In the "Purple Rose of Cairo," Woody Allen finally stays behind the camera for the first time since 1978's "Interiors," stepping away from constantly playing these neurotic show- biz/writer characters to brings us more of a romantic comedy that celebrates film as a form of escapism rather than a form of art. It's a delightful breath of fresh air for those that love his films but are tired of seeing Woody do his same old shtick.<br /><br />Allen's muse of the 1980s, Mia Farrow, stars as Cecilia, a Depression-era New Jersey waitress with an abusive husband who spends nearly every day at the movies, seeing the same pictures over and over again. The latest movie, "The Purple Rose of Cairo" stars the charming Gil Shepherd as the naive and optimistic Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). Cecilia is charmed by his performance and returns again and again, until suddenly the character Tom Baxter walks out of the screen and into her life, creating a crisis at the theater and flipping Cecilia's world upside-down.<br /><br />This odd fantasy element is intriguing in concept, but it's rather jarring in the film to start with. Allen must quickly establish that it's only the character Tom, not the actor Gil, coming out of the screen, that it's just this one theater in New Jersey and all these other details to get us to subscribe to his imaginative idea. After awhile, however, it all makes sense and it works brilliantly to create a conflict of fiction versus reality.<br /><br />Farrow is great as this stammering, broken and hopeless romantic who struggles with her convictions and her drive to go where her heart leads her. She ends up in a conundrum as what was only an escapist fantasy becomes a tangible part of her life. She can either choose to live out her fantasies despite them not being real or live a real life.<br /><br />Allen challenges us to understand the lines between fiction and reality, to grasp why it is we go to the movies, what it is we seek there. "The Purple Rose of Cairo" does this in a silly, satirical way, but occasionally a line will be spoken that is quite poignant (as Allen does well more overtly in his other films).<br /><br />"Purple Rose of Cairo" is a really nice change of pace for Allen, the type of film that will still challenge his audience but also give them the escapist romantic fantasy that we so yearn for when we go to the theater.