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Woody Allen has now directed and written over thirty films. In fact, on one count, his latest and best-reviewed feature in years, Sweet and Lowdown, clocks in as number thirty-two. In this affectionate, fictional biography of the second best jazz guitarist in the world, Emmet Ray (Sean Penn), Uma Thurman shows up as Blanche, his bisexual socialite love interest. Her screen entrance is on the arm of a short, stocky tuxedoed woman played by Lola Pashalinski, who recently drew rave reviews for her portrayal of Gertrude Stein off-Broadway. Blanche, as followers of Allen's career can guess, is neither a villain nor a goddess. She's just your above-average, neurotic user of people, going from one paramour to the next, in the hopes of drinking in some of their idiosyncratic and antisocial traits. But wouldn't a non-psychotic, openly gay hero or heroine be out of place in an Allen comedy? Isn't everyone certifiably maladjusted in his psychiatrist's-couch view of the world? Shouldn't we be thankful for at least a single full-bodied bisexual in one of his films, even though we see Blanche almost totally during her heterosexual phase? Well, it's definitely a step forward from the futuristic Sleeper (1973) where, as Vito Russo observed in The Celluloid Closet, "a swishy gay couple [has] a swishy gay robot." Then there's Meryl Streep as Woody's ex-wife who turns lesbian and saddles up with an irritating lover in the acclaimed Manhattan (1979). Russo notes:
But most of the criticism that comes Allen's way is not for his depictions of gays or African Americans, or other minorities, but for their absence from his films. I recently asked Mr. Allen how he reacted to such complaints. "I don't react to that," he replied. "I mean I write the story as the story should be written. If the character should be black, I make it black. If it should be white, I make it white. If it should be gay, I make the character gay. I never give that a second thought. That's not what's on my mind. "I'm not writing a film to be an affirmative action thing. I'm not writing it as a social message or as a social gesture. I'm trying to make the story work. If I'm doing a story about a guy who robs a bank in Small Time Crooks [his next film, starring Hugh Grant] or a jazz musician of the thirties .... There were some jazz musicians that were black and there were some that were white. The contingent around Django Reinhardt [the best guitarist in the world] and his group were white musicians. Black musicians weren't even allowed to play with them in clubs. "There was no integration between the musicians. They'd play after-hours because the musicians respected one another and they played together. But they never played publicly together because it was not an integrated situation. Actually, it was not until Benny Goodman came along that they really started to integrate very much. There's a lot of criticism about Benny Goodman, but on that score, he was very good. So it's whatever the story dictates at the time." But authors do not receive the same criticism Allen receives for not including gays and blacks in their books. Is it, I asked, because cinema is considered the art of the people? Allen responded, "I think people need to write things, and the writing's more interesting when there's something to bang into or something controversial that they can make into some kind of conflict. It's the same thing a dramatist has. A journalist wants conflict every bit as much as a dramatist because it's more interesting to read. "So when you're coming up as a performer .... For instance, when I was unknown as a performer, the interesting conflict was, 'Hey, you gotta see this guy. You know, he doesn't dress well. He's nervous. You gotta see him.' Then when you make it, the interesting thing is, 'I don't think he's so great.' That's what happens. "I think journalists write a lot about cinema, and it makes their story more interesting if they can find, you know, that you're overbudget. Or you are behind, or there was a fight on the set between the star and you. Or you say something deprecating about gay people or, you know .... Whatever they can drum up, they drum up. It goes in one ear of the public and out the other. Very, very often, it's not even true. Sometimes it's true. Sometimes it's true but meaningless, and I find those kinds of things meaningless. "I mean, I never took it seriously when someone said to me, 'You should write more stories about blacks.' I didn't know how to do that. All I can write about is my family. I grew up in Brooklyn. I know what people there sound like. I know exactly what their nuances are, and that's what I write about. So I've never felt that way about any other particular group -- women, blacks, gays. It's never been a factor in my consciousness. It's a criticism I don't regard as valid criticism, and I don't deal with it." And that's that. But how can you get angry with the man responsible for the following exchange from Mighty Aphrodite (1995)? Mira Sorvino: You got no confidence. I like that in a man. I can't stand those johns who come in here, throw down a couple a hundred, whip out a big dick and wave it all over the joint. Woody: I couldn't do that even if I wanted to. PQ MOVIE NEWS: PQ Video Hot List | Interviews | Advance Guide to Queer Film | Movie News Archive | PQ Video Hot Lists Galore MORE NEWS ON PLANETOUT: PlanetOut News & Politics | PlanetOutRadio | Entertainment
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