Anything Else

One of Woody's least popular movies, causing debate among his most loyal fans. Some call it his worst film ever, others were more receptive and - of all people - Quentin Tarantino ranked it among his favorite movies of the last two decades.

It's most certainly not Woody's worst ever, actually it's not a bad film at all, but there are a couple of problems and they're not minor. Woody himself plays an aging gag writer, David, who acts as a mentor to a younger (and more successful) colleague, Jerry; both men are Jewish (that is: part of one of the most persecuted minorities in history) and share a penchant for self-loathing, extreme pessimism on the human condition and a preference for unlucky relationships. That's all okay, and if there's one screenwriter/director in this world who's able to make such a concoction work as a comedy, it's of course Woody Allen. To quote one of his most popular one-liners:

“Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon.”

His universe is a cruel one, but he never stops enjoying himself. The problem is that this comedy is not particularly funny. People familiar with Woody's body of work, will notice similarities to his masterpiece (and still most popular movie) Annie Hall. Jerry's girlfriend Amanda is as neurotic as Annie, but while while Annie was also cute and adorable - somebody we could care for - Amanda is just obnoxious. She's a man eater, almost a nymphomaniac, but she won't sleep with her boyfriend and her behavior is otherwise so aggravating that you don't understand why Jerry would ever like to stay with her in the first place. Some of the jokes about Amanda's bulimia nervosa work, and those excuses of her to sleep with other men and neglect Jerry are shrewd and alert, but as a person she has no redeeming qualities.

Woody is looking over his shoulder here, re-evaluating a lifestyle he had once described far more affectionately. It's all there, the New York beau monde, the impossibility of being happy with the one you love, the psychoanalysis, the melancholy, the hypochondria. Six years later, in Whatever Works, he would re-evaluate the city and its people one more time, but in that movie he'd have the comedian Larry David to make his misanthropic vision and wry comments work. In this one his (younger) alter ego is played by Jason Biggs (best know for American Pie), not a bad actor per se, but not really one with natural gift for this type of comedy.

That said, it's of course still a Woody Allen movie, and even in a bad mood he's capable of producing wonderful one-liners:

"I feel like committing suicide, but I've got so many problems, that wouldn't solve them all."

Aanraders in overeenkomstige genres, volgens Boobytrap:
- Blue Jasmine (drama / humor : 8)
- The Kids are All Right (drama / humor : 7.5)
- The Commitments (drama / humor : 7.5)
- Kabuli Kid (drama / humor : 7)
- Groenten uit Balen (drama / humor : 7)

Hoe beoordeelt Boobytrap categorie drama eigenlijk? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Hoe beoordeelt Boobytrap categorie humor eigenlijk? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10