she says she is “honest.” But again, as with Jill’s book, honesty not tempered with compassion can be destructive. Mary says, according to what she has read, since she does not have experiential knowledge, that his son should be fine being raised by two mothers. His funny response is, “Really? Because I feel very few people survive one mother.” 

 

The music in the movie is from classic romantic ballads that stress the hardships of relationships. He asks if she is serious about Yale, perhaps because he is now becoming interested in her. The two start to get to know each other and Mary begins to appreciate Isaac’s humorous side. She still over-analyzes things, saying her dachshund is a penis substitute. She asks about his book which he says is about “decaying values,” which has already been stressed in the movie thus far. The iconic shot from the film shows them in a moody, romantic black and gray image sitting on a bench next to a bridge, possibly suggesting attempts by people to connect with each other. 

 

Isaac is now openly disappointed after talking to Yale on the phone and hearing that he is still interested in Mary. She and Yale are out shopping and the two of them show ambivalent feelings toward each other which mirror Isaac’s attitude about Tracy. Mary questions being with a married man and says she doesn’t want to break up a marriage when he offers to move out of his home. She concludes she should look for someone single, and, like Isaac, seems to want old fashioned “values like warmth and spiritual contact.” But, just like Isaac and Yale, she gives into her selfishness by agreeing to go to a hotel with Yale. 

 

Isaac goes to pick up his son and hostility is apparent when he encounters Jill and her girlfriend, Connie (Karen Kudwig). When the latter says that his son is a talented drawer, like herself, he implies that since she can’t be the father, the ability is not inherited. Alone, he tells Jill how he can’t understand why she would prefer Connie over him. But, he is in denial because she notes that he knew she had a “history,” most likely of gay feelings that he would not accept. He comically says his analyst warned him about Jill, but she was too beautiful so he got another analyst. He still is very upset about the book, and their differing interpretations of events continues. She says she hopes that they can just be friends, but how can that be a realistic desire given that she wants to reveal all of their problems to the scrutiny of others. Here we have more ways that relationships can be minefields.

 

Isaac wants to inject traditional masculine attributes into his son’s upbringing, which he sees as being in jeopardy in Jill’s household. But, it may be that he is needlessly projecting his own feelings of inadequacy onto the situation. He takes his boy, Willie (Damion Scheller), out to play basketball. They then go to dinner and Isaac jokes about how there are beautiful women in the restaurant and if Willie applies himself they could pick up a couple of them. Given the young age of the boy, it is a funny scene, but it also shows how absurdly worried Isaac is about how the lesbian couple’s influence affects his son. 

 

After not being able to get Yale to go for a Sunday walk because of his family commitments, the lonely Mary calls Isaac to take a stroll. They get caught in a storm and seek shelter at a planetarium with a reproduction of a moonscape that they explore. The black and white photography is put to evocative use here as the two walk in and out of shadows. The moon is invoked often in love poetry and song lyrics, so the setting is appropriate. But, the moon is also associated with madness (as in the word “lunacy”), suggesting that falling in love is an irrational, sometimes crazy occurrence. Lovers may also feel as if they are trying to transverse alien terrain because of how difficult it is to find the path to intimacy. Mary loosens up with Isaac, laughing about his drenched appearance. It’s as if the rain washed away her standoffish intellectualism. She admits that her ex-husband, Jeremiah, cheated on her, another example of a failed relationship. She confesses to feeling inadequate mentally and physically with her ex, which helps us understand her posturing as a defense mechanism. She talks about how Jeremiah opened her up sexually, and notes, “Women found him devastating.” We later see him, and her comments about Jeremiah set us up to encounter a specific male type. As she automatically tries to recite Saturn’s moons, Isaac gently dismisses her overachieving intellectual attempt by telling her the topic will not come up in normal conversation. He also says, “The brain is the most overrated organ,” as he pushes the emphasis on the importance of the physical aspect of humans, which includes intimacy. Even though he is attracted to Mary, he makes excuses when she wants to meet up again. He is trying to live by a code that means he should not get involved with a woman his friend is seeing. 

 

Tracy informs Isaac that she has been accepted into a performing arts program in London, but she wants him to go to England with her. He jokes his way out of the suggestion, not wanting to confront her concerns about a separation. She complains he doesn’t take her seriously because of her age, and she is correct. He urges her to attend, which will relieve him of the burden of eventually breaking up with her. She gets him to go on a horse and buggy ride around Manhattan, and he marvels about how she wants to do this “corny” thing. She is surprisingly more old-fashioned than he is when it comes to romance, and therefore, she seems like the more mature soul. He does care for her very much, and says that in the Bible, Job would have been okay with God’s torments if he saw that he could make someone as wonderful as Tracy.

