It is said that we are rapidly approaching what is called “the singularity.”  Since I do not pay attention to such things, I have to look up what that means.  Essentially, it refers to the rapidity with which technology is advancing, and the theory that one day machines will overtake humans in intelligence.  Some see this as a threat, sort of like a Terminator-esque future where we have to contend with robots for our survival.  Others look to it with hope, believing it offers an unlimited amount of opportunity for advancement.  Either way, it will apparently change civilization as we know it.  That sounds scary to a certain degree, though with God uncertainty in the days to come should not portend ill tidings.  I am different, though I do not intend that in terms of anxiety over what may come.  I am a Catholic, of course, but I am also a historian.  Though it is not the best way of being, I get nostalgic for the past.  For this reason, I found Radio Days immensely satisfying, and I hope you enjoy this review.

Clearly, the narrator, Joe (Woody Allen), is nostalgic about his Radio Days.  This refers to his childhood (Seth Green) growing up in the Rockaway Beach neighborhood of Queens, on the outskirts of New York City.  He lives with his parents and much of his extended family.  Before continuing, it should be pointed out that there are a lot of characters in this movie, and it is not told so much as a plot but as a series of vignettes about Joe’s experiences of the early 1940s.  All the stories he tells have some connection to radio programs, which provide a backdrop for life at this time.  Indeed, as much as Joe talks about his family, he also tells us about what he learned of the personal dealings of the luminaries of the airwaves and other related material.  It is all quite humorous, too.  For example, the first scene involves burglars breaking into their neighbor’s house while they are away.  The thieves do not know they are out and panic when the phone rings.  Not wanting to wake anyone up, they answer and it turns out to be a program that randomly pulled their number to answer a few questions and potentially win a prize.  The robbers play the part and the host thinks he is talking to the man of the house.  The long and short of this is while the bandits make off with some money and other valuables, a week later the residents receive a shipment of home appliances and other goods that they had unwittingly won.  It is remarkable that this should happen to these denizens because one thing the film makes clear is the divide between the lives of Joe’s family and those on the radio.  For example, and sticking with crime for a moment, Joe’s favorite show is The Masked Avenger(Wallace Shawn).  One of the hero’s signature items is a ring with a secret compartment inside, and kids could get a replica of it for fifteen cents.  That might seem like an absurdly low price, but at this time Joe’s parents cannot afford that paltry sum.  Not easily defeated, Joe comes up with a scheme to get the money.  His Hebrew school teacher, Rabbi Baumel (Kenneth Mars), gives the children a fundraising assignment to help fund the creation of an independent Jewish state in Palestine.  Instead of giving up the coins, Joe intends to use them to get the ring.  Unfortunately for him, he is found out and his parents and the rabbi take turns hitting him over the head.  Catholicism frowns on corporal punishment, but it is a funny scene.  On the other side of the socio-economic spectrum are, for instance, Irene (Julie Kurnitz) and Roger (David Warrilow).  Everyone morning, they host a breakfast hour where, as a married couple in the highest of Manhattan society, they chat over eggs and orange juice about the various stars with whom they socialize.  It is a favorite of Joe’s mother, Tess (Julie Kavner), who listens while maintaining a house, dreaming of a better life.  However, the relationship between Irene and Roger is not as rosy as they portray.  Namely, Roger is in love with Sally White (Mia Farrow), a cigarette girl in a nightclub they frequent.  She has dreams of becoming a radio star, and he will say anything to get her to do inappropriate things with him.  Eventually, after a number of starts and stops, she takes diction courses to drop her thick, high-pitched Brooklyn accent, and gets a regular gig.  She almost gets her shot on a regular program, but it is interrupted just as it is about to go on air by the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7^th, 1941.  I bring this event up because it changes the tone of life and programming for Joe and his family.  The heroes Joe listens to take on a different mission, his Aunt Bea (Dianne Wiest) has fewer available men to pursue in marriage, and everyone else generally does their part.  I could go on giving you moments from these years, but that could get tedious.  It ends with everyone ringing in 1944.  Joe’s family are listening to a broadcast with their favorite personalities celebrating New Year’s at a nightclub, the music entertaining all of them.  As people so often do on this day, they get nostalgic, reminiscing about where they have been and thinking ahead to where they are going.  It concludes with Joe telling us that this is the year he always remembers when he thinks back on these days, even if it gets dimmer with time.

Thus, as you can see, Radio Days reaches into those dim memories to pull out the good aspects of the past.  This is the definition of nostalgia, which is a topic I have discussed in other reviews in terms of its problematic nature vis-à-visCatholicism.  It is acceptable, even sweet, to touch on some fond souvenir.  It can gladden the soul and lead to being more thankful to God for all He has done in your life.  That is good.  It gets bad when it becomes an obsession.  Clinging to those memories, trying to make the present like them beyond reason, is not healthy.  Luckily, the film leans more towards the positive aspect of the term, and we can safely move on from it.  Instead, what I would like to discuss further is the everyday, or common, flavor of Joe’s family faith life.  I must confess that when watching these movies, I am always looking for the Catholic ideal.  When it comes to a family, I love seeing one that prays together, is always happy, and obeys all the Sacraments.  It is good to strive for those things, but like living in the past, it is unrealistic to think it can be perfect.  Granted, we are watching an extended Jewish family, but the way they practice it is frustrating and realistic.  Related to the ideal I spoke about a moment ago, I would have love to have witnessed a group of adherents that appear to take their faith more seriously.  What you get is Uncle Abe (Josh Mostel) going to the neighbors on the Sabbath to request that they turn down their radio, and coming back talking about communism and how religion is the opiate of the masses. This scene is indicative because it shows a family trying to stay committed to Sabbath observances of abstaining from work and focusing on prayer, and not being immune to the distractions of the world.  It is a battle we all face, and as technology advances, it becomes a more difficult struggle.  What this particular story, and the rest of the movie, does not tell you is that the battle continues.  You may succumb to worldly pursuits one day, but the next one is an opportunity to do better.  This way, maybe the time you spend praising God will be a part of that nostalgia in the future.

Part of the nostalgia for me with Radio Days is related to the period during which it is set.  I am not that old, but the charm of the era has been growing on my in recent years.  If such things interest you, take it from this historian that the film captures well a bygone era.  Such material has value and why it gets my recommendation.