Woody Allen

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• discover
• a no brainer
• midlife crisis
• theme

• antihero
• neurotic
• over-analytical
• ups and downs

• it works
• match made in heaven

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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Woody Allen is one of those directors whom a lot of people either love or hate. Almost all his movies are about antiheroes who seem a lot like Allen himself. They’re neurotic, over-analytical, and not very attractive. Some people find his movies boring or annoying. And some complain that his plots about beautiful younger women falling in love with neurotic older men are unrealistic.

But Woody Allen fans love his movies for their clever dialog, their sense of humor, and the serious questions they explore about life and relationships. Whether you like Allen or not, he is probably one of the most important figures in American cinema.

Allen has definitely had his ups and downs as a director. Two of his most recent movies, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Match Point, received positive reviews. But the response to his latest film, Whatever Works, has been mostly negative. Find out why Devan and Marni still want to go see it.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Devan

Marni:  So Devan, are you a Woody Allen fan?

Devan:  I am. And you know who else I’m a big fan of, is Larry David.

Marni:  So are you super excited about Whatever Works, the new match made in heaven, Woody Allen/Larry David comedy?

Devan:  I’m very excited about it. I’m a huge Curb Your Enthusiasm fan and discovered Woody Allen recently, and saw Annie Hall. I just think that his writing, Larry David’s acting, it’s just a match made in heaven.

Marni:  I know. Well, you know, sadly I’ve heard some reviews that aren’t so favorable, but I’m still gonna go because I am a huge Woody Allen fan. I’ve loved his work for a long time. He’s had some ups and downs in his career for sure, but I think that this…You’ve just got to see it. If you like Larry David, it’s just kind of a no brainer. It’s gonna be, you know, the perfect neurotic, classic Woody Allen, where you’ve got this over-analytical guy who’s going through a midlife crisis, and he meets this younger girl…This is a theme we’ve seen in a lot of Woody Allen films, but works.

Devan:  I personally am a big fan of that style, so…

Marni:  Well, you know, they say artists write about what they know, and clearly this is what Woody Allen knows.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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