Anything Else (2003)

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.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Woody Allen, Jason Biggs, Danny DeVito

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In medias res: narrator Jerry Falk, a fledgling comedy writer with an inept agent, is about to celebrate an anniversary with his girlfriend Amanda. There's trouble in paradise: she's late (and has already eaten), she's been uninterested in sex for months, and her quixotic mother is moving in with them. Jerry looks back to meeting Amanda and dumping Brooke. A constant is his friendship with another wannabe comedy writer, a 60 year old teacher named David, prone to long walks and advice filled talks. As Amanda and Jerry's relationship founders and her mom's noisy presence makes writing difficult for him, he and David plan something different. Wouldn't anything else be better?

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Plot Keywords:

writer | new york city | moving | love at first sight | teacher | 

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Taglines:

In any relationship, one person always does the heavy lifting

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Bac Films [fr] Official site [es]

Country:

USA France UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Spring Project 2002

Filming Locations:

50 Commerce St, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$18,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£39,149 (UK) (30 July 2004)

Gross:

£39,149 (UK) (30 July 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks SKG, Gravier Productions, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jerry's reference to a very funny comedian who wrote "Never Trust A Naked Bus Driver" was referring to Jack Douglas, who also wrote 'My Brother Was An Only Child'.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
David Dobel: You know, there's great wisdom in jokes, Falk, really. There's an old joke about a prizefighter who's in the ring, and he's getting killed, he's getting his brains beat out; and his mother's in the audience, and she's watching him getting beaten up in the ring, and there's a priest next to her, and she says 'Father, father, pray for him, pray for him!' The priest says 'I will pray for him, but if he could punch it would help!' There's more insight in that joke, into what I call the...

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Connections

References Breathless (1960)

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Soundtracks

"It Could Happen to You"
Written by Johnny Burke & Jimmy Van Heusen
Performed by Diana Krall
Sound Engineer - Al Schmitt

User Reviews

The annual Allen movie

Ok, the man is an establishment. That's what keeps this movie from being vague, shallow and void. Woody Allen can claim for himself his kind of movies, and nobody else does them like he does. So, when you see a Woody Allen movie, you know precisely what you are going to get, the difference being sometimes more surprised, and sometimes less. Well, here there's no surprise, except the way that Allen seeks new talent and awards them with the typical alter ego role. It's up to them to prove that they can handle it. Kenneth Branagh did it, John Cusack did it, and now Jason Biggs is the nervous new yorker who goes to psycho analysis. Well, it works, but the truth is that Biggs' character behaves like a 35-year-old trapped in a 21-year-old body. And the fact that some of the movie doesn't make much sense, you can never forget that this is the realm of Woody Allen, and even if it doesn't make sense, it's always funny and you'll always laugh. Everybody remembers the plotless "Everybody Says I Love You" but no one cared for the plot. It was entertaining. Same here. Sometimes I'd wish that Woody Allen tried a little harder to make movies with a thicker plot - remember "Bullets Over Broadway". But anyway, this movie is a permanent joy to watch, thanks to the great actors, great comedy (even with a non-existent story) and a great photography from Darius Khondji.