Anything Else (Throwback Review)

As I mentioned in my last blog, I saw Match Point by Woody Allen and I loved the film. Definitely in my top 5 Woody Allen films. That same night I also watched Anyhting Else, which stars Jason Briggs (American Pie) and Christina Ricci (Addams Family). The film tells the story of Jerry Falk (Jason Briggs), an aspiring writer living in New York City. He falls in love at first sight with Amanda (Christina Ricci) and dumps his girlfriend to get with her. Seeking advice, Jerry turns to the aging struggling artist (Woody Allen) who acts as his oracle -- and that includes trying to help sort out Jerry's romantic life.

The first problem with the film is the marketing. Dreamworks tries to market this picture as a romantic comedy not mentioning anything about Woody Allen whatsoever. It centered on the appeal of the young stars, Briggs and Ricci, in ads and trailers. Apparently, Dreamworks spent $10 million to market it, but this did not matter in the end as the film bombed at the box office. Although it did do better overseas, but not enough to match its $18 million budget.

It really annoys me when studios try to market a film and hide the fact of the film's true nature. Dreamworks marketed the film as another romantic comedy with young stars to appeal to the general public. However, if you watch the movie it has Allen's marks all over it. There is a neurotic main character who is Jewish, quirky dialogue, and jazz music. Sounds like a Woody Allen film to me.

The studios did the same thing with the comedy Adventureland, which is a magnificent comedy that has a more dramatic side to it. In the trailers it looks like Superbad Part 2. Partly because the film is written and directed by the director of Superbad (Greg Mottola). The movies are completely different in a lot of ways. As much as I love Superbad, the juvenile humor, dirty language, and sex jokes can get a little old and the novelty tends to wear off a little bit. Adventureland has a great balance of drama and comedy and it is a film that I can take more seriously. Plus the character are realer and not totally cartoonish. It reminds me of those John Hughes' films (R.I.P. Mr. Hughes) back in the '80's. It is more mature like Judd Apatow's Funny People, which is his most personal and best film he has ever done.

Anything Else is marketed with the ads and TV spots not mentioning Woody Allen at all. This is because he was box office poison at the time. I think that is wrong, but marketers have do whatever they can do to try to sell tickets. I do not blame them at all, and unfortunately that's the most logical choice given the Allen's critical decline in the late '90's into the new millennium.

The second problem with the film is that the film is not all that funny. It has its moments, but most of the time it is uninteresting. The characters are not that likable. I didn't really care for Jason Briggs' character and Christina Ricci's character came off as an ungrateful bitch. She is annoying, nagging, and unfaithful. She got on my nerves really fast. The best character is Woody Allen as he plays a crazy and gun toting writer, who is Jerry's mentor.

The third problem is that the film is recycled material from Allen's past film, which are much better. This has the scent of Annie Hall, Manhattan, and Hannah & Her Sisters all over it. I have seen a fair share of Woody Allen films and right away there are elements that I have seen over and over again.

This is a passable film, but it is better than a whole lot of other romantic comedies. This film is like Citizen Kane compared to all of the garbage out there (i.e.: The Back-up Plan). There are some funny moments, but are too far in between and some gags just fall flat. Skip it and go see the best romantic comedy ever (Annie Hall).