Even from the opening credits, there is something uniquely different about The Purple Rose of Cairo. Allen's familiar white on black text reveals the film's cast and crew, but the music strikes another familiarity, Allen aside.<br /><br />The song is "Cheek to Cheek," a number made famous by the singing/dancing/acting duo Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the popular RKO production Top Hat (1935). But what is a song that was made popular in a film doing in another film made 50 years later?<br /><br />The answer lies in Cairo's plot. Cecilia, played marvelously by Mia Farrow, is a waitress struggling to get by in the midst of the depression. As if the constant nagging of her frustrated boss isn't enough, she goes home to a physically and emotionally abusive husband who is out of work and doing nothing about it.<br /><br />Cecilia's only escape from her drudging life is the theater that she frequents. She finds solace in the romance and happy endings that films typify. These films become the only true loves of her life, but who says films can't love you back?<br /><br />Upon one of Cecilia's numerous viewings of a new film, also titled The Purple Rose of Cairo, the main character, Tom Baxter, played by Jeff Daniels, walks right out of the big screen and into the real world. Chaos ensues as the fictional world is irreversibly altered and the film's production team tries to save not only its reputation but also that of Gil Shepherd, the actor who played Tom Baxter, also played by Jeff Daniels. A love triangle is born, as Cecilia must choose between the perfect but fictional Tom Baxter and the not-so-perfect but real life Gil Shepherd.<br /><br />Few people but Woody Allen could have pulled off such an ambitious plot that still held on to its message…and its humor. Not a stranger to comedy, romance, drama or fantasy, Allen has successfully mixed a few if not all of these genres in many of his previous films.<br /><br />In the same vein as Love and Death, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and Stardust Memories, Cairo is a surreal comedy with something to say. It addresses both the important role stories, in particular film, have on providing an escape for real-life and the danger of becoming so wrapped up in fiction that it is hard to face reality.<br /><br />Given Allen's intensive filmography, directing nearly a film a year for almost 20 years upon Cairo's release, it is hard not to assume the film is at least semi-autobiographical. Allen himself seems to be entranced by the fictional world to the same degree Cecilia is.<br /><br />While a meaningfully deep comedy, Cairo is still a comedy, and a great one. Baxter's ignorance to the real world gives way to some hilarious scenes, in particular when a whore unknowingly leads him to a brothel.<br /><br />Especially funny is how quickly the characters of the film get over the bizarre circumstances and begin to worry about themselves, particularly Shepherd's quick transition from disbelief that his character has entered the real world to anxiety about his reputation. Similarly, there is a classic scene in which the audience members in the theater and the fictional characters on screen bicker back and forth and even end up insulting each other.<br /><br />As Allen's 13th directorial release, The Purple Rose of Cairo proves to be one of his greatest achievements, and also his self-proclaimed favorite film to date. As the opening song cues, it is a movie about movies made by a guy who lives his life through movies. As only the second film in which he is not in, Cairo can even appeal to non-Allen fans. While not gracing his presence in the film, it is quintessentially Allen in every other way, and rightfully so.