I took three classes with this professor during my time at UCLA. He is incredibly intelligent and a gifted lecturer. He lets you develop your own ideas and really can improve your writing if you see him in office hours. I highly recommend any class with Allmendinger.

Easily one of the best English professors at UCLA. I've gotten the privilege to take three of his classes and they were all wonderful. Not only are his lectures insightful and interesting but they're entertaining. There wasn't a class that you didn't just laugh and enjoy listening to Blake lecture. The bad reviews listed below are completely inaccurate, Professor Allmendinger goes above and beyond to accommodate and help students outside of class, he's extremely approachable and accessible. Not only a fantastic teacher but just an overall amazing person. Don't hesitate to enroll in any of his courses.Seriously a treat.

BLAKE ALLMENDINGER IS AMAZING!

He is BY FAR my favorite professor at UCLA. I took 2 courses with him--115D Detective Fiction and 174A--and I cannot express how much I enjoyed his classes. Allmendinger is so easy going, cares about his students, and gives engaging lectures. If you have the opportunity to take a course with him...TAKE IT. I received As in both classes. His classes have shaped my experience as an English major.

One of the most brilliant and best professors I have ever had. Not only did I look forward to going to his class (which was a rare occasion for me because of being a senior and it being my last quarter) but I looked forward to hearing his insight on the text. He was hilarious and always had random tidbits and information that was really interesting. NO ONE ever fell asleep in this class! Yes there is about a book a week to read, which is pretty standard for an English major BUT he makes it very clear that he doesn’t believe in calling on people to talk about the text. So when I was a little behind on the reading because of my other classes, I had no fear going to class and listening to his discussions because I knew I wouldn’t get barked at for not doing the reading.
I recommend always going to his class no matter how familiar you are with the text because it will help you a lot on your midterm and final (each 1/3 of your grade). They are standard ID’s that you must close read and are SUPER EASY to identify if you are slightly familiar with the text. The other 1/3 is a final paper which he gives you many options for. You can do a standard paper, a movie review, a parody, a novel and film comparison, literally whatever you want as long as you run it by him first. I chose a regular old close reading paper and emailed him my idea for a thesis and he responded almost immediately and basically said he didn’t like it and how I should fix it. He was completely right about what I needed to work on to make a more focused paper so I reworked my idea for about an hour, sent it back to him and he once again responded almost immediately to tell me he liked my new thesis. I ended up getting an “A” on my paper as well as an “A” in the class. If you read the works, attend class, and ask him about your final paper before (even during if you are unsure) you turn it in, you will do great. He really wants you to do well in his class and makes himself very approachable, making it all the more capable for you to learn as much as possible and get a good grade.
I highly recommend taking his class. He is laid back, entertaining, picks great classic texts, you leave at least thirty minutes early every day, doesn’t take role, doesn’t embarrass you by calling on you when you haven’t read, he has an open dialogue for lecture (but also incorporates his thoughts and important themes), he brings in video clips, he is hilarious, has the most outrageously contagious laugh, randomly brings candy for all his students for class, super easy to talk to, holds lectures outside on the grass when it is nice out, wants your feedback and is open to suggestions, straight forward grading system, midterm and final are super easy ; overall AMAZING! I promise it will be one of the best teachers you will ever have at UCLA!

Allmendinger is one of the best professors I've ever had. If you're reading these reviews thinking "Man, here's a typical 60-year-old Korean War vet teacher, ready to chew me out for wearing a hat in class, totally unapproachable, grades harder than Hades," your thinking is wrong. He's extremely nice and approachable, and his lectures are very open. Now I understand some people don't appreciate this style of teaching: they like to be lectured. To them I ask only this: why the hell are you an English major? Allmendinger's teaching style is perfect for English majors because it allows for deep and detailed discussion. He's not going to hold your hand through the course and pat you on the head with an A+ as long as you "worked hard" and did all the assignments. If you're a critical thinker who loves to read and engage in the text (aka, an English major), Allmendinger is perfect for you.

TL;DR: Allmendinger is the best English teacher I've ever had, and as an English major, I've had plenty of them, believe me. Anyone who does poorly in this class either was not trying or was incredibly confused (something, I might add, a simple visit to his office hours would probably fix). Take his classes, you will not regret it.