Anything Else

Say what you like about Woody Allen (and that is your libel-free cue), but the guy rarely makes really bad movies. Unfortunately, Allen rarely seems to bother himself making anything that could be confused with a really good movie either, a fact borne out by his latest endeavour. Indeed, Anything Else sees him returning to familiar territory with this comedy, which appears to be a regrilling of the leftovers of more glorious efforts.

Set against a backdrop of - where else? - New York, Anything Else sees a decidedly miscast Biggs playing Jerry Falks, a comedy writer who's having something of crisis in his life. Having been burnt by love one time too many times, he's determined not to destroy his relationship with flaky, shallow actress, Amanda (Ricci). Or is he? Things have gotten so bad that he's taken to investing all his worries in a father figure, fellow writer David Dobel (Allen) who, in turn, decides to transfer the wealth of his experience to the younger man.

Allen's films are never less than watchable but a sizeable degree of repetition appears to be creeping into his work, especially when it comes to the nature of his characters and their dilemmas. While he resists the temptation to cast himself in the central role, Biggs plays it uncomfortably like a discount version of his inventor. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if the material was in place, but Allen's once ruthless eye and ear for quality comedic insights has waned significantly. It's sad to report, but the old guy's best days seem like a distant memory at this stage.