Check Out the Trailer

This film is Woody Allen’s sweet ode to agents… and I mean that without sarcasm. Danny Rose (Allen) is a manager who will take any act and give it his all. I mean he represents a bird act, a water glass musician and a blind xylophone player.

His story is told by a group of veteran comedians, at dinner, reminiscing about all of Danny’s crazy exploits. The central tale chronicles Danny’s experience with washed up ‘50s lounge singer Lou Canova (Nick Apollo Forte, only film performance) and his big-haired mistress Tina Vitale (Mia Farrow, ZELIG), who use to be married to a bagman for the mob. There’s a nostalgia craze in swing and Danny is able to arrange Milton Berle to come and see Lou perform, which could lead to big things.

For the big night, Lou insists that Danny take Tina as his girl. However, when Danny goes to pick her up, she is on the phone with Lou having a huge fight. Because Danny is so dedicated to his clients, he chases after Tina to Jersey where she meets up with her family and another man she is dating named Johnny Rispoli (Edwin Bordo, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO), whose brothers are mob hitmen. So as you can expect, Danny gets caught up in a big dash from the gangster all in an effort to serve his client.

Danny Rose is a loveable shlub. Even though his life is not the greatest, he always finds a bright spot and runs with it. He’s an eternal optimist. Tina is a bit more opportunistic. She always attracts needy creeps, who just want her for her looks. Farrow is amazing, giving her funniest and most uncharacteristic performance.

With the gangster element in play, Allen has fun with the genre’s conventions like he did with romantic comedy conventions in MANHATTAN. So many crime films have shootouts in warehouses, but none are as hilarious as what Allen creates. BROADWAY DANNY ROSE has a real affectionate charm for the workhorses of the entertainment industry who can’t ever get a break, but keep on trying all the same.