BY MIKEY MIGO
I had the pleasure of watching the 1976 film, "The Front" this past week. I've gone through Woody Allen movies over the past six or so months like water. I've watched at least twenty five of his pictures and he's securely one of my favorite filmmakers, if not the biggest favorite. I love comedy, drama, relationships, banter, and stories to make you think. I get all of that and more from Allen's work so it wasn't hard for me to give "The Front" a chance. Despite it not being written or directed by Woody, he was starring in it so I felt the need to enjoy it. I ended up enjoying it way more than I expected I would. It's classic filmmaking like this that makes me want to take over the world. It's a perfect window to the McCarthyism 1950s and the nonsense artists had to endure. The premise is based around a cashier who's friend, a writer, has been blacklisted. Allen's character would then go on to submit scripts to a television show under his name, but his friend's pen. This snowballs as he takes on more blacklisted scripts and starts to enjoy the lifestyle upgrade. He Woody Allen plays the lead perfectly in the sense of him being likable, but still questionable until the very end. Written by Walter Bernstein and directed by Martin Ritt, this movie is easily a hidden gem. If you've not seen it, go see it.
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