 

This sweet scene contrasts with a contentious discussion between Yale and Mary where she argues more with herself about getting involved with a married man. She declares that she deserves better, but when Yale suggests again taking action to leave Emily, she still does not want to be blamed for breaking up a marriage. She, like Isaac, is looking for a way out despite having voluntarily put herself in a no-win situation. Later, Yale finally breaks it off with her, saying he has to think about Emily and he’s not sure if he and Mary would make it in the long run. She knows it’s for the best, but she became emotionally invested, and it still hurts. She tries to shore up her confidence for the future by saying she has a great deal going for her because she is smart and pretty, but her true insecurity breaks through as she says, “I’m all fucked up. I’m just shit!” Mary seeks solace by reaching out to Isaac, who listens to her complaint about Yale leading her on. Isaac tries to defend Yale, but he is really defending himself because he is doing the same with Tracy. 

 

The romanticism of the carriage ride gives way to Isaac using complaints about the noises and brown water in his new, more economical apartment to avoid speaking honestly to Tracy about what is going to happen to them. She wants to divert him by being sexually adventurous, and he is torn because he desires her but also is shocked by the sensuality in someone so young. He again sets up his exit strategy by saying that after she goes to London she’ll think of him, “as a fond memory.” But, he does not consider how much he is hurting her by continuing to be a couple and satisfying his desires. The thing is, Isaac and Tracy are very compatible despite the difference in their ages. They eat Chinese food in bed while watching a movie, like a comfortable married couple. They critique characters on a show who wear a wig and had facelifts, and agree that older faces are interesting. She is thrilled that there will be a W. C. Fields film to see, which shows her as being well-rounded beyond her years.

 

Yale tells Isaac that he feels good about himself now that he broke it off with Mary since he is not one for having affairs, all evidence to the contrary. He easily promotes the idea that Isaac should now date Mary, showing his waffling emotions. Isaac, getting his friend’s blessing, dates Mary, who does warn him that she is messed up psychologically, so she is “trouble.” He laughs it off by saying that his middle name is “trouble,” but then humorously says it really is “Mortimer,” not wanting to see any red flags as they begin to get physical. 

 

Isaac is outside Tracy’s school, almost uncomfortably looking like a parent waiting for his child. She bought him a harmonica because he talked about wanting to learn how to play it. She says, “I’m trying to open up that side of you.” She wants to expand Isaac’s possibilities. Out of the main characters, she is the most generous, the most grown up. But he is now seeing Mary, and says she is wasting her affection on him. He says that they should stop being a couple. She says she loves him, but he sums up the confusing world of romance by saying when it comes to love, “nobody out there knows what the hell is going on.” Her response is, “We have laughs together. I care about you. Your concerns are my concerns. We have great sex.” The film suggests that she understands more than the older Isaac does about what constitutes love. When she asks him if he loves her, he says he loves someone else who he has been seeing. Her understated, “Gee, now I don’t feel so good,” is heartbreaking as she realizes, despite his continued warning about the temporary nature of their “fling,” that Isaac has actually been cheating on her. She rightly confronts his hypocrisy by telling him that he acts like their ending things is to her advantage when he’s the one who wants to terminate their relationship. He is condescending when he says he encouraged her to go out with guys named “Biff” and “Scooter,” underestimating her maturity. Tracy’s sadness is palpable as she cries and asks him to leave her alone, since Isaac’s attempt at consoling her after he has hurt her just adds to her pain.

 

Isaac and Mary see more of each other as they take rides to the country and wander around New York City. A funny shot shows the two of them in a rowboat in the lake in Central Park. Isaac puts his hand in the water and when he pulls it out it is covered in thick, dark slime. Even though it is humorous, it is consistent with the opening lines of the film and the theme of Isaac’s book about how the city he loves is beginning to decay. 

 

Emily tells Isaac she doesn’t understand why he hasn't brought the girl he is dating around to see her and Yale. Mary says she’s fine with getting together, and Yale gives his okay. But, the meeting is unavoidably awkward as Yale and Mary pretend that they haven’t met before, and Mary now meets Yale’s wife. When they go to a classical music concert, Mary sits next to Yale and the two of them fidget as Isaac appears jealous as he keeps leaning forward to ensure the former couple are not touching.

While shopping, Mary’s ex, Jeremiah (Wallace Shawn), approaches her and Isaac. All of us who love movies and TV know the talented Shawn, and he is a short, balding man. His character also lost a great deal of weight according to Mary which adds to the depiction of a person who would not be considered by many as very attractive. Isaac is astounded because by the way Mary described him as this sexually empowered male who dominated women, Isaac thought the man would be the traditional tall, dark and handsome fellow. It is a funny twist on stereotypical expectations, and it also shows how there is a great deal of value placed on appearance alone, as it points to Isaac’s, and probably the audience’s, limited perception of a person’s worth.

 

As they do their respective writing in different rooms, Isaac chastises Mary for working on a novelization of a movie, another form of lowered standards that he sees devaluing society. As they work, Yale calls Mary, saying he misses her, but she resists agreeing to see him. Yale buys a car because he says he had to have it, sounding like a little boy who wants a new toy. He seems to act the same way when it comes to women. The two couples go for a ride in the vehicle. There are several shots of the characters riding in cars in the film, possibly implying metaphorically that they are always going somewhere, but not really arriving at a satisfying destination. 

