As Good As It Gets

Absolutely the worst movie.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Blistering performances.

Woody Allen acts in a film that he did not direct. While he did this early in his career, at this stage it was unusual. I imagine this was an opportunity to tell Hollywood off for what it did during the McCarthy era (see "Trumbo" if you get a chance). Woody's character is a kind of ghost writer, a "Front." He assists blacklisted writers in getting their work produced. They have been labeled communists. He works away, successfully, but then his integrity works its way into his being. What can he do stop this without sacrificing his work. There were these "Fronts" around and it allowed Hollywood not to stagnate any further. This film has an incredibly fine conclusion. This movie caught me by surprise.

Review: Out of all of the Woody Allen movies that I have seen to date, this is the best acting that I have seen from him. There's none of those annoying one liners or the usual focus on a troubled relationships. Maybe that's because it wasn't written and directed by Woody Allen, which proves that he can put in a better performance when he isn't behind the camera. The movie is based around the time when communists were getting black listed in Hollywood which meant that people wasn't able to get there scripts read by studios. This is when Allen comes in, and works as the perfect cover for the out of work writers. Although this film was released in the 70's, it's still watchable and enjoyable for this day and age. Round-Up: I have finally found a straight laced Woody Allen movie which I didn't find annoying! It just happens to be one that he hasn't written or directed and he isn't constantly getting his leg over during the movie. I liked the performance from Zero Mostel, who starred in a lot of Gene Wilder movies like the Producers and I liked the fact that the director brought tension to the whole difficult situation. In all, this is a better side to Woody Allen's acting which wasn't as big as Manhattan or Annie Hall, but it is just as good.I recommend this movie to people who are into there dramas about a group of writers who get black listed from Hollywood during the communist period. 6/10

Why would I start with that? I always believe that the person who wants to be a hero, looking for glory and fame is a sad joke of a human being while the person who keeps their head down is the one really meant for the job to save the day. The dichotomy's explored, quirky and dramatically frank, in "The Front", a satirical "up yours" to McCarthyism and those who supported it by those who were victims, and the first Hollywood film to handle the subject.The idea of Communism is unpopular in the 1950s. Anyone who has (or had) anything to do with it was blacklisted (forbidden to work), hurting people of all walk of life, especially those in the entertainment industry. One victim is Alfred Miller (Mike Murphy of "M.A.S.H.: The Movie" and "Tanner '88"), a TV scribe who got sacked from the NBC dramatic anthology series "Grand Central". Facing family responsibilities and an ulcer, Miller approaches the tale's unlikely "hero" to a be a front: bar cashier, low-level bookie and high school chum Howard Prince (comic mastermind Woody Allen, who was a year away from getting props for creating "Annie Hall" at the time).The deal: Miller types the scripts; Prince puts a "face" on them and gets 10% of the pay. Prince takes the deal since he's in debt, especially with his responsible brother, and all the accolades, fame and money comes rolling in. He also "fronts" for Miller's fellow scribes, also banned from working. He even gets "the girl", specifically blue-blood Florence Barrett (Andrea Marcovicci), the show's socially-conscious story editor. The snag, however, comes in the form of Hecky Brown (a great Zero Mostel of "The Producers", his last film here), a vaudevillian comic who also got sacked from hosting "GC". Desperate to appease a cold-hearted Communist-hunting bureaucrat (Remak Ramsey) and get back to make a living, Brown gets close to Prince to see if he's "red" or not. Through it all, Prince, a born loser, refuses to let go on the ball, not knowing the jig is up.During the film's release, some critics have decried the film for being a soft touch against a serious subject, but director Martin Ritt ("Hud", "Norma Rae") and scribe Walt Bernstein ("The Magnificent Seven", "The Molly Maguires" with Ritt as director, and "Semi-Tough") should be given a break since they were both blacklisted themselves. "The Front" is vodka with mixed orange juice, thanks to Walt's sharp Oscar-nominated script and Ritt's steady, old-school TV direction. Mr. Allen, with his signature dry wit, accents the drink. As Prince, he's a happy-go-lucky, pseudo-intellectual who hurls spitballs at conventionalism, yet he doesn't realize that everyone's responsible for their fellow man. Sure, we can cheer him when he's on top. We can even chuckle when he relies on Miller to do a quick rewrite on a script or when he ignored by a "tootsie" when he discloses his "profession" to her. However, this story Prince is in is historical. Miller, post-surgery, notes to him that, unlike previous scams, there is no "out" when the curtains close.Reflecting his own experience with the blacklist and echoing the demise of fellow actor Phillip Loeb (the sitcom, "The Goldbergs") in the role, Mr. Mostel's really in the dark. He looks for a way out, but it's way too late. The powers-that-be are voluntarily deaf to his penance pleas, let alone ribald humor. A Catskills hotel owner financially stiffs him, after a successful mercy gig. Even the wife of a TV executive is forbidden to talk to him in a bar, all because he got "friendly" with a cute Communist girl he met at a International Workers parade some years ago. Mr. Mostel's Brown is subtlety jealous of Allen's Prince, but, seeing that he has become like his oppressors, warns him: "Take care of yourself. The water is filled with sharks". Why didn't Mr. Mostel get Oscar-nominated for this role is a wonder.Though she might not come off as strongly vigorous, Ms. Marcovicci's fine in a role that shows how women, despite being in a high-level position, were supposed to act, pre-Gloria Steinhem. When she and Mr. Allen are together, you know they work because they're too smart for a world filled with conformists and jingoists. Mr. Murphy's durable as the pal in a jam who inadvertently puts his friend in a jam, creating an infant terrible in the process. He loses it, during a lunch meet, when Prince critiques one of his friend's scripts.Along with Mostel, Ritt and Bernstein, the production has other blacklisted talent. Herschel Bernardi is a TV showrunner who's in the crosshairs of his elite bosses and money-minded, small-time sponsors; Joshua Shelly is the aforementioned hotel owner who carelessly stiffs Hecky and Lloyd Gough is another blacklisted scribe. Look out for Danny Aiello ("Do The Right Thing", Allen's "Radio Days") as a fruit stand vendor. Cinematographer Mike Chapman ("Taxi Driver") captures 1950s NYC in contained shots, reflecting the pressure McCarthyism has put on its' victims.No matter what political belief you may have, it's insidious to use the law to harass, let alone prosecute those who differently from the status quo to the point where they can't make a living. With ruined careers and destroyed lives in its wake, McCarthyism is indefensible and those who try to defend it are nothing more than certifiable. Even in its debut in 1976 (a time capsule within a time capsule), "The Front" does regard those who uphold the scandalous "ism" as certifiable, and Mr. Allen, in front of an investigation committee, tell them what to do with themselves in a profane way. Don't be surprised if you clap and cheer.

As Easily Digested Entertainment this Movie Succeeds. On the Damage that the Communist Witch Hunts caused to People's Lives simply because of Ideology and Political Beliefs it seems Reluctant to be more than a Headline. After all, the Spying and Suppression by the Committee and its Government Supporters was completely Unacceptable and Intolerable if we support Americans Rights and Individual Freedoms.The Blacklist was not "official". But, being Unofficial did Not Do Anything to Lessen the Pain and Suffering it caused. People did go to Jail and Careers were Destroyed for "not cooperating" with the "inquisition".So, although Commendable for its Willingness to Approach this as a Mainstream Movie, it Lacks the Conviction and Condemnation Deserving this Embarrassing period in History. It Points the Finger but the Smoking Gun seems Elusive or Ethereal. Note...See the excellent..."Good Night and Good Luck" (2005).