There have been better, there have been worse. There are a lot of good jokes and the lavish photography of quaint NYC neighborhoods, restaurants, and parts of Central Park that he might have missed in his last twenty movies. For Allen fans, that's enough and all you can expect of him.
I think even the most loyal fans are at the point where they wish he would relinquish his complete control and stick to writing, leaving the casting, directing and his "acting" appearances to others. The dialogue in this movie is good but suffers from the constant stuttering and improv feel that may have been cute and innovative in the 70's but is embarrasingly dated here. The film is miscast, as usual, and poorly acted. Ricci, Biggs, and DeVito are not great actors and the harsh glare and difficulty of an Allen film exposes their soft underbellies. Stockard Channing is good but almost painfully overplays her role without infusing it with humor. Devito is the best of the aforementioned trio as he plays his usual stereotype, but none of the three understands or develops their characters nor plays them belivably. Only for hardcore fans, for the few good jokes, and no hurry, wait to rent it. Who wants to see numerous 40 foot high closeups of Jason Biggs? Even better, just read the script and skip the movie.
I think even the most loyal fans are at the point where they wish he would relinquish his complete control and stick to writing, leaving the casting, directing and his "acting" appearances to others. The dialogue in this movie is good but suffers from the constant stuttering and improv feel that may have been cute and innovative in the 70's but is embarrasingly dated here. The film is miscast, as usual, and poorly acted. Ricci, Biggs, and DeVito are not great actors and the harsh glare and difficulty of an Allen film exposes their soft underbellies. Stockard Channing is good but almost painfully overplays her role without infusing it with humor. Devito is the best of the aforementioned trio as he plays his usual stereotype, but none of the three understands or develops their characters nor plays them belivably. Only for hardcore fans, for the few good jokes, and no hurry, wait to rent it. Who wants to see numerous 40 foot high closeups of Jason Biggs? Even better, just read the script and skip the movie.