Anything Else

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Woody Allen’s latest monologue-turned-movie, Anything Else, doesn’t stray far from familiar Woody territory. (The director, you lonely nerd.) Neurotic school teacher David Dobel (Allen) imparts his (we suppose hilarious?) philosophies on life to a willing and able pupil, Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs), who’s dealing with his own problems, most of which come in the lovely form of his handful of a girlfriend, Amanda (Christina Ricci). Listen to Dobel rant, watch Falk resist, and admire how Amanda forces her way into whatever she wants. Allen can still write some amusing back-and-forth, but too much nervous hand-swinging and misplaced Holocaust shock humor is thrown around to make it memorable. Biggs tries to do Woody, but youngsters like him and Ricci reciting Allen’s loquacious dialogue are distractingly unbelievable. Not to mention, there hasn’t been a less credible on-screen couple since Gigli. But we don’t mean to harp on the negatives. You can enjoy Ricci flaunting her new body, which appears sufficiently starved and surgically enhanced, and Allen’s writing still stumbles into some laughs. Just don’t count on anything you haven’t already heard said in the streets of Manhattan.

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