Customer Reviews

Anything Else (Muero Por Ti) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I look forward to seeing Woody Allen's movies every year. I can't wait to see them on opening day. I still keep the annual ritual. I, unlike most people enjoy Woody's lastest films. I admit, sometimes after hearing about the plots, I became worried thinking, "What the heck is this?". "I wasn't too sure about "Sweet and Lowdown", but, when I saw it, I thought it was a very good movie. I enjoyed "Small Time Crooks" and "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion". I thought they were light little diversions that didn't need to be treated so harshly from the public. But when I heard about "Anything Else" I began to have those reservations again. It's not that the plot didn't sound good, but, I didn't like the cast. I'm not a big Danny DeVito and Stockard Channing fan. I couldn't understand why Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci were chosen. The cast didn't seem "correct" for a Woody Allen movie.

As I sat in the theatre I didn't quite know what to make of the movie. In the beginning moments I started thinking one of the main problems with "Anything Else" is that it reminds us of everything else Woody Allen has made. If you've seen all of Allen's films like I have then you'll have no problem recalling movies like "Hannah & Her Sisters", or "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan". The movie had the elements that make a great Woody Allen film. And it has what the public has been complaining has been missing in his recent films. There's the wonderful jazz score. The movie opens with Billie Holiday singing Cole Porter's "Easy to Love". It has the characters talking about the performing arts and name dropping people like Humphrey Bogart, Billie Holiday, Cole Porter, and even Diana Krall. It has the wonderful location shots of New York. The neurotic characters shifting through relationships. Yes, all the key ingredients are here, but, the movie never really seemed to take off to me. There was a certain Woody Allen spark that was missing. And I honestly think my first reaction was right. There was something wrong with the cast. There was just something that wasn't quite getting across.

"Anything Else" tells the story of Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs). A young comedy writer trying to make it big. But, we find out very early on in the picture, that Jerry is just too nice of a guy. He lets his manager Harvey (Danny DeVito) actually take 25% of his cut. He lets woman walk all over him claiming he can never dump the girl. They must dump him. And, now in his new relationship, he lets his new girlfriend Amanda (Christina Ricci) drive him up the wall. He trys so hard to make her happy, just to find out, that something completely else will make her happy. And then of course there's David Dobel (Allen himself) he is really Jerry's only friend. David trys to give Jerry valuable lessons in life. But we can soon see David may be in more trouble then Jerry.

If I said I walked out of "Anything Else" really enjoying it, I'd be lying. I actually had a better time watching "Hollywood Ending", "Small Time Crooks", and "The Curse of the Jade Scorpion". "Anything Else" left me slightly disappointed. And for me, that is very unusual. The last Woody Allen I saw that I didn't enjoy was "Alice" made in 1990! I had a hard time coming up with a rating for this movie. My feelings are somewhere in the middle. Around the 2.5 stars or 3.

Dreamworks has been marketing the movie as anything but a Woody Allen. They have removed Allen from the trailers and have not mentioned him as director of the movie. If there idea was to get younger audiences to see this movie than those younger teens will be disappointed. As I said the characters in this movie talked about jazz music, old movies, and literature. Most younger people will not have a clue as to what these characters are talking about. But, Woody did try and write a screenplay that seems more geared to younger crowds. In fact think of this movie as "Annie Hall" for the kids.

I could never say a Woody Allen movie is awful or bad. I could never think of one of his films as a waste of time. In an age when comedies are so gross. And the younger generation seems to be controlling what type of movies should be made it's a nice breathe of fresh air to see a Woody Allen movie every year. His movies are actually about adults(!). But I don't think "Anything Else" will connect with most of its audiences. Woody will not be making any new fans with this movie. And older fans will, as I said, will think to themself hey, haven't we seen this before in movies like "Annie Hall, "Manhattan", "Broadway Danny Rose", "Hannah & Her Sisters", and maybe even "Husbands & Wives".

Bottom-line: Not a "top of the line" Woody Allen comedy. Has all the right elements to make a great Allen film but the cast doesn't pull it off. Has its share of funny bits but we just end up thinking of Allen's past films.