 

On their day trip they pass a bookshop and Jill’s book is in the window. They buy a copy and as Mary reads from it, Isaac exhibits painful humiliation as Jill describes how much better the sexual experience was with a woman than with her husband. She also uses unflattering words to describe Isaac, including calling him chauvinistic, paranoid, and despairing. Although an invasion of privacy, her assessment of Isaac is not without merit. He confronts Jill, who keeps saying she wrote honestly, but she did profit off of his name by exploiting what transpired in a personal relationship. She bangs in the last nail in the coffin when she says that she has received interest in making the book into a movie.

 

To add to Isaac’s misery, Mary tells him that she thinks she is still in love with Yale. She says that Yale wants to leave Emily so that he and Mary can live together. Her admission comes under the category of what goes around comes around for Isaac. She is dumping Isaac after he dumped Tracy for Mary. He is stunned, but he is able to analyze Mary’s situation with Yale. He notes Yale has been married for twelve years and will return to his wife, and Mary is a runner who when she feels “secure” will not believe that impression and will leave Yale. He says he gives the reunion four weeks. Mary says she “can’t plan that far in advance.” It is a funny statement but stresses the fragility of modern love. 

 

Isaac confronts Yale where he teaches. They go into a biology classroom where there are skeletons of a gorilla and humans. Isaac yells at Yale and wonders why his friend introduced Mary to him in the first place. He says now they both like her, but Yale says, “I liked her first.” Isaac points out the immaturity of the statement, and thus the persistent childish level of the grown male, when he says, “What are you, six years old?” Isaac is sarcastic about Yale’s lack of an emotional anchor when he says, “You can still change your mind one more time before dinner.” He continues to indict Yale, telling him he is “too easy” on himself when he says he’s not “a saint” for seeing Mary behind Isaac’s back. Isaac says Yale rationalizes away his flaws and is thus not honest with himself. But, Isaac is also angry at himself for some of the same behavior he showed toward Tracy. He emphasizes Yale’s adolescent behavior by his preferring to buy a sports car instead of putting in the work to write his much-delayed book. Isaac sees this lack of ethical behavior may start small but leads to being, “in front of a Senate committee naming names,” a reference to the Communist witch hunts during the McCarthy era. As to Yale’s accusation that Isaac is being God-like in his self-righteousness, Isaac says, “I gotta model myself after someone,” which means people should live up to the high standards of morality they set for themselves. He worries about “what future generations” will say about their elder’s lives if they act irresponsibly. Isaac points to the skeleton he is next to and says that is what is going to happen to all of them, and the only legacy left behind is “personal integrity.” So, it’s important to him that when he is dead, “I’m well thought of.” 

 

To possibly put into practice what he preaches, Isaac begins to apply himself to writing his book and spending quality time with his son. He meets with Emily and she says she knew about some affairs Yale had in the past but thought there had to be compromises in a marriage. But, Isaac’s sense of morality causes him to say he can’t compromise. He admits that in hindsight he really blew it by leaving Tracy as he felt the best when with her. She even left a message for him once that the film Grand Illusion was going to be shown on TV, which shows how she still cared to let him know about one of his favorite movies. 

He is dictating ideas for a story about people in Manhattan who create “unnecessary, neurotic problems,” so they don’t have to confront “more unsolvable, terrifying problems,” concerning “the universe.” These notes point to how humans are limited creatures who find it frustratingly impossible to deal with their inability to understand the total nature of existence. But, he wants to include some optimism, so he asks, given our finite abilities, what makes life worth living. He makes a list, which includes, Groucho Marx, Willie Mays (who his son is named after), a Louis Armstrong recording, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Swedish movies, works by Cezanne and Flaubert, and “Tracy’s face.” With that last item, he stops and picks up the harmonica she gave him, which symbolizes her putting him first in the relationship. 

 As at the ending of most romantic comedies, one person runs to reconnect with the other. Isaac does so here, trying to rectify his mistake for leaving Tracy. He finds her loading her luggage onto a limo, ready to leave for London. She combs her hair and she almost looks like a young Ingrid Bergman waiting for that plane to take her away from Casablanca. He admits to being wrong for leaving her, but all the arrangements have been made and her parents are looking for a place for her to live in England. He now admits to being in love with her. She says if they truly love each other, her being away for six months will not change anything. He is afraid that much time will change her, having those experiences and meeting people that he once encouraged. She assures him that, “Not everybody gets corrupted.” She adds that he has to have a little “faith in people.” Allen shows he can act as his face reflects uncertainty by looking away, and then offers a sliver of optimism with a slight smile. 

 

The film seems to ask if idealistic love can survive in a morally compromised world that doesn’t comprehend what constitutes true affection for another.

The next film is Gimme Shelter.