Anything Else | Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs | Excellent. Christina Ricci Shines.

Anything Else | Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs | I loved it, but then I love Woody

DVDs:

Anything Else

	Anything Else Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs Dreamworks Video, 2003 average customer review:based on 68 reviews view larger image
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A contemporary romantic comedy set in new york city about the relationship between an older guy and his younger protege. The older guy guides the younger through a messy and hilarious love story. In any relationship one person always does the heavy lifting. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 02/13/2007 Starring: Jason Biggs Christina Ricci Run time: 109 minutes Rating: R Director: Woody Allen

Excellent. Christina Ricci Shines.

Thought I'd write a positive review for a change. Unfortunately a lot of negative reviews have brought this film's ratings down. That shouldn't come as a surprise considering the apparent lack of aesthetic, taste and judgment of people. What did come as a surprise is that all these negative reviews get a collective rating from users that is close to 20/500. That's an aside to this review but amazon had better find a way to incorporate how people rate reviews to their overall product score. You cant get say two one star reviews with 0/10 ratings each, i.e. no one considers them helpful or accurate, and still get the product rated as one star.

The only sore thumb of this movie is Jason Biggs, the guy can't act. Woody wanted an actor appealing to the younger audiences and Biggs was suggested to him. Allen hadn't even watched american pie before casting him. Biggs ends up mirroring Woody in terms of acting, which is not a big thing, since even established actors tend to that when casted in his films (Ken Branagh amongst a lot of others), but his mimicking of Woody is so cut and dry, and with absolutely no flair at all. Thankfully his wooden performance doesn't detract this much from what is an absolute joy of a film to watch. I don't think I can find enough to say about Christinna Ricci, she's so wonderfully talented, and even in her lesser parts or in her lesser performances she always brings something to the role she's playing. And in this one she's got a very good script in her hands playing the self absorbed, shallow and a little psychotic but nevertheless adorable kitten girlfriend. She delivers such a nuanced performance, it's impossible to think anyone in Hollywood could have done a better job. Everything from her body movements, to her grimaces, to the slight tonal changes in her voice is pitch perfect. Danny DeVito an Stockhard Channing bring a lot to their roles too, elevating the script even more. And there's of course Woody, who's in top form here, with his neurosis and his one liners.

This for me was the real return to form for Woody, to comedic form that is, because nothing here is akin to his social-relationship commentary in the eighties and nineties, after a few decent but forgettable films. In here you can find and find a very heart warming and serious plot underneath the comedy, a lot of great scenes, very funny ones, and Woody never goes overboard with the jokes or his personal monologues. Of course it didn't do well with the under 25 in the U.S. due to their mental and cultural impairment but that was to be expected, despite dreamwork's huge marketing backing that went behind it, surpassing by far any of Allen's films before or since. I won't go into any more detail as a lot of people have commented before and I stand almost 100% by what these 5 star reviewers have said, so there's no need to get superfluous. This is a wonderful, sensitive and funny film by one of the master actors/writers/directors who's still gracing us with his work. Enjoy.

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I loved it, but then I love Woody

How did Woody slip this one by me. I hadn't even heard of it, but I got it and loved it. If you love Woody Allen films, this is more of the same stuff that's made you laugh in the past. Christina Ricci is perfect as the fickle love interest, and Stockard Channing is likewise great in her role as the mom who moves in and won't move out. Great fun.

Woody Redux

In this seemingly endless review of Woody Allen's work that I have undertaken over the past year or so I have noted in some reviews that the legendary comic, actor, writer, director and producer has on occasion repeated himself. I have also noted that if one lives long enough (and is productive enough) that is bound to occur. That is the case with Anything Else but where previously the repeated intellectual banter and sight gags were tiresome this little 2003 film was rather refreshing.

For starters the premise here is more interesting. Kind of Woody Redux. Woody is playing the comedic elder statesmen (himself, in other words) that has seen more than his share of the world and his oddly-nuanced view of it (including some satanic digs at survivalists, rabid uncritical Jewish Israel-supporters, Jew-hating Nazi-types and the pretensions of the intellectual world). He has befriended a rising up-and-coming comedic talent that has all of Wood's early tics-you know, insecurity, troubles with women, self-induced manias, troubles with women, panic attacks, troubles with women (in other words, himself)....you get the drift . They collectively attempt throughout the film to break out from that old Woody as they seize on Woody's idea to break totally with their pasts and go to work in ......L.A. That's the ticket, right?

Along the way Jerry (Woody's younger self) falls in and out of love with a neurotic young beauty (the fetching Amanda played by Christiana Ricci), falls in and out of his relationship with his business agent (played by Danny Devito) and with his shrink. Hey, Jerry is more than ready to go to Hollywood after all that. In any case, put Woody (young and old), a New York City (actually Manhattan) locale, New York Jewish intellectual humor and a bonus of Billie Holiday doing Cole Porter tunes as background music and you have a very nice little film for us aging 1960's-type Woody aficionados. See it.

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