ANYTHING ELSE

Wow. After we got completely tired of Woody Allen using our time up twice a year to deliver his current, yet recycled mode of neurotic narcissistic relationship hijinx, he took a kicky turn.

He hired Jason Biggs to play him and Christina Ricci to play Mia Farrow/Diane Keaton/Louise Lasser. The two of them argue and complain and display the kind of neurotic rapport together that was old twenty years ago while Biggs tries to stammer enough to make sure we know he is playing Woody Allen. As if we didn’t know he was playing Woody Allen! Who else has Woody Allen ever been interested in writing about?

Somewhere in all this de-evolution, the humor seeped out of the formula entirely. Woody kept it interesting as long as he

The scenes in Anything Else are so filled with effort and desperate attempts to be more Woody Allen-like that these ordinarily good actors come off like they’re doing a high school stage play. This whole piece lacks any humor, perspective or point. Plus, Ricci’s character is so narcissistic and manipulative that she’s really psychotic, so that really rubs salt in the wound.

I don’t know why it is so much sadder to see bad work by truly talented people but it is. Without question, Allen has made some genuine masterpieces in his career. Please see those.