Annie Hall

I find Woody Allen's comedic style to be incredibly successful, primarily because it is so off the wall and unexpected that it comes off incredibly genuine, and delivers a large punch in the laugh factor. Now, it's obviously in film, so it went through a lot of pre-production and preparation, which means most of his jokes were very well thought out, and thus, not really all that authentic/in the moment as they feel like they are. But yet, Allen still delivers them in such a fresh way as to almost bypass the "pre-production" effect and make them completely 100% genuine. When he breaks the fourth wall, and then the annoying guy behind him also breaks through, that's brilliant. So unexpected, because in a story where somebody breaks the fourth wall, it's usually to get away from the real world, so how can the real world follow him in there? And yet, it's hilarious. Or when we see subtitled words telling what the actors are really thinking underneath what they are actually saying. That's completely unexpected, because it shows the artificiality of the film, and yet it plays off perfectly because it feels so real. Everyone can identify with thinking one thing and saying another, and with awkward flirty conversations that are really just focused on analyzing a person. This genuine-ness that Woody Allen creates really helps his comedy to deliver on all cylinders. When somebody tells you a joke that's funny, it's a lot funnier when you know they came up with it themselves in the moment than if you find out it's somebody else's joke they were just borrowing. There's something about genuine in the moment comedy that just enhances the humor. And I think Allen displays this perfectly, even though it's not really in-the-moment. It just all feels natural. Even getting away from different jokes though, I think the comedy in Annie Hall really is delivered well simply by the brilliant actors. The way lines are delivered, the innocent hilarity in which dialogue is spoken, and even the awkwardness that each actor portrays really sells what it is he is trying to say, and emphasizes just how funny everything is. I found Annie Hall to be a truly hilarious film, and found myself laughing all the way through, because it was just overall brilliantly done, from every aspect. From acting, to writing, and even to camera movement. The cinematography knew how to focus on the exact right thing to deliver funny, and even sometimes the art of less is more. In the scene where they are waiting in line, the camera is one shot the entire time, because it knows it doesn't have to do much to deliver the humor, because it's already being delivered. That kind of restraint is great, and makes the humor hit home that much harder. Woody Allen's Annie Hall fires on all cylinders because Woody Allen's humor style is brilliant.