IRRITATING? Heck, yeah. Self-indulgent? For sure. A rehash of virtually every movie its creator has done in past years? Probably. Nevertheless, Anything Else also happens to be the most enjoyable Woody Allen flick since . . . well, take your pick.
Admittedly, it doesn't entirely work on every level but it's a movie that does enough to suggest that Allen is back to something like his best form.
With Anything Else, the much maligned movie-maker is clearly pitching for a younger audience. And it's about time, too. Allen himself takes a supporting role and in comes Jason Biggs (American Pie) as the neurotic Jewish Manhattanite, while Christina Ricci gets the nod as the love interest.
Biggs is Jerry Falk, a young Allen-esquire comedy writer looking to make it big and Ricci is Amanda, a chain-smoking, neurotically self-obsessed Beatnik who drives men wild with her huge eyes and button nose.
At the beginning the pair fall for each other instantly, then spend the duration of the film trying to work out their complex and complicated relationship - especially after Amanda's equally neurotic, narcissistic mother (Stockard Channing) moves in to their small apartment to live with them.
Allen himself stars as David Dobel, an ageing comedy writer who mentors Jerry during their daily stroll through Central Park. But it soon becomes apparent that Dobel has a bit of a problem controlling his temper and this works as a neat diversion from the romantic comedy aspect of the movie.
And Allen seems finally to have twigged that it's no longer plausible for him to make flicks in which he plays the character involved with some young girl. Who, after all, wants to see him, at 64, snuggling up to the fresh-faced likes of Ricci? Like any Allen flick, Anything Else is nothing if not wordy. As always, the conversations go on a lot longer than they should, but the script is at least scattered with killer one-liners. Such a moment arrives when Amanda attempts to reassure the sexually-starved Jerry.
"Just because I pull away every time you touch me doesn't mean I don't love you," she quips. In another scene, there's an entertaining exchange between the mismatched couple, who are reminiscing about when they first met.
Amanda: "I had a crush on you. Couldn't you tell by the way I was ignoring you?" and Jerry: "There was something compelling about your apathy." The picture looks great, too, with some neat cinematography by Darius Khondji that shows off Central Park to good effect - not, you understand, that anyone's gone to a Woody Allen movie for the scenery. It's the dialogue that matters most of all - and, even by Allen's standards, this features a staggering amount.
On the negative side, is the casting of Biggs. All those who remember Kenneth Branagh's excellent turn in Celebrity will cringe while watching this guy stutter his way through the traditional Woody role.
Ricci, though, is perfectly cast as an actress with an eating disorder, which reflects her own anorexia when she was 14. There is also a stellar supporting role from Danny DeVito.
Admittedly, it doesn't entirely work on every level but it's a movie that does enough to suggest that Allen is back to something like his best form.
With Anything Else, the much maligned movie-maker is clearly pitching for a younger audience. And it's about time, too. Allen himself takes a supporting role and in comes Jason Biggs (American Pie) as the neurotic Jewish Manhattanite, while Christina Ricci gets the nod as the love interest.
Biggs is Jerry Falk, a young Allen-esquire comedy writer looking to make it big and Ricci is Amanda, a chain-smoking, neurotically self-obsessed Beatnik who drives men wild with her huge eyes and button nose.
At the beginning the pair fall for each other instantly, then spend the duration of the film trying to work out their complex and complicated relationship - especially after Amanda's equally neurotic, narcissistic mother (Stockard Channing) moves in to their small apartment to live with them.
Allen himself stars as David Dobel, an ageing comedy writer who mentors Jerry during their daily stroll through Central Park. But it soon becomes apparent that Dobel has a bit of a problem controlling his temper and this works as a neat diversion from the romantic comedy aspect of the movie.
And Allen seems finally to have twigged that it's no longer plausible for him to make flicks in which he plays the character involved with some young girl. Who, after all, wants to see him, at 64, snuggling up to the fresh-faced likes of Ricci? Like any Allen flick, Anything Else is nothing if not wordy. As always, the conversations go on a lot longer than they should, but the script is at least scattered with killer one-liners. Such a moment arrives when Amanda attempts to reassure the sexually-starved Jerry.
"Just because I pull away every time you touch me doesn't mean I don't love you," she quips. In another scene, there's an entertaining exchange between the mismatched couple, who are reminiscing about when they first met.
Amanda: "I had a crush on you. Couldn't you tell by the way I was ignoring you?" and Jerry: "There was something compelling about your apathy." The picture looks great, too, with some neat cinematography by Darius Khondji that shows off Central Park to good effect - not, you understand, that anyone's gone to a Woody Allen movie for the scenery. It's the dialogue that matters most of all - and, even by Allen's standards, this features a staggering amount.
On the negative side, is the casting of Biggs. All those who remember Kenneth Branagh's excellent turn in Celebrity will cringe while watching this guy stutter his way through the traditional Woody role.
Ricci, though, is perfectly cast as an actress with an eating disorder, which reflects her own anorexia when she was 14. There is also a stellar supporting role from Danny DeVito.