The main problem with "Anything Else," Woody Allen's new film is that Allen is now too old to play the protagonist and Cristina Ricci's (as Amanda) love interest and instead has chosen American Pie-Boy, Jason Biggs to stand in for him. The problem with Biggs (as Jerry) is that he is the direct opposite of Allen (as Dobel): he's a Valley-Boy to Allen's NYC nebbish, he's suburban to Allen's Urban, he's quasi- cool to Allen's genuine geek, his line deliveries are flat, nasal and more importantly of all, Biggs is way too eager to please. In many ways Allen almost ruins his own film by his very presence on screen, because it only serves to emphasize Biggs shortcomings as Allen's stand-in.
The basic story of "Anything Else" is structured in normal Allen style with Jerry recalling his love affair with Amanda. There are a lot of funny moments mostly coming from Allen, playing Jerry's crazy friend (the scene in the Army surplus store is funny) and fellow writer, and Ricci who has grown up to be a stunningly talented and beautiful woman.
Hopefully, "Anything Else" will prove to be Allen's breakthrough, second coming, second wind artistically speaking because frankly his last several films have been mostly awful with very little to recommend them. Dump Biggs and replace him with someone with real NYC-style, hire Ricci, Drew Barrymore, Diane Keaton or Angelica Huston again, keep the writing at this or a higher level and Allen will undoubtedly reclaim his position as America's premier comedic writer/director.

This is a classic Woody Allen film in the best sense. A masterfully crafted movie that references his "earlier funny films" of the 70's. The characters talk and act like people from the 70's. Indeed the two main characters would once have been played by Woody Allen and Mia Farrow, and seem to be playing them down to their speech patterns. Woody Allen appears in the film as an enormously entertaining mentor/muse to Jason Bigg's character. Woody's eccentric intellectual neurotic seems even more unique in today's dumbed down cinematic world. Christina Ricci is great as the worlds worst girlfriend. Many truths of life are revealed humorously. Allen is at the height of his talent thus far. This film is for fans of Annie Hall and the like.

An interesting thing happened while I was watching this film. My husband and I are both devoted fans of Woody Allen, and have been for many years. We started out watching the movie on a Friday night and about halfway through both of us said --This is not too good. Let's go to bed.

The next morning I woke up and, not wanting to wake him, watched the rest of the film with the subtitles on -- and it was hysterical. I was laughing aloud over and over, and finally went back to the beginning and watched using the subtiles and found that funny as well! So, while I'd thought the movie was rotten, it turns out it should have been a book or it just needed a different cast. Jason Biggs was inconsistent -- sometimes he did well, but at other times delivered his lines in such a wooden fashion that it seemed like a joke. Still, you have to allow that this is how Woody Allen sees himself as a young man. A bigger problem is Christina Ricci, who I really like usually, but she did not work in this part at all. Finally, and most surprising to my mind, Woody Allen was not that funny, though his lines were fantastic. Danny DeVito and Stockard Channing were fine but their parts were small. Jimmy Fallon, great on SNL, has a small part and is totally underwhelming here.

The script is wonderful, and shows Woody as older neurotic passing his wisdom on to a younger neurotic, addressing his favorite issues of therapy, sex, love, violence, anti-Semitism (from the point-of-view of a paranoid Jew intent on assembling his own survival kit) and work.

DVD extras are minimal and include cast & crew info as well as production notes. The film can be heard in English and subtitled in English, French or Spanish.

Yes on the surface this film does have a number of parallels to "Annie Hall" which is of course the far better (in balance, integration and consistency) masterwork. Yes there are some slow spots that kind of drag. Yes Jason Biggs is not quite 100% believable as a younger Woody Allen alter ego, try as hard as he does to deliver the same lines and mannerisms and body language (he's just way too good-looking, heh).

The key to fully appreciating this movie is to see that Dobel, the mentor-character to Biggs which Allen plays in his true to life 60 year old incarnation, is really meant to be a guide, a muse, and a spiritual teacher of sorts. Rough hewn, very imperfect, often quite absurd/bizarre/deranged, but all the same he does manage to push Biggs out of his prolonged good-Jewish-boy-hood (guilt-ridden, co-dependent, acquiescent), to liberate him into risk-taking and freedom-seizing true adulthood especially befitting an aspiring writer. On his way to the airport to fly to LA and make a clean break from his stagnant life in NYC, Biggs by sheer chance (or is it?) happens to see his now-former girlfriend (convincingly played by Christina Ricci) walking rapturously hand in hand with a doctor who examined her during one of her psychosomatic attacks. Kaboom! Rome crumbles, and the Romans heave a sigh of relief.

So over the course of the film, Biggs is freed from his attachments and delusions---or the really big encumbering ones at least. This is actually a far more optimistic film than "Annie Hall," which implied at the end that we are fated to repeat those delusions and attachments because we NEED them.

