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List Price: $9.98 | | Label: Dreamworks Video
Salesrank: 32180
Released: December 23, 2003 |
| Our Price: $3.31 |
| Used Price: $1.82 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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.
Description of Anything Else:
Christina Ricci invigorates an even-more-neurotic-than-usual variation on the classic neurotic woman in this Woody Allen movie. Comedy writer Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs, American Pie) is madly in love with Amanda (Ricci, The Opposite of Sex), even though they haven't had sex in six months. Falk meets an older writer named Dobel (Allen) who becomes a sort of accidental mentor, encouraging him to break free of Amanda and his clinging agent (Danny DeVito). The pace is sluggish, almost every scene feels like an outtake from an earlier, better Woody Allen movie (particularly Annie Hall), Biggs never seems comfortable with his dialogue--only Ricci makes her character her own, giving her own perverse comic spin to the proceedings. About three-fourths of the way through the movie, the story starts to feel fresher and more compelling, but by then it's too late. Also featuring Jimmy Fallon and Stockard Channing. --Bret Fetzer
Anything Else Reviews:
Just what I should have seen instead: Anything Else 
2009-06-04 - Well, I'm here to help you...all of you. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, never watch this movie. Everytime you do, an angel loses her wings in grief and dismay. Plot: inexistant Acting: none Anything else? Yeah, thats what I should have seen. You're welcome.
-David
Jason Briggs Does The Woody Allen Role 
2009-02-05 - Woody Allen's ANYTHING ELSE (2003) is sort of an updated re-working of the director's Oscar-winning ANNIE HALL, in which Jason Biggs plays the Allen role and Christina Ricci takes over for Diane Keaton. Allen plays a colorful, albeit supporting, part as Biggs' lunatic mentor who has a hilarious "dark side".
There are plenty of classic Woody Allen-style laughs in this neurotic comedy about a young, insecure comedy writer and his free-spirited, impossible to please girl friend. The cast, which includes Stockard Channing (as Ricci's unstable mother), Danny DeVito (as Biggs' manager) and Jimmy Fallon (as Christina's former boy friend), is certainly talented.
The problem is that Woody Allen is the kind of writer whose dialogue has a certain unique rhythm. [David Mamet is another.] If the actors don't pick up that rhythm, the scene, no matter how well written, doesn't work. And, unfortunately, in the case of ANYTHING ELSE, the performers have not always captured the Allen rhythm. Several scenes that should have been funny, thus come off as an annoying whine.
This film may not be anywhere near Woody's best work, but it certainly has enough engaging moments in it to make it worth a look.
© Michael B. Druxman
Woody Redux 
2008-10-18 - 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.
I loved it, but then I love Woody 
2008-08-01 - 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.
Horrible piece of tripe
2008-01-03 - Unless you've got two hours to kill, and are a masochist, skip this movie. I ignored the bad reviews on here, thinking "it can't be THAT bad with actors like Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs, and Danny DeVito". I was wrong. It truly IS that bad; perhaps worse.
The good: Christina Ricci playing an extremely sexy, yet immature and grating character; Jason Biggs doing an exceptional job with a poorly-written script; Danny DeVito doing an amazing job with a small role; a couple of other attractive women in small parts; and a couple points where you actually laugh.
The bad: Woody Allen's (not intentionally) annoying character; a pretty pathetic plot; and a poorly-written, unfunny script.
The ugly: Woody Allen's constant mention of Jews and his perceived hatred of them.
Christina Ricci really does shine in this movie. While her character is intentionally annoying, she makes you care about her (not the least of which because she's gorgeous). Similarly, Jason Biggs does a very good job and makes you care about his character. Likewise, Danny DeVito makes you care about his character, though his role is unfortunately small. This is a testament to the ability of these actors, and a lesser degree to the director.
The problem is that it's really not a very good plot, and the script is pure tripe. I've never seen Woody Allen in anything before, and my initial reaction is that he likes to hear himself talk. There's just no other excuse for his character. The character is neither funny nor witty. If he was meant to be a sort of mentor to Jason Biggs' character (as it appears he was), his lines should have been rewritten and the role should have been given to a better actor. To me, his performance was flat. He didn't make me care about his character at all.
At many times throughout the movie, I almost turned it off. The only reason I didn't is because I kept thinking "It HAS to get better", and it did get a little bit better at the end. But does 20 minutes or so at the end justify sitting through 89 minutes of pain?
The bottom line is this: If you're the type of person who must see everything that one of these actors does, then you're going to watch this no matter what any reviewer says. If you're just a casual fan, or are just looking for something to entertain yourself, skip this one. There's a reason it has so many bad reviews.
