Review of Celebrity (1998) by Daniel P — 28 Apr 2007

"That's Papadakis, the director of the film we're gonna see. He's very arty, pretentious, one of those assholes who shoots all his films in black and white. Tom Dale - big star. He's in New York filming an adaptation of a sequel to a remake.

Oh and getting out of the elevator I see there's a famous critic... he used to hate every movie. And then he married a young, big-bosomed woman and now he loves every movie." A Woody Allen picture portraying a look into the world of celebrity seen mostly from the perspective of two characters - a restless writer and a former school teacher.

It has some very funny lines, a few of Allen's trademark squirm-inducing reality-check scenes, and a touch of romance. Kenneth Branagh essentially impersonates Woody Allen and it's an odd fit that doesn't always work.

Far more successful is Judy Davis, who brings some emotional truth to her role as Robin, grappling with a life that's suddenly giving her opportunities she doesn't feel she deserves. The impressive supporting cast includes Winona Ryder, who is really rather superb as a struggling actress (and there's a brilliantly self-reflexive scene where she complains about her character's contradictions and then immediately after becomes out of character herself), Famke Janssen and Bebe Neuwirth.

There are also some memorable appearances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, Debra Messing and Charlize Theron. Overall though, the film never really adds up to the some of its parts - the film is entertaining but when it's over there's nothing much to think about, and there's a lack of 'soul', something which Woody Allen's pictures rarely suffer from.