Nilsen, Don L. F. “Humorous Contemporary Jewish-American Authors: An Overview of the Criticism.” MELUS. 21. 4 (Winter, 1996). JSTOR:71-101.

    Nilsen’s article demonstrates Woody Allen’s abilities in the area of Jewish-American humor as decided by other authors. The article serves as a discussion of the various takes on Allen’s humor, as a means by which to showcase Allen as a premiere Jewish-American comedian. Generally, the consensus is that Allen’s humor is strong because it pertains to society’s (sometimes troubling realities). While the humor is dark, touching on some sensitive subjects such as genocide, it is philosophical and consistently comments on the nature of today’s world. Nilsen points to one take on Allen’s humor, which describes it as stereotypical at times. If his humor considers stereotypes and cultural differences, then Annie Hall is Allen’s most successful use of humor. Described as a parody comparing and contrasting the lifestyles of Jews and gentiles, Annie Hall is extremely philosophical and provides a strong comparison through the use of inventive, often typically Jewish, jokes. The author providing such insight believes Annie Hall to be Allen’s “most sincere, most personal, and most richly comic statement about both his life and his art.”

    This article, while not solely focusing on Annie Hall, does point to the film as being Allen’s most successful film in terms of his application of Jewish humor, as well as to Allen for being one of the most famous Jewish comedians and directors of our time. Thus, Nilsen confirms the strength of Allen’s humor, particularly as it is found in Annie Hall, as well as the reasons why  Allen’s work successfully translates even today to many types of audiences.