Anything Else (2003)

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

19 September 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

In any relationship, one person always does the heavy lifting

Plot:

A contemporary romantic comedy set in New York city about the relationship between an older guy and his younger protege. The older guy guides the younger through a messy and hilarious love story.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | New York City | Moving | Love At First Sight | Sex

Cast

Woody Allen	...	David Dobel
Jason Biggs	...	Jerry Falk
Fisher Stevens	...	Manager
Anthony Arkin	...	Pip's Comic
Danny DeVito	...	Harvey Wexler
Christina Ricci	...	Amanda Chase
KaDee Strickland	...	Brooke
Jimmy Fallon	...	Bob
Diana Krall	...	Herself
William Hill	...	Psychiatrist
Stockard Channing	...	Paula Chase
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Movie Theater Patron
Kenneth Edelson	...	Hotel Desk Clerk
David Conrad	...	Dr. Phil Reed
Joseph Lyle Taylor	...	Bill

Also Known As:

Anything else, la vie et tout le reste (France)
La vie et tout le reste (France)
Woody Allen Spring Project 2002 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of drug use and some sexual references.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA | France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (Mono) | Dolby Digital (Mono) | SDDS (Mono)

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:7 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:MA | Iceland:12 | France:U | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

When Woody Allen cast 'Jason Biggs', he was under the impression that Biggs was Jewish. During filming, Allen began talking to Biggs about the Jewish holiday, Rosh Hashanah. Biggs did not know what to say and told Allen that he was in fact a Catholic. Allen said at the Venice Film Festival, "I saw him in that pie movie (American Pie) and I thought he was a Jew."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Falk types on his laptop computer, the number of (enlarged) typed lines alternates between at least five or six in close-up and just two or three at a distance.

Quotes:

David Dobel: In eros veritas

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Knights of Prosperity: Operation: Ralph (#1.5)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Gone with the Wind

Genius!

I've always been a big fan of Woody Allen. He's the sort of Director (and I guess actor as well) that you either love or hate. There's no middling territory in that regard...

Anyway, in this film, I particularly admire the way that he's riskily used Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci. I've always found the latter to have great promise...As a child in Adams Family Values when she verbally attacked the somewhat "up his own arse" Summer Camp leader over what she perceived to be the hypocrisy of "Thanks Giving", I stood up in the cinema in ovation...Note that talking or shouting or clapping in a British cinema (I'm British) is strictly forbidden (except during showings of Star Wars)...However, with the sole exception of Buffalo 66, Christina has flopped over recent years and I hope for her sake that Woody Allen has now helped to relight the fire inside.

Jason Biggs is another quantity altogether. The only film I've ever seen him before this one was American Pie. (American Sh*te more like!) But, all actors are obviously talented people and deserve the opportunity to show what they can really do at some stage or other...Like Bruce Willis's coming of age and quality in Pulp Fiction, or Jim Carey's in The Truman Show, Jason Biggs may now have turned a corner and opened the doors onto a new level in his Hollywood career.

The film particularly struck a raw nerve with me as after breaking up recently with the love of my life, I saw the exact/or at least very similar thing happen to Bigg's character in this film. Allen's brilliant characterisation and understanding of even the most insane people and situations, helped me a little to come to terms with some things which in my own life are causing me a lot of pain at the moment. Girls like Ricci's character do exist (surely in abundance) and more more or less normal guys like myself and Biggs in 21st Century city life really do find that getting it right as our parents' generation did much more easily in "love", is like looking for a needle in a haystack...My search, needless to say, goes on. Thanks Woody! You are my Shrink!