At The Movies DAVID ELLIOTT Special to The Jewish News ild Man Blues docu- ments, with almost squeaky niceness, Woody Allen's 1997 tour of Europe — 18 cities in 23 days with his "New Orleans jazz" band, a small group of musicians in easy sync with clarinetist Allen. This is not a searching or difficult film, like Barbara Kopple's previous, demandingly tough American Dream and Harlan County, U.S.A. Not much is at stake musically — Allen and his big, happy banjoist, Eddy Davis, describe the music as "crude" and "primitive," though they're not slip- shod about it. And little is at stake financially, since Allen doesn't need income from the heavily attended concerts. David Elliott, film critic for The San Diego Union-Tribune, writes for Copley News Service. Deconstructing Woody Woody Allen shares his feelings on organized religion, rituals and growing up in a Jewish family. PHILIP BERK Special to The Jewish News JN: In Deconstructing Harry, now available on home video, your char- acter takes issue with his sister's newfound commitment to Judaism and casually trivializes the question of ritual circumcision. Is that type of humor offensive to traditional Jews? WA.: No, not even for a second. My guess is that it [wouldn't] be offensive at all to anybody. JN: Are those your true feelings? 8/7 1998 86 Detroit Jewish News ly at the Cafe Carlyle. A There is plenty of enjoyable music, but most viewers will probably come for the cozy peeks at feature-length Allen backstage and in posh hotels with his then-com- documentary by two-time panion (now wife) Soon- She comes off Academy Award winner Barbara Yi as Previn. calm, sensible and likable, tolerant of kvetching and Kopple, "Wild Man Blues" tracks Allen's hypochondria, and like a sister than Woody Allen and his New Orleans- a more lover. There is no mention style jazz band through a recent of Mia Farrow (but one thinks: If the adopted Soon-Yi turned out this European tour, exposing the well, give Farrow some credit). Insider cynicism private person behind the might say the film is a case of spin doctoring Allen's image public persona. after its tabloid ravaging, but The music is very pleasant (old "Dixieland" standards such as "Shine," "You Rascal You," "St. Louis Blues"), performed with rhythmic proficiency before glad crowds. The only dud audience, aloof to Woody mania (he's a bigger star in Europe than America), is a grim bunch of rich people at an Italian benefit per- formance. They are like mummies waiting for Gabriel to blow, but Allen is gently diplo- matic. Allen fell in love with jazz when he was a boy, when the New Orleans sound was enjoying a come- back thanks to Sidney Becher, Bunk Johnson and Louis Armstrong. A black tutor helped, Allen still practices on his stick every day, and in Manhattan he is a regular performer with his group most recent- Was your son circumcised? WA.: Pardon me? JN: What are your feel- ings on the subject? WA.: I don't have any personal feeling on that whatsoever. Whatever is good for my comedy at the time is the direction I'm going. If it's funny to make a joke on circumci- sion, that's perfectly fair game for me, but I have no personal view on it or interest in it one way or the other. such suspicion is close to tabloid thinking — it's losing the spirit of this occasion in favor of false knowingness. Photographers follow the star then that's great. If it's something that's painful then I would be against it. But I really don't know what the medical pros and cons of circumci- sion are. What I oppose is all kinds of religious ritual whether it's circumci- sion or going to church on = Christmas or obeying any religion's ritualistic mumbo jumbo. Religiously, you 71 know, I have a very critical view of all the organized religions and all the cos- tumes that the people wear and the nonsense, the fake nonsense, about what God really wants and what you should do and what you shouldn't do. I just don't buy into any of that, in any of the religions. JN: Do you oppose the Jewish tradition that boys are circumcised on the eighth day? WA.: I'm against any kind of religious ritual. Circumcision itself as Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn in the documentary "Wild something that's benefi- cial to health or detrimen- Man Blues." Soon-Yi admits in the film that she has seen very tal to health, I don't know few of Woody's movies and has never read his books. about. If it's something that's good for the person, JN: Do people assume your films are autobio- graphical? WA.: That's always been true from my first movie, Take the Money and Run. I had to go around telling people that I never wanted to be a bank robber. JN: But, for example, by (– ' \ -\