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intereact!Director: Woody Allen
Actors: Christina Ricci, Jason Biggs, Stockard Channing, David Conrad, and Danny DeVito
Rated: R (Restricted)
Retail Price (not our price): $9.98
Release Date: 2003-12-23
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-09-19
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Run Time: 109 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
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
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5
1) Horrible piece of tripe [Rating: 1 out of 5]
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.2) Excellent. Christina Ricci Shines. [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Thought I'd write a positive review for a change. Unfortunately a lot of negative reviews have brought this film's ratings down. That shouldn't come as a surprise considering the apparent lack of aesthetic, taste and judgment of people. What did come as a surprise is that all these negative reviews get a collective rating from users that is close to 20/500. That's an aside to this review but amazon had better find a way to incorporate how people rate reviews to their overall product score. You cant get say two one star reviews with 0/10 ratings each, i.e. no one considers them helpful or accurate, and still get the product rated as one star. The only sore thumb of this movie is Jason Biggs, the guy can't act. Woody wanted an actor appealing to the younger audiences and Biggs was suggested to him. Allen hadn't even watched american pie before casting him. Biggs ends up mirroring Woody in terms of acting, which is not a big thing, since even established actors tend to that when casted in his films (Ken Branagh amongst a lot of others), but his mimicking of Woody is so cut and dry, and with absolutely no flair at all. Thankfully his wooden performance doesn't detract this much from what is an absolute joy of a film to watch. I don't think I can find enough to say about Christinna Ricci, she's so wonderfully talented, and even in her lesser parts or in her lesser performances she always brings something to the role she's playing. And in this one she's got a very good script in her hands playing the self absorbed, shallow and a little psychotic but nevertheless adorable kitten girlfriend. She delivers such a nuanced performance, it's impossible to think anyone in Hollywood could have done a better job. Everything from her body movements, to her grimaces, to the slight tonal changes in her voice is pitch perfect. Danny DeVito an Stockhard Channing bring a lot to their roles too, elevating the script even more. And there's of course Woody, who's in top form here, with his neurosis and his one liners.This for me was the real return to form for Woody, to comedic form that is, because nothing here is akin to his social-relationship commentary in the eighties and nineties, after a few decent but forgettable films. In here you can find and find a very heart warming and serious plot underneath the comedy, a lot of great scenes, very funny ones, and Woody never goes overboard with the jokes or his personal monologues. Of course it didn't do well with the under 25 in the U.S. due to their mental and cultural impairment but that was to be expected, despite dreamwork's huge marketing backing that went behind it, surpassing by far any of Allen's films before or since. I won't go into any more detail as a lot of people have commented before and I stand almost 100% by what these 5 star reviewers have said, so there's no need to get superfluous. This is a wonderful, sensitive and funny film by one of the master actors/writers/directors who's still gracing us with his work. Enjoy.3) Woody Allen's worst film ever! [Rating: 1 out of 5]
Anything Else is so boring, pointless, and just a complete mess. Who knew the very talented Woody Allen would write and direct a total stinker. The storyline is so awful, I stopped caring about these pathetic characters halfway through. Christina Ricci deserves a better movie than this. If you want a great Woody Allen movie then I suggest, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Hannah and her Sisters, hey anything than this!4) ANOTHER ONE [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I've seen the whole Woody Allen production and, frankly, I'm unable to say that, since MANHATTAN in 1979, one of his movies is a failure. Everyone of them is extremely well written, intense, and I've never looked at my watch while I was watching them. It's incontestable that Woody Allen can't be compared to Steven Spielberg nor Brian De Palma with relation to the mise-en-scene of a movie but, in my opinion, he still belongs to the best American directors of the last thirty years.ANYTHING ELSE is a sweet comedy about a sweet guy who doesn't know how to say no to his relations for fear of hurting them. His psychiatrist won't be of any help at all. Only an old Jewish philosopher, with odd and radical methods, will manage to transform the young man. The dialogues are smart, the actors perfect and the action very funny. In short, ANYTHING ELSE is another little pearl of the aging master.A DVD zone quality.5) Would Have Been Preferable [Rating: 2 out of 5]
Like The Rolling Stones, interminably imitating themselves, Woody Allen has been recycling schtick for so long viewers feel they've seen his movies twice before he makes them. On one hand, there's no harm in this, it's comforting to watch the old, neurotic vaudevillian wind up the Victrola yet again. On the other hand, when you go to the Xerox machine and make a copy of a copy of a copy, the end result may be unintelligible.Ostensibly a film about change, Anything Else is actually a study in stasis. There's plenty of snappy patter, a few zingers, and enough Dostoevsky references to satisfy intellectual elitists, but ultimately - this dog don't hunt. As writer and director, the blame belongs to Allen, and the lion's share of it goes to the character of Jerry Falk, Jason Biggs, which Allen himself would have played twenty years ago.Jason Biggs, looking like he was carved out of balsa wood, tries unsuccessfully to pass off smiling for acting. As Falk he is dumb, bland, identity-less, ridiculously forgiving, and funny not. Jerry is devoid of the comedy writer's requisite elements: anger, fiery wit, irreverence, pain, deep sorrow, and profound hunger for approval. In Dobel, Allen, we see these qualities mellowed into delusional, paranoid alta-cocker-itude, and Dobel gets off some characteristically funny/gloomy lines. Unfortunately, they exist in a vacuum.Christina Ricci, as Amanda, is well cast and delivers, but her character is so two-dimensional, if it turned sideways it would disappear. The moment she meets Jerry it's obvious she's trouble, as the film ends she is simply starting her familiar pattern anew. Stockard Channing brings energy and credible craziness to every scene she's in, while Danny DeVito is so good he almost saves the picture. (Aficionados may want to compare the DeVito character, a loser talent agent with one, horrible client - to Broadway Danny Rose, a loser talent agent specializing in acts nobody else would have. The difference, of course, is that BDR is a gem, one of Allen's very best.)For an Allen movie worth owning, try Radio Days.