Don't Drink the Water

During the Cold War, an American family is caught in an embassy in Russia. I don't think the plot really matters, as this movie is more like a Marx Brothers' in terms of zany hijinks.

I didn't like this movie the first time I saw it, but it isn't entirely horrible. There were some funny parts. It's light and frivolous (which I will come back to later).

I think that this is a period for Woody Allen where he is really trying to stay away from the material that had been inspired by his relationship with Mia Farrow. He isn't doing the urban marital relationships so much. But, I can't help but think he's thrown the baby out with the common-law wife.

He has two sources of meat, in terms of content: love and death. Those are the two things that really fill up the body of Woody Allen's work. And when he doesn't want to weigh down the plot with the contemplation of either, it becomes airy and inconsequential. Which is what Don't Drink the Water feels like to me.