Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci star as a mismatched couple in Woody Allen's funny and well-made romantic comedy ANYTHING ELSE. Biggs plays Jerry Falk, a young comedy writer looking to make it big, while Ricci is Amanda, a self-absorbed free spirit whom men go wild for. They fall for each other instantly near the beginning of the film, then spend the rest of the movie trying to work out their very complex and complicated relationship, especially after her mother (Stockard Channing) moves in to their small apartment to live with them.
With echoes of such classic Allen fare as ANNIE HALL, ANYTHING ELSE is a lighthearted look at young love in the Big Apple. Allen himself stars as David Dobel, an older comedy writer who mentors Jerry, often on walks through Central Park, but it seems that Dobel has a bit of an anger management problem. Once again, New York City is virtually a character unto itself, as Allen includes scenes in such Gotham places as the Village Vanguard jazz club, Isabella's restaurant, Roosevelt Island, Sheepshead Bay, and the Quad Cinema. Good supporting work is turned in by Danny DeVito as Falk's manager. The soundtrack includes songs by Billie Holiday, Ravi Shankar, Teddy Wilson, Lester Young, Moby, and Diana Krall, who appears in the film.
Theatrical Release: September 19, 2003
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Single Layer
Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono - English
Director of Photography
Darius Khondji: Cinematographer
Executive Producer
Jack Rollins: Executive Producer (Woody Allen)
Executive Producer
Stephen Tenenbaum: Executive Producer, ANYTHING ELSE (2003)
Executive Producer
Charles H. Joffe: American Producer (Woody Allen)
Review 1:
"The freshest things are the performances of the brilliant Stockard Channing and of Allen himself."
Source: Premiere
p.98 03/01/2004
Review 2:
"...Its relaxed, casual air gives the humor room to breathe..."
Source: New York Times
p.E1 09/19/2003
Review 3:
"...ANYTHING ELSE feels newly hatched..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C1 09/19/2003
Review 4:
"[A] tart and often amusing rites-of-passage comedy..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.42 07/01/2004
Review 5:
"[T]his entertains with pizzazz."
Source: Uncut
p.136 03/01/2005
Review 6:
"The dialogue in Woody Allen's ANYTHING ELSE is an exercise of neurotic bravery....And because Allen is a master of comic dialogue, it is our pleasure to listen..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
p.35 09/19/2003
Review 7:
"...Allen hasn't lost his knack for slapstick with a sting..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.125 10/02/2003