I went to see Anything Else because I heard an intriguing rumor that Woody Allen had cut all of his own scenes out of the Movie. It turns out that not only was he in most of it, there were two of him.
Anything Else stars Woody Allen as schoolteacher and part time comedy writer David Dobel who, despite participating in two of the lowest paying jobs in the U.S., can afford a vintage Jaguar. He befriends Jason Biggs as Jerry Falk, a full-time comedy writer who would really rather be writing depressing novels about the pointlessness of existence.
Lets just take a second to look at this Jerry Falk character. Somehow by his early twenties hes already divorced, in therapy, and has become a whiny babbling intellectual with a well-paying writing career. Basically, hes Woody Allen, just younger. Oh good, another Woody Allen! Sarcasm!
Were clubbed over the head with how urban and contemporary this comedy is. They walk the streets of New York or eat in fancy restaurants for most of the Film. They name-drop as many writers as possible. (Oh yeah, Ive read that!) They over-use their thesauruses. They mock the idea of owning a survival kit. They hunt down hard to find records and memorabilia. Theyre all either actors or writers or singers. They listen to jazz. Theyre all fake.
The comedy part comes in a few clever lines that I couldnt remember if my life depended on it. That speaks to the quality of the jokes folks, not my encroaching senility.
You might be noticing by now that all Ive really said about the plot is that Allen befriends Biggs. Thats because, frankly, thats all there is. Sure, theres the awkward romance between Biggs and Christina Ricci (the only person in the Movie who puts some effort into the performance). Still, it doesnt really go anywhere. Hes nuts, shes more nuts, they torture themselves and each other alternately, and nobodys really happy. It would be funny, but theres no hook or plot twist keeping them together, so instead its just sad and tedious. Thats the plot.
A five minute story stretched itself out over almost two hours and bored us to tears. It was painful. Sure, Gigli was bad, but at least it was ignorable. Anything Else practically DARES you to keep watching as its moronic pseudo-intellectual neurotics tool around town doing little of significance except irritate the hell out of you.
There were maybe twelve people in the theater, and half of them left. The rest made conversation amongst themselves. Of course, I couldnt because I had to review the thing. I hate you Woody Allen!
Im only giving Anything Else a 0 of 5 Whuffies because I promised myself I wouldnt use negatives in my ratings a long time ago. Dont see it on a bet.
Anything Else 108 Minutes, or 103 minutes too long
Directed by Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Jason Biggs, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Christina Ricci, and apparently a complete hatred for the viewing public.
About The Author
Caleb Booker is a columnist for SooToday.com and editor at ComingUpNext.com.
calebbooker@comingupnext.com
Author:: Caleb Booker
Keywords:: Film review,Movie,Movie review,Film,Producers,Hollywood,Producers,Fame,anthing else,woody allen
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