Movies You May Have Missed - #11 Anything Else (2003)

"Do you love me?"
"What a question! Just because I pull away when you try to touch me?"

In the long and prolific career of Woody Allen, it seems as if there have been two distinct camps of fans: The people who long for the "glory days" of vintage Woody from the '70s and 80's (and who have viewed most of his recent output as frivolous and disappointing), and the major devotees who wait for each Woody Allen film with anticipation and excitement, and usually come away from even one of his less-than-stellar films with something positive to say. I am - and always have been - firmly planted in the latter category. While most of his early-2000's work has been looked down upon with disdain, I've enjoyed most of them - especially the next movie we're about to cover.
Now, a word of note about this post: I usually include some video clips with the articles, but for this particular post, I went a little crazy. This write-up includes over 30 minutes of video, and while you're not required to watch them, of course, I do highly recommend it. There's some great material here.
Now, on to the movie:
Let's set the scene. It's 2003. At that time, Woody hadn't had a positively-reviewed film since 1999's Sweet and Lowdown with Sean Penn (which I also highly recommend, by the way). His three films since then - Small Time Crooks, The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, and Hollywood Ending - had garnered mixed-to-bad reviews (personally I thought Crooks and Jade Scorpion were so-so, but I kind of liked Hollywood Ending). His next film, Anything Else, didn't fair much better with critics or audiences: reviews were pretty terrible and it only grossed $3 million on an $18 million budget. But I thought it was terrific. Critics didn't cry "comeback" until 2 years later with Match Point, but for me, this was Woody Allen's best film in years.
I will admit that this was the first Woody Allen film I saw theatrically, so for that reason it still holds a special place in my heart. But I know a good film when I see one, and this one definitely rises to that level. Above all else - the great dialogue, the interesting characters, the sharp direction - there's one main reason this film succeeds, however unlikely it may seem from first glance: It's a dead-on depiction of Borderline Personality Disorder. Seriously, it is. It's a fact that's never explicitly stated in the film, but anyone familiar with this behavior will spot it in a second. And most amazingly, it's very very funny.
The premise of the film involves Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs - American Pie), a young comedy writer who struggles with his sanity as Amanda, his emotionally unstable girlfriend (Christina Ricci - Buffalo '66) wreaks havoc in their lives. Mood swings, infidelity, and paranoia ensue, and through it all, he consults with David Dobel (Woody Allen), a fellow writer and friend who gives him fatherly advice.

Of course, the advice is not always sound - however well-intentioned it may be - because Dobel is quite the crazy character himself.

I've known some people who are Borderlines. It's basically Bipolar Disorder with some added elements like extreme impulsiveness and frequent sexual promiscuity. Christina Ricci nails the role. In this, her character's first scene, we're introduced to this girl's manic personality - although it barely skims the surface of all the chaos that brews underneath.

After this, we're shown how they first met, by way of flashback. Both characters were already in relationships of their own, but when Jerry meets Amanda, they begin a lengthy affair and they soon leave their significant others to be with each other instead. However, true to the Amanda character's impulsive, chaotic nature, the excitement that came with having the affair is gone when they actually start a relationship. Unable to have a stable, exclusive relationship, their sex life quickly suffers. Great scene here: one long take, tightly choreographed. Classic Woody Allen.

Interspersed throughout Jerry's trials and tribulations with Amanda are scenes chronicling his bonding with Dobel in their many walks through Central Park. Needless to say, this is some of the best stuff in the movie. Playing the role of the wise old man, it was refreshing to see that Woody had finally realized that he could no longer realistically play the love interest at his age. It was long overdue, and a welcome change of pace.

Meanwhile, Jerry tries to regain the "spark" in his relationship with Amanda, and hits upon the idea of renting a hotel room for the night, hoping it will stir some excitement in her and get her back into bed. Needless to say, things go horribly wrong:

And all the while, Woody's character Dobel delivers his special kind of paranoia-inducing advice (and in the process, delivers one of the best lines in the film, suggesting that this girl's hormones be used for "chemical warfare"):

Also entering the story is Amanda's mother (Stockard Channing), who begins staying in their apartment as she tries to get her life back together after a failed marriage. This is part of the real genius of the story. While most filmmakers would have been content with simply letting the "crazy girlfriend" story play out, Allen shows us where all of this insanity comes from, and how it's frequently passed down from generation to generation. Very observant, and totally spot-on. But the real genius is how this is all portrayed. We see that in this family, the parent/child roles were reversed, and it still goes on to this day:

Sure, this isn't a psychological case study we're watching here, but the basic motivations behind everything are totally factual. And that's what keeps everything grounded.
And here's a scene that I've included for no other reason than it's really funny, and something I thought I'd never ever see - Woody Allen destroying... well, you'll see...

The story continues on, through break-ups and fighting and infidelity, and you want nothing more than for this guy to finally realize what he's gotten himself into. But, as in real life, sometimes the few positive moments outshine the negative, and things become harder to judge. Like his narration states, you sometimes wish you could "freeze" a moment in time - but I suppose that if things were going the way they should, you wouldn't have to, because it would be an ongoing, continual thing that wouldn't have to be "frozen" at all.

I won't tell you whether they stay together or not, but I'll simply leave you with Woody's closing lines from the movie - some helpful words of advice, from a wise old man.

It still boggles my mind that this movie isn't more appreciated than it is. I've really only picked some of my favorite moments from the film; there's still loads of other great material there, including Danny DeVito in a great comic role as Jerry's agent, and a great little subplot involving Dobel's "survival kit" that he's been piecing together for years - should the end of the world happen to occur. A few people did actually see some merit in this film, including Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper, who gave the picture "Two Thumbs Up" and really seemed to enjoy it. I'll end this post now with a clip of their review. Enjoy... and if this movie seems like it'll appeal to you, I'd highly recommend that you check it out.

EDIT: Someone just brought to my attention that this movie was recently listed on Quentin Tarantino's list of his favorite movies that have been released since 1992 (when he made his first film, Reservoir Dogs). Hmm... Great minds think alike? Possibly. *wink, wink*