Woody Allen is back in theaters this week with his annual cinematic contribution, this year titled "Anything Else." Interestingly, this has been the problem with most of Allen's recent work: It has been just like anything else you would see at the theaters, not like his trademark quirky brilliance of the 1970s, 1980s and early-1990s. Fortunately for moviegoers everywhere and Allen himself, "Anything Else" isn't just anything else; it is vintage Allen with the kind of spark we haven't seen in a long time
"Anything Else" is the story of Jerry Faulk (Jason Biggs), a comedy writer in New York. Faulk is a prototypical Woody Allen hero: He's neurotic, quick witted and stuck with a ridiculously complex and difficult woman. His girlfriend is played by Christina Ricci as the consummate high-maintenance, low-payout girlfriend. She criticizes how he tips, the purchases he makes and hasn't had sex with him in over six months. Overall, not a great situation.
We learn about this relationship through the conversations Jerry has with his mentor, David Dobel, played by Allen. They talk about everything, always peppered with one-liners. David constantly urges Jerry to leave his woman and New York, but he doesn't have the courage to do so.
Biggs attempts to channel a young Woody Allen in his role as Jerry, and he pulls it off quite well. His timing is excellent and he really knows how to deliver a line. He gives us his trademark feeling that the whole world is crumbling around him and he doesn't know what to do to stop it, so he just goes along for the ride. Clearly Biggs is a more talented actor than we all thought, and his comedic talents do seem to go well beyond making sweet love to a pie.
Christina Ricci, on the other hand, is already a well-known acting talent, and she shows it here. She plays her character with a sort of resigned psychosis. We get the feeling, even while she is doing all of these awful things to the man she is supposed to love, that she really doesn't think that she is doing anything wrong. She has an irrepressible cuteness that she can instantly slide over into a smoldering sexuality, which makes her perfect woman for a Woody Allen movie. She needs to drive a man crazy but be able to keep him around because the idea of sex with her is too great to give up -- and Ricci is fully capable of doing that.
As an actor, Woody Allen is trying something new that we haven't seen before. His character of Dobel is similar to his typical neurotic, witty types, but he has a slightly hidden dark side that points to a severe anger management problem. Dobel alludes to being in a mental institution and shooting a police officer, and we get to see his bumbling attempts to smash out car windows with a tire iron. Most hilarious of all is his insistence on buying Jerry a Russian-issue surplus rifle. It is this kind of dark violence that Allen hasn't tried before, and he plays it off with ease.
The supporting cast is rounded out by Danny Devito as Faulk's agent and Stockard Channing as his girlfriend's mother. They each have an uproarious scene to contribute, Devito's consisting of a false heart attack in a restaurant and Channing's having to do with cocaine. Also in there somewhere is Jimmy Fallon, but if you blink you'll miss him; his part is not large.
In "Anything Else," Allen has made an almost direct homage to his 1977 classic, "Annie Hall." Characters talk directly to the screen; there is the crazy girlfriend, non-linear story structure, scenes with his analyst and dreams of escaping to California. Allen seems to be reintroducing the style that made him so beloved in the 1970s, over his more recent, formulaic storytelling style. True Allen fans will be very pleased with this shift back to what they know and love.
"Anything Else" is a return to form for one of the great directors in American history. Woody Allen combines his unmatched ability to write dialogue with an able young cast and a bunch of trademark tricks to make a new classic. If you go see "Anything Else" and enjoy it, do yourself a favor and rent "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan." You'll thank yourself for it.
4 stars out of 5
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