Anything Else

I'll make this short but sweet. You must like Woody Allen movies to like this film. It is not your ordinary comedy. Good thing for me I think Allen's humor is great. Biggs did a very awesome job in this film. While he talked he scared me as to how much he sounded like Woody Allen. I will want to one day own this film. It is a very good one by the great writer/director.

Having had to visit Woody Allen's previous two films on Region One dvd (Hollywood Ending and Curse of the Jade Scorpion) it's actually quite a revelation to see the white on black characters appear on a cinema screen -- I'd forgotten how that looked and the anticipation of what the first moments will be as the usual jazz track plays out, it feels comfortable and familiar. And its this familiarity which fuels the film -- for the first time in a while we are back in the Manhattan of the here and now watching a character based story. Although his films have been no less enjoyable lately they have hung on a concept or mcguffin which drives the plot when for me he's always been more comfortable exploring characters within a simpler structure. Which is why Anything Else works so well.

Yet again I find myself rush headlong against general critical opinion. Does it do anything absolutely new? No. Does it at times feel like Woody Allen by numbers? Yes. But it doesn't matter. I would much rather go to the cinema and see something with a script which is half literate with a good 10-15 belly laughs and god forbid actually makes me thing than the usual crud which passes itself off as a smart twentysomething comedy. The magic this time is that despite what poster might being telling you these aren't perfect characters. For once the director lets their mess of neurosis come into conflict and see what happens.

Jason Biggs like most people in their early twenties doesn't know what they want but can't break from the life they've been dropped into (its actually a much stronger performance than people are giving him credit for -- compare his work here to Loser and you can see he's learnt a few things in the intervening years. Woody himself might be the mentor of the piece but he's also a psychoanalytical mess (and the director seems to enjoy not having to carry the film as well as write and direct it -- he's always underestimated his talents but here he's very touching). Christina Ricci is adorable but as a girlfriend would a pain to get along with but for perfectly good reasons (secretly I assumed that the work she does here is similar to what we're missing in the still painfully unreleased Prozac Nation) including her mother played by Stockard Channing (I can't believe she's never been in a Woody Allen film before). The main ensemble is set off my Danny DeVito the gatekeeper to Biggs freedom (oddly also not been through the Woodster mill either before).

It's a film of small ambitions. It plays out against a backdrop of very few sets and locations. A massive amount of the story takes place in Bigg's apartment and on the benches of Central Park. This has the effect of allowing the audience focus on the dialogue. Instead of following the usual route of giving kids hip references which both immediately date a film and clang about to anyone the same age as the characters, Allen instead drops mentions for the giants of literature, philosophy and music. If this is the environment these characters have grown up in and the culture they've been exposed to they're hardly going to start talking about Britney Spears (although do look out for a cameo by a contemporary music artist). Which is I suppose what makes it so involving. We're watching someone else's world and getting lost there. No one complains about Middle Earth, so why all the back biting about this version of Manhattan?

This film is a romantic comedy about two young lovers and an older man who happens to be very paranoid.

Anything Else is a typical Woody Allen film, where there are a lot of paranoia and irony. It is dialog heavy, which is a good thing because the dialogs are fun and witty. There are so many memorable scenes in this film. An example is that Woody Allen thiks it is necessary to carry a chainsaw because the modern world is infested with crime. Another scene is that Christina Ricci is too scared to have sex and has a panic attack, and yet she allows the doctor to touch her all over and have no panic attack. That scene is just so funny. I hope this film and other recent Woody Allen films, like "Small Time Crooks" and "Hollywood Ending", reach a wider audience.

This movie really is an underrated gem. Somehow most critics have become totally unable to accept Woody Allen's work for what it is and compare it only to other movies from the same years.

Woody Allen has said many times that he has no interest in looking back to his old work and, in my opinion, it really shows. From someone who has often raved about the 'Radio Days' of his youth and adores prewar Jazz, he has steadily developed into a director who has no trouble catching the modern every day lives of the people around him. Recreating the atmosphere from his older movies would only show the inability to move on, along with the rest of the world.

Anything Else is proof of that. It's a modern movie with a typical Woody Allen style dialogue that works on several levels. Between the jokes and witty remarks and often great replies, lie the worries of any young guy or girl that has to learn to deal with life's fears and frustrations. Anything Else also has a really nice atmosphere and a great pace - the movie at almost 2 hours never feels like it's stalling or going nowhere. The story moves forward constantly. Biggs really is the star here and is a perfect Young Woody Allen. Ricci is only a supporting character, but both she and the rest of the cast really make this into a believable, relaxed and enjoyable experience.

For those who are willing to learn a little: this movie does make a simple, but very true point about learning to deal with life.

Photography, directing, editing and writing is really first class work - nothing less than what you get in other top Woody Allen movies. Beautiful locations, great camera work and typical Woody style jazz really make this into a perfect 10/10.

The lack of awards and negative reviews are just like Dobel (Woody Allen) says in this movie: You know....it's just like anything else.

Go see it for yourselves!

Yes, I admit to being a Woody Allen fan. Yes, I agree that his movies are uneven and have not all been up to the great standards of Annie Hall or Hannah. So I saw this on video, since it slipped out of the theaters quickly. And having read the IMDB reviews, I was prepared for the worse. The good news is that Mr Allen has recovered from whatever it was that was interfering with his muse. The picture is a classic Woody Allen film: fine acting, wonderful lines and gags, an ongoing psychoanalytical situation, dysfunctional relationships, funny situations, and Woody himself in a suitable role as a crazy guy, but the only "sane" one in the film. I would also add that the scenes of New York, including Manhattan and Brooklyn, were breathtakingly beautiful.

Critics now seem to enjoy dissing Woody, whatever his output. Maybe that's the price of a long, fruitful career. Ignore them and enjoy his films. Long may he present his gifts to us.