# 35 - Annie Hall

I'll just come right out and say it -- this is Woody Allen's only good movie. I know, there's "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters," but nothing he's ever done has the same spark as 1977's "Annie Hall." Told in a series of flash-backs, monologues, and even a random animated sequence, this film typifies Woody Allen's style of filmmaking and the New York-style neuroses he brought to mainstream America.

Diane Keaton's Oscar-winning portrayal of the title character is classic and unsurpassed in clumsy grace and "la-de-dah" style by any other actress in film history. The movie shows that some of our greatest loves are not marked with longevity -- Annie and Allen's character Alvy Singer only dated about a year-and-a-half. But it's quality that matters to Alvy, not quantity.

My favorite scene: Alvy and Annie are visiting friends in California (the worst place in the world for Alvy) and they are experimenting with cocaine. Alvy, a first-time user, accidentally sneezes right before his sniffs up the drug, thus blowing the expensive powder everywhere, including on the supplier's face. Simple, iconic, and fun.

While the characters are great and the humor is dry and witty (just the way I like it), the best and most groundbreaking quality of this movie is its non-linear storytelling. It opens with a monologue by Alvy, who explains his break-up with Annie. We then go to midway through their relationship, take a few imaginary trips through their pasts, and wind up with their introduction to one another near the middle of the movie. From then on, it's the same off-kilter routine: we take three steps forward, two steps back. This dance is completely unique to "Annie Hall" and is one of the reasons the movie has enjoyed such universal praise.