Review of Fear, Anxiety and Depression (1989) by Andrew C — 13 Oct 2005

[b]VHS[/b] First Viewing, 5 Solondz films seen.

If it weren't for [i]Storytelling[/i], I would be much more enthusiastic about director Todd Solondz. Whereas I do not think it is necessarily a bad movie, it is nowhere near as funny/philisophical as his other films - including [i]Fear, Anxiety & Depression[/i], which plays out perfectly as a spoof on Woody Allen.

I heard that this film was chopped up quite a bit by the production company. I would be interested to see a director's cut of it, but I was not disappointed with what I saw at all. It was truly hilarious - part slapstick, part musical, and part surreal.

Todd Solondz has made two unquestionably great films: [i]Happiness [/i]and [i]Palindromes[/i]. I also love [i]Welcome to the Dollhouse[/i], but I hope his next films capitalize more on what I love about the aforementioned. He had a little bit of a misfire with [i]Storytelling[/i]. I want to see more takes on the American Dream. [i]Happiness[/i] has got to be one of the best films to do that. Now that's a film that exposes what people are really like.