“At five or so, I became aware of mortality and figured, uh-oh, this is not what I signed on for. I had never agreed to be finite.” – from Apropos Of Nothing

I love Woody Allen. Ever since the seventies when I saw his “early, funny films”. And through out the years (and films) until today and after that I’m sure. I’ve seen all the films save for one of two, many of them multiple times, and I feel strongly that he is the best, most interesting, and most entertaining director and writer in films today. If you agree you can leave a comment below this review. If not, you can leave a comment on that old mailbox outside your door and down the street. Oh, wait, they took that out. Too bad. Now read the rest of the review…

Woody has won multiple Oscars and Golden Globes, and has been Oscar-nominated a whopping 24 times. That doesn’t happen by chance. Besides his huge talent for writing and directing, he has helped scores of actors and other film industry types get nominated and win Oscars of their own. And yet throughout this book he says he has never made a great film. He might have come close a few times, he says. He gives his opinions on almost all of the films, but he’s very hard on himself. You don’t get all those awards and nominations unless you are doing something right. He’s his own toughest critic. But he’s made a lot of brilliant movies and his body of work is respected by other directors, actors, and writers.

“I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” (not from the book)

His recently published memoir, Apropos Of Nothing, keeps up his high standard of quality. I laughed out loud and smiled often at his humorous way with words. If you have read his fiction books you know he is a clever and funny writer. But here it’s all about his life and what a life he has led. The first half of the book is especially riveting and entertaining, In the second half it’s still a great read, although he understandably spends some time defending himself against the bogus “abuse” charges leveled at him by his daughter Dylan. Even after two separate investigations cleared him and said that the incident likely didn’t even happen. Even after workers in the home testified that Dylan was coached by her mother Mia, angry about the breakup of her relationship with Woody. Even after other family members who were there when the alleged incident (didn’t) take place testified that nothing happened. Even after all that he gets treated like crap by a few actors and his ex-distributor. Of course he should tell the truth and let people know. Anyway, the book and the writing are rich and honest, and fans of his movies will instantly know and love the character the writes about. Woody on Woody.

At 84, he says, “My life is almost half over”

But back to the humor. Seriously, I don’t think anyone could read the book without chuckling (or laughing out loud) at his descriptions of his parents and his upbringing, which is covered in detail. He discusses his infatuation with magic, his writings for others and then for himself, and his films, although I wanted a little more about each film. I’m greedy that way! But there are other books for that. This one gives a lot of information about his growing up, though the formative years, the early successes (or not), the standup comic, and the women in his life. And the movies of course! The books reads fairly quickly, but I’d suggest slowing down and savoring his prose. He is a unique character and deserves to be celebrated. He will be celebrated here, have no doubt about that.

Did you read this book? Leave me a comment below…

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