Don't Drink the Water (1994)

Great fun!

I enjoyed the film very much. Good high energy performances (and far superior to the Jackie Gleason/Estelle Parsons early '60s version....Gleason, who was brilliant in so many other areas, just couldn't get this right).

Correction: Allen's wife is not played by Julie Hagerty (ref "Airplane" and "Lost in America," but Julie Kavner, who had appeared with Allen previously in "Oedipus Wrecks," from the short film compilation, "New York Stories."
September 24, 2007

DON'T DRINK THE WATER WOODY ALLEN!!

One of the best movies ever made by Woody. A rare look at the complexities of the former Communist world through the antics in the US Embassy of an invented country of Vulgaria. Like a great old cartoon, with wonderful characters, especially the leader of the local KGB, played by Vit Horejs! He is hilarious, as is Woody's wife portrayed by the incomparable Julie Kavner. Michael J. Fox stars as bumbling son of the out of office Ambassador. Great comedians all. With documentary film style camera work. Great!! January 5, 2007

Woody's Worst?

My wife and I are great Woody Allen fans. While we have most of his movies, this is one we missed. Based on the high Amazon ratings, we ordered it. What a dog of a movie! Michael J. Fox, Dom DeLuise and the girl playing Woody's daughter stink. Their combined horrible acting brings down the movie. Casting Fox in this role is beyond comprehension! His "acting" was pathedtic. He couldn't stand still for even a few seconds in a scene. Woody should have burned all copies since this leaves a bad taste for his other great films. Save your money on this one. Clearly it is Woody's Worst! I never trust those five star ratings again. June 27, 2006

Stagey Gem

This one is a must for fans and will certainly earn Woody more of the same. I like it because it was very stagey, no surprise for a filmed play. Woody has made some brilliant films and this isn't one of them, but its fun, energetic and we see him in classic Jewish Kay/Hope/Marx/Lewis/Allen mode. Great fun. And dont forget the marvellous Julie Hagerty, voice of Marge Simpson, but even so much better as a comedienne. February 26, 2006

A very surprisingly average comedy.

`Don't Drink the Water', directed by Woody Allen and based on a Broadway play by Allen is distinctly different from most of his other films due to its dated and just ordinarily funny plot and jokes.

As amazing as it may be to say this, almost all of Allen's movies hold up extremely well over time. There seem to be no serious dependencies on the events of the day. Even Zellig, which takes place in a definite time in history, stands up as well as, for example, `Casablanca' or `The Godfather' based on the durability of the story. The movie under consideration, however, depends a lot on early cold war situations as they may have played out in an American embassy in Prague, Budapest, or Warsaw in the early sixties. Much of the background depends on the pre-Cuban Missile Crisis Kennedy administration. Even the title pictures Eastern Europe as not much more advanced in public sanitation as a Banana Republic, let alone our favorite target of such jokes, Mexico.

I believe this movie, which may have been made for television, was filmed relatively recently, probably after Michael J. Fox left `Family Ties' and while or before he began his last TV series before retiring due to Parkinson's Disease. I have strong suspicions, however, that the play was written in the early sixties, not too long after the time in which the play takes place.

One result of this being an adaptation from a stage play is that there is little or none of Allen's visual humor. All on screen business is written to be done on a stage with one scene on stage at a time. There are also practically none of Allen's favorite topics and plot tricks. This is nothing more than a stage comedy, and virtually none of Allen's other movies are `nothing more than stage comedies'.

That does not mean this is not funny. Allen is as good a joke writer as he ever was. It's just that the movie doesn't engage our interest. Compared to, for example, two average Allen movies, `Shadows and Fog' and `A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy', the characters simply don't sustain our interest. This may be due in part to weaker acting by Fox, Kavner, DeLuise, and Herrmann, when compared to Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Jose Ferrer, and Tony Roberts, but I don't think so, as the principle's are pretty well cast into parts for which they are eminently suited. Julie Kavner, for example, plays almost exactly the same role as she does in the excellent `Radio Days'.

Even the plot resolution and the minor love interest are predictable.

So, while I am a great Woody Allen fan, I suggest this is one of the very few of his works you can pass up without feeling any sense of loss. It is enjoyable to watch once, but it has little staying power.
July 10, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...