It Has Happened Here

Photo by frank mckenna

There’s a dialogue in Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories (1980) when Allen’s character, Sandy Bates, a filmmaker, begins a discussion with a group of aliens in a pastoral setting. The scene is very funny because the lines the alien speaks have to do with the quality of love, the value of Sandy’s older movies, and how Sandy can use his talents to make a better world. The conclusion of the scene is the alien’s admonition to tell better jokes and not to go off to save the...