Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

Thanks for the memories!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Broadway Danny Rose is one of the films from Woody Allen's early 80's period. Like others from that time, it's a less well known effort and slightly more left-of-centre. It has a framing device where a group of show business types reminisce about an unsuccessful talent agent called Danny Rose who was well known for representing any act, no matter how hopeless. The main story thread is about the time when Rose almost makes it when a lounge singer he represents starts to unexpectedly become popular; matters become very complicated when Rose is tasked with getting together with a girl mixed up with the singer, a girl whose boyfriend is a jealous Mafioso. Before long he sends out two of his heavies after them with violent intent.This is one of several Allen films that was shot is crisp black and white. It's definitely to the films advantage as it looks very nice, with some fine cinematography overall. While on the surface it's another of Woody's comedy-dramas, in reality its closer to a straight comedy on account of the screwball narrative that goes slightly over-the-top. It essentially feels like a comedy-drama, while effectively being a light comedy. In this way it isn't serious enough to work as the former and overall isn't really that funny to score as the latter – although there are some inspired comic moments such as the helium scene. I suppose its storyline is more of a tragedy, seeing as it is about a man who selflessly helps others only to end up losing himself because of this. The narrative does lack a certain drive on the whole though, and the knockabout story doesn't always amount to a lot. Allen is good enough as Rose, while his former muse Mia Farrow does fine work as well. On the whole, this is not top drawer Allen for me but, as is usually the way, it still is a film with several good things about it.

Review: The beginning of of this movie was reasonably funny, when the guys around the table was chatting about Danny Rose and his weird clients, but it goes downhill when Allen comes into play. The movie is about Allen protecting his one important client, who is a singer/comedian who can only work properly if he has his mistress in his life, but when she finds out about his womanising, Allen tries his best to get them back together so he can go back to work. I didn't really find this movie that funny, but is was good to see that Mia Farrow can play a different type of role. Woody Allen is playing his usual million words per minute type of role but the film isn't based on troubled relationships like most of his other projects. Don't get me wrong, he does have to sort out his clients troubled relationship through most of the movie, but there are other aspects to the film which take over that aspect. Personally, I didn't find the film that interesting, but it's better than some Woody Allen movies that I have seen. Average!Round-Up: This movie wasn't badly written but I just couldn't get into the scenes with Allen and Farrow. The whole mafia concept could have come into play a bit more and I would have liked to see some more scenes with his weird clients, who made me laugh at the beginning of the film, but it's obvious that Allen just wanted to concentrate on his relationship with Farrow. As I hadn't heard anything about the movie before, I wasn't totally disappointed, but it's not the type of film that I would be watching again anytime soon.Budget: $8million Worldwide Gross: $10.6millionI recommend this movie to people who are into there Woody Allen movies about an entertainment agent who tries to sort out his one important clients love life so he can work properly. 3/10

Moderately entertaining story about a talent agent with a funny roster of lost-cause acts.Woody Allen does his usual good job as a protagonist with unconditional regard for his protégés, and Mia Farrow and the perfectly cast Nick Apollo Forte do well as a mob moll and a lounge lizard.I liked the evocative, black-and-white setting of the iconic Carnegie Deli as the site of the extended flashback that forms the basis for this film.I enjoyed the brief glimpses of Milton Berle and Sammy Davis Jr.This isn't one of Woody's funniest or more intriguing but it's worth a watch.

ironic, cruel, smart, this film is product of a great old recipes. same Woody Allen and same charming picture of a world, same Don Quijotian character and crumbs of Christianity , Thekov and slices of ordinary crisis. a must see for Allen admirers, it is a nice lesson about dedication, dreams and loyalty, sad tale about a small man in womb of a huge world. humor, neurotic pieces and a pretty work. sure,only an ordinary Allen, it is not great movie, but in this art case important is final taste. that mixture of ash, rose flavor and images from a way to be yourself and transform the others. and, more important, like many others Allen movies, this is an exercise to preserve the soul of a time. and eighteens are more beautiful in the sketches of this great original director .