Anything Else, the new Woody Allen film, is like all Woody Allenfilms -- an acquired taste.
The entire history of Amanda (Christina Ricci) and Jerry's(Jason Biggs) relationship: meeting, cheating and dumping theirsignificant others, moving in, and Amanda's subsequent torture ofhim, unfolds.
She complains about her weight, but eats incessantly. She's on acocktail of pills and won't let Jerry touch her.
Jerry, a comedy writer, is an overly-patient young man who seemsto be a product of the yuppy, therapy-minded society of New YorkCity.
He doesn't know how to say no and he can't sleep alone. Amanda,overflowing with mood swings and bad judgement, invites her lush ofa mother (Stockard Channing) to live in their crampedapartment.
Jerry meets David Dobel (Woody Allen), who takes Jerry under hiswing and explains his musings on life.
Dobel drags Jerry into conflict. For example, while Jerry wouldnever have considered buying a gun, Dobel convinces Jerry, with hisparanoid worldview, to get one for protection.
When Jerry brings it home, Amanda and her mother throw a fit andJerry's shrink calls the purchase of the gun an "acting out" andrefuses to provide therapy if he keeps it.
In another great scene, Dobel waits for a parking space a longtime. At the last second a car full of beefy, mob-type men cutDobel's car off and take the parking spot. He yells at the men asJerry looks on, mortified. Dobel initially drives away, but as hegrows more angry he returns and beats in the thug's car with acrowbar.
Jerry, enamored with Dobel's seemingly liberating way of life,is offered the opportunity to go to California, but first mustbreak away from everyone in his life.
In a hilarious scene, Jerry dumps his inept manager (DannyDeVito) who then suffers cardiac arrest and falls to the floor, asDobel comforts a guilt-ridden Jerry.
However, the main source of comedy is Amanda's character and herrefusal to have sex with him.
As far as acting goes, Ricci carries the movie. Allen playshimself and Biggs plays his usual character -- the loser wholearns.
Like all Woody Allen films, the offbeat comedy keeps youinterested and in Anything Else, you start to see life in Dobel'soffbeat way -- all problems are like anything else and you canalways move on.