It is also very sharply written, in fact it often feels more like a theatrical production than a film even compared to Allen's usual dialogue-dominant work. There are a lot of insights though, not just droll wit like most of his work.

Highly recommended, esp. for repeated viewings. If you are studying for the SAT you could also bring a little notebook and jot down all the exotic and rare vocabulary words that the Jobel character uses, lol...an added bonus!

I agree its not Woody's best but fans would do well to invest their time in this one, and invite others to watch it with you, even if they are not familiar with the comic master's work. Highlights:
-Woody is not the star, but a much different, more powerful character (who drives a Porsche and vandalises other vehicles!).
- It is well structured in its narrative
- young stars are fresh
- quite funny
- would appeal to young and old audiences

First of all, the 5 is for the film, not the DVD. How can I give five stars to a DVD with no extras? Remember the days that we bought movies because they were good, not because they had Richard Shickel commentaries...(I mean, isn't there a better critic?).

The film is excellent, it's my favorite Woody Allen film in recent years. I mean, I love Sweet and Lowdown and most of the 90s run...but there's something about this film. Jason Biggs does an excellent job playing a young neurotic...essentially Woody. For those who never noticed, most characters in a Woody Allen film are playing Woody Allen. Biggs does such a good job that has been cast in the next Allen film to come. Ricci is sexy and lovable despite the major flaws in her character. Danny Devito....oh man.

Don't be discouraged by the terrible cover art.

"It's like a man walking down the street in a new suit. Then suddenly, he sees another man wearing a better suit. Now he doesn't like the suit he has on anymore." - DeVito

This is one of the most underrated movies on amazon. When I first watched it, having recieved the 2000's Woody Allen pack for my birthday, I couldn't believe that such a funny, extremely insightful and deeply enticing story about the uncertainties of life could only have a 3 star average rating. In my opinion the more recent Woody Allen movies are better than his earlier work and not the other way around - if anything deserves a low rating its features like "everything you ever wanted to know about sex or bananas" - don't listen to many of the other reviews they seem to recommand extremely hardcore WA movies which are not suitable for viewers not familiar with WA's style. Anything else is a film which in my opinion is accessable to just about anyone, and is as good as any to start the Woody Allen experience.

Take a look at the artwork on the front of the case..it looks like a romantic comedy. Unfortunately after picking up this movie and taking it home, some people will see that is it anything but...or at least it isn't a romantic comedy in the strict sense of being a "chick flick". I like Allen's well read, broad vocabulary character Dobel...laugh out loud scenes galore with this guy. The use of Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci (even Jimmy Fallon) help the aging Allen bond with a new generation of viewers. There are many people who marry right out of college and fall on circumstances not unlike the woes of Falk. The mother also shows an air of "youth lost" or symbolizes a fountain of youth seeker. The dynamic of these characters together prove the movie is targeting a younger audience. I mean, Allen smashing car windows and handling a rifle?!? LOL That's reaching for him.

The story is not a mid-life crisis story as Allen is famous for...and I find that quite refreshing. True, the movie is about overcoming complacency and bad situations, but it is also very hopeful and positive in terms of moving on. Perfect movie for "twentysomethings."

Woody Allen has finally realized that he's old. So many of his more recent films would have been much better if 'his' part had been played by an actor a bit younger & closer to the age of the leading lady. In this picture Woody has picked Jason Biggs... KEEP LOOKING!! Everyone can see the 'shadow' of Woody telling Jason exactly how to act & react to each line. Theres almost a PAUSE between each delivery! Jason has his own style, I'm not saying he's an accomplished actor yet.. Still needs some seasoning & varying roles, but he's not ready for the fast paced, think schtick Woody Allen style.
Oh Christina... here is one accomplished actress who has shown time & again that she can 'become' a role. All I can guess here is she signed up to do a "Woody Allen" movie before she read the script. Jittery & fast talking, even if she was directed to be that way, she seems uncomfortable in her delivery & never seems to BITE DOWN and make us believe. Some great give & take between her and Stockard Channing...
Woody Allen himself makes this movie "Just a Bit Watchable". Playing the part of a fed-up older writer trying to pass his wisdom on LIFE to Jasons character, his little twists of insanity are perfect exclamation points for each of his passed jewels of wisdom. Who among us doesn't want to be that man with a bat?
Then end is predictable. The relationship is placed before us as the 'point' of the movie. But Woody's twist at the end? If you say you saw that coming you're lying to yourself!