Caffeinated Clint
“Personally, I’d rather be watching “Anything Else” than this” – Clint Morris
Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Woody Allen, Jimmy Fallon
Just like sticking your hand in a lucky dip at a school fete, you never know what you’re going to get with a Woody Allen Pic. Once upon a time you’ll have walked away with something pretty grand, but these days, it’s becoming more and more common to find the cinematic equivalent of a rubber skeleton in your coloured bag.
Shooting straight to video in Australia – how far they fall – “Anything Else” marks the debut of Jason ‘American Pie’ Biggs into Allen-town. Yup, the dude that meshed his member with a pastry has been promoted – or, some may say, demoted – to classy, meaningful, well-written Woody Allen pictures. Or has he?
Though easily endurable, “Anything Else” is as generic as home-brand lemonade. It goes down all right, but don’t expect too much fizz or contentment afterwards.
Allen’s attempt to connect with a younger audience – the film’s poster is a giveaway, it looks like your typical teenage rom-com, sly move indeed – “Else” features the likeable but never exceptionally impressive Biggs as a young comedy writer whose got a penchant for agreeing to anything people ask him: notably, his latest squeeze, the ever-so-irritating Amanda (Christina Ricci). And, well, yeah…. that’s about it. Cue the trying huge sequence of dialogue scenes, walks around central park, and wasted supporting players (Surprise to see Jimmy Fallon playing it rather straight as a pal of Biggs’s character).
Allen, not surprisingly, also features in the film, playing a fellow comedy writer, offering advice to his younger colleague.
About as uneventful as writing out a shopping list, “Anything Else” seems to have little point, little direction and for the most part, doesn’t encompass anything much of interest. Everyone’s quite fine in their parts, but that doesn’t mean they’re that interesting or that Ricci isn’t as annoying as a shrill cat that wants out at midnight.
Personally, I’d rather be watching “Anything Else” than this.
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clint Morris
