Take the Money and Run

Take the Money and Run is the earliest film in which the noted comedy writer Woody Allen was also both the director and main star. As far as I’m concerned, it very much shows. Though there are those that adore his works, and consider him one of the foremost voices of film comedy of the 70s and onward, I find Woody Allen to be like most directors: there are some films I love, some I think are just fine, and plenty that downright stink. The only difference is that, for me, some of those stinkers include films that many others consider all-time classics, like Annie Hall. When it comes right down to it, I think this film has a lot of the problems I have with Annie Hall, with a few more to boot.

The main problem with the film is that it is a bunch of funny ideas, jokes, and gags, but without any cohesion to bring it all together. I laughed plenty, but left feeling like, paradoxically, the whole was weaker than the sum of its parts. In other words, Take the Money and Run’s loose mockumentary structure tying silly gag to silly gag didn’t work for me. This general idea has worked in other films such as This is Spinal Tap and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, but both those films felt like there was greater cohesion between each of the parade of comedy vignettes. There is a lack of character and complexity to Allen’s larcenous protagonist Virgil. Where Spinal Tap and Popstar both center characters with (albeit very different) oblivious delusions of grandeur, Virgil seems to exist only as a vehicle for comedy. He is bumbling and inept, sure, but those are more descriptors than character traits. He cares about trying to give his beloved and their eventual family the financial security they deserve, but really only in so much as it serves the film’s funny scenes in and out of prison.

So, like Small Time Crooks, there is a funny premise about criminals in over their heads but not a strong story to underpin the piece and elevate the premise to greatness. And, like Annie Hall, there are plenty of moments that elicit laughter from me, but also like Annie Hall it is strong comedic moments with a fairly weak story; with Take the Money and Run being even weaker than that of Annie Hall.

Ultimately, I think that is the rub. Many people watch these movies and they remember the way they made them feel. They laughed and they had a good time. They remember the silly billiards hustle or the bubbling soap gun. They don’t think about, don’t remember, or simply don’t care that the story is practically non-existent and the characters are as flat as an ironing board. Because those things don’t matter to the comedy, to the vibes. But for people like me, with a slavish adherence to the concept of a film as a story vehicle, first and foremost, the lack of those things stands out. In my mind, a truly great movie has both the good vibes and the good story. So while this movie certainly made me laugh, it just wasn’t a complete enough movie for me to say I really enjoyed it.

Would Recommend: If you consider making you laugh the only determinant of a good comedy.

Would Not Recommend: If a strong story or well rounded characters are necessary for you to enjoy a movie, regardless of genre.