In "Anything Else," Woody Allen stars as David Dobel, a much older mentor to a young and impressionable Jerry Falk, played by Jason Biggs. As the lights dim, the audience is ushered into the latest Allen production by the sound of retro music. Also typical of the writer and director's films, the movie is set in Manhattan.
Much of the film is comprised of Allen staples. In fact, the only two things that seem to be out of place are the main characters, Biggs as Falk and Christina Ricci as Amanda. It is as if the casting agent blindly picked out two of the most popular teenybopper actors of today and threw them into the movie without regard for subject matter, dialogue or context.
Amanda and Jerry live in the latter's apartment, which is inexplicably inhabited by old furnishings, better suited for a lower middle class grandmother. The audience is never told why the young couple's abode is decorated in such a manner, nor does it add anything to the script. Ikea, many a poor, post-graduate's favorite interior designer, would have provided a more believable and far less distracting setting, if the target audience is the latest crop of boy band chasers.
This kind of uneasy dichotomy seems to run through the whole movie. The young stars seem to have been picked to draw in a younger audience. Yet, everything else is old. Allen is old, the furniture is old, and the music is old. Even Amanda and Falk's tastes are old by today's Gen-Y standards. In a scene set in the Village Vanguard, the couple discuss Humphrey Bogart, Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. As Diana Krall ends a song, Amanda remarks that, "She is so moving." Later, Jerry tries to woo Amanda in a music store by offering to purchase her a vinyl album of Cole Porter music.
Allen's script is wholly mismatched for Biggs and Ricci. The work is better suited for more mature actors and audiences. It's what one would expect of an Allen love-child with the producers of "Dawson's Creek" except there aren't any compelling and contrived dramas.
The film plods along with several different plotlines running and never quite meeting or making a solid point. It's almost like watching a disjointed reality television show about a random guy's life without having all the boring parts edited out. Even the normally seductive and conniving Ricci is reduced to being a neurotic and body obsessed female with a gratingly whiny voice.
To Allen's credit, he does provide a few laughs with his writing. True to form, much of the movie is comprised of quick banter between the characters. Lines like "There was something compelling about your apathy," and "Don't be so middle class," are gems only Allen himself could dream up.
However, these highlights may not compel audiences to choose this film. If you overhear someone saying that he wants to see "anything else," don't be surprised if he actually means he want to see anything --other than the movie of the same name.
