The one vivid memory I have from this year's Academy Awards ceremony is of Woody Allen standing on stage, delivering the rough equivalent of one of his old stand-up routines…the only non-winner of the evening, by the way, not reading off a TelePrompter. There has been something distant and perhaps a bit numbing to me about his last dozen or so films, at least the ones I've seen. That I haven't run to catch every one, as I once did, is because I started to find them remote — brilliantly made (always) but dealing with people I didn't care about, hashing out issues that did not command my attention. Maybe it's me…no, it's probably me. Nevertheless, it was wonderful to see Woody up there on Oscar night, reminding us who he is and why we first loved him, back when he spoke to us directly. The material was no great shakes but I enjoyed the flashback. Between the dark nature of most of his films and his personal problems, it's been easy to forget that he was and is a very funny man. There are times you get the feeling he's forgotten it, too.
This coming weekend, Turner Classic Movies kicks off a Woody Film Fest — 18 of his movies throughout the month of May. You've seen them all and, like me, probably have a good percentage of them on DVD or tape. I am, however, going to tune in for the premiere of Richard Schickel's new documentary, Woody Allen: A Life in Film. It debuts this Saturday evening, May 4, and reruns May 18.