Released 1998
Directed by Barbara Kopple
Featuring Woody Allen, Soon-Yi Previn, Letty Aronson, Eddie Davis, and the band

If I didn't know this was a documentary, I might easily mistake it for the latest feature offering from Woody Allen--that's how interchangeable the public personae of the director has become with that of the nebbish screen character he always portrays.

Ostensibly, the purpose of Wild Man Blues was to create a celluloid record of the whirlwind concert tour of Woody Allen and his New Orleans Jazz Band (18 European venues in 23 days). Allen, who spent years nursing his passion for the clarinet at Michael's Pub in New York, finally decided to take the show on the road in 1996. Oddly, as it turns out, the least interesting elements of the film are those that deal with Allen the musician, and the editing rarely allows us to hear more than scattered bits and pieces of a number of great jazz standards. Indeed, the most fascinating and illuminating aspect of Wild Man Blues is its ability to capture the essence of Allen's relationship with his then girlfriend (now wife), the "notorious" Soon-Yi Previn.

The Allen/Previn liaison, which has been much maligned in the United States and once provided daily fodder for tabloids and talk radio shows, is subtly explored throughout Wild Man Blues. Director Barbara Kopple was provided "complete access," and she used it to capture many intimate details of the couple's interaction: how they use separate bathrooms, how Previn foists an unwanted breakfast off on Allen, and how they have gradually become less reticent about public displays of affection. The overall image is one of two people that, despite their age and cultural differences, are completely at ease with each another. There's a lot of affection, albeit without any sense of sexual attraction (at times, Allen looks to Previn for almost-maternal comfort and assurance). And, if there's a leader in the relationship, it's clearly Previn, whose advice on both business and domestic matters is always heeded.

Wild Man Blues has a tendency to become repetitious, especially during the final forty minutes (although the brilliant closing scene, with Previn and Allen visiting his parents in New York, is irreplaceable). This movie is for anyone who wants to learn a little more about the "real" Allen than what can be determined from the tabloids and interpolated from his numerous semi-autobiographical feature outings.

Summary by James Berardinelli