Zelig

Woody Allen's comic pseudo-documentary about a fictional 1920s media sensation named Leonard Zelig (Allen), a human chameleon who develops the ability to takes on the characteristics of anyone he happens to be with at the time. A gentle jab at America's obsession with fame and celebrity, as well as a parody of the documentary form, ZELIG uses an updated version of the fake newsreel technique from CITIZEN KANE to depict its hero magically at the side of almost every major personality of the early 20th century, from Eugene O'Neill to Adolf Hitler. Enriched by "commentary" from a variety of contemporary intellectuals including Irving Howe, Susan Sontag, and Saul Bellow, the film traces Zelig's bizarre career as a tabloid hero and side-show freak who finds true compassion only in the arms of his psychiatrist, the renowned Dr. Eudora Fletcher (Mia Farrow).