It was inevitable that Woody Allen‘s “Apropos of Nothing” would be trashed by the “always believe the victim” #MeToo brigade, although, for some reason, those same people are turning a blind eye on Joe Biden’s recent sexual assault accusations. How ironic? Some in the anti-Woody camp are boycotting Allen’s memoir, whereas others are reviewing it, but in a scathing and totally biased fashion.
Take, for example, USA Today‘s Barbara VanDenburgh: “As if coping with the ravages of a global pandemic hasn’t made life unpleasant enough, now we’ve all got to talk about Woody Allen. again” — that’s how she begins her disgusting and rancid review of “Apropos of Nothing,” which she describes as “a shallow exercise in self-pity.” And, to think, they actually pay these people to write this crap.
Of course, “Apropos of Nothing” is much more than just a case for Allen’s innocence, no, this is an exceptionally well-written self-examination filled with vividly-detailed stories, especially when it comes to Allen’s Brooklyn childhood and his Jewish upbringing all-the-way to his rise in the New York comedy scene, which led to classics such as “Bananas” and “Sleeper” being born a few years later.
I had a blast reading Allen’s memoir, a hilarious and fascinating look into the psyche of a brilliant, but flawed artist. This is a really funny memoir, much like his best comedies, there are one-line zingers at every turn. The ill-will being directed towards Allen has more to do with his haters refusing to even acknowledge, let alone read, his side of the story, which is a doozy and honestly discredits the Farrow clan’s smear campaign.
If you can swift through “Apropos of Nothing” with an open mind and the belief that it is important to listen to the other side of the story, then this memoir is mandatory reading for any cinephile and you’ll have a better-than-decent time with it. Allen has been shunned by the #MeToo mob for the better part of three years now, it’s time to hear his side of the story.
However, what angers me most is the lack of knowledge tin-headed New York Times writer Dwight Garner injects into his review, ditto Ellis Ohanlon from The Independent, who seems to have enjoyed the book, but refuses to give it a stamp of approval because, you know, he’s too woke to truly be honest with himself. Worst of all is Forward’s Talya Zax, who actually had the chutzpah to write in her review that Allen is “unwilling to try to make amends (in the memoir), or even look closely at the reasons why so many think he ought to.” What kind of self-righteous positioning is that? Do you want some icing on that cake? How about Catherine Bennett’s toxic writeup for The Guardian, which has the none-too-bright writer chirping that, in “Apropos of Nothing,” Allen’s “own words reveal him to be a scheming, sexist, creepy adventurer.” The whole review is a gas to read, mostly due to Bennett’s inept and hive-minded theorizing.
Did any of these writers pause for a moment and decide to read about the other side to the Farrow/Allen story? Did they not read Robert Weide’s excellent dissections of Allen vs Farrow which were published on 12.13.17, 5.30.16, and, most recently, 1.14.18? Did they not read Ronan and Dylan’s brother, Moses Farrow’s vehement defense of his dad?
As I wrote in my 03.09.20 essay titled “The Case for Woody Allen’s Innocence”:
“This is a polarizing and infuriating scandal and the noise around it is not about to quell anytime soon. And yet, in an age where information is abundant and educating yourself on just about anything is just a click away, the disinformation campaign led by the Farrows is dangerous and destructive to the #MeToo movement, whose historic significance should not be dampened and taken advantage of by opportunists.”
The man doesn't stop. James Gunn has confirmed he's already hard at work writing his next film, even as ‘Man of Tomorrow’ makes its way toward theaters next summer.