I have always found Woody Allen's more high brow style of humor refreshing in a industry where each new year brings its crop of toilet bowl humor. In spite of Allen's obsession with prostitutes and porn, he manages to make the lives of his intelligent, but neurotic and dysfunctional characters largely interesting. Here, he takes a "common man;" a product tester named Fielding Mellish and transforms him into the dictator of a Latin American country. However, the concept turns out funnier than the actual delivery. Before seeing this movie, I thought of films like "The Mouse that Roared," "The Great Dictator," or "Dr. Strangelove," which take the ideas of war, and/or dictatorships (both normally very serious subjects) and make them hilarious.
However, Allen's film never reaches the comedic heights of these other films. First he opens with a confusing scene in which ABC Wide World of Sports covers the assassination of the president of San Marcos. Next we see Fielding at work in a scene that looks like a tribute to Charlie Chaplin's chaotic scene in "Modern Times," in which he is made to carry out multiple tasks at the same time, but with less comedic impact than in Chaplin's scene (where Chaplin is even fed while working on an assembly line). Bored and without love in his life, Fielding goes home to his lonely little apartment, and is soon visited by Nancy, an political activist collecting signature for a petition. In order to get her in bed, Fielding convinces Nancy that he agrees with her about her support for the guerrillas fighting the dictatorship of San Marcos, and takes part in a series of demonstrations. After Nancy dumps him because "there is something missing" in their relationship, Fielding flies to San Marcos, where he fights with the rebels.
When the rebels win the war, they name him the new dictator. Fielding then makes a state trip to the U.S. and encounters a smitten Nancy (who not recognizing him, badmouths Fielding). The U.S. Government soon realizes that Fielding is a U.S. citizen, so they put him on trial for trying to sabotage the U.S. Government (or something like that). One of the somewhat humorous moments of the movie is the courtroom scene where Fielding acts both as his own attorney and as a witness for himself. Once that whole nasty treason thing ends, Fielding is free to pursue Nancy again, and the movie ends with yet another ABC Wide World of Sports event. I for one, would have rather watch ABC cover the world of golf than look at this film again. Sorry Woody, but this is not your best effort.
However, Allen's film never reaches the comedic heights of these other films. First he opens with a confusing scene in which ABC Wide World of Sports covers the assassination of the president of San Marcos. Next we see Fielding at work in a scene that looks like a tribute to Charlie Chaplin's chaotic scene in "Modern Times," in which he is made to carry out multiple tasks at the same time, but with less comedic impact than in Chaplin's scene (where Chaplin is even fed while working on an assembly line). Bored and without love in his life, Fielding goes home to his lonely little apartment, and is soon visited by Nancy, an political activist collecting signature for a petition. In order to get her in bed, Fielding convinces Nancy that he agrees with her about her support for the guerrillas fighting the dictatorship of San Marcos, and takes part in a series of demonstrations. After Nancy dumps him because "there is something missing" in their relationship, Fielding flies to San Marcos, where he fights with the rebels.
When the rebels win the war, they name him the new dictator. Fielding then makes a state trip to the U.S. and encounters a smitten Nancy (who not recognizing him, badmouths Fielding). The U.S. Government soon realizes that Fielding is a U.S. citizen, so they put him on trial for trying to sabotage the U.S. Government (or something like that). One of the somewhat humorous moments of the movie is the courtroom scene where Fielding acts both as his own attorney and as a witness for himself. Once that whole nasty treason thing ends, Fielding is free to pursue Nancy again, and the movie ends with yet another ABC Wide World of Sports event. I for one, would have rather watch ABC cover the world of golf than look at this film again. Sorry Woody, but this is not your best effort.