Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Woody Allen, Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Danny DeVito, Stockard Channing ... see more see more... , KaDee Strickland , Jimmy Fallon , Erica Leerhsen , William Hill , David Conrad , Adrian Grenier , Diana Krall , Glenn Close , Kenneth Edelson , Fisher Stevens , Joseph Lyle Taylor , Ray Garvey , Maurice Sonnenberg , Anthony Arkin , Wynter Kullman , Anthony J. Ribustello , Zach McLarty , Ralph Pope

A young artist struggling with his career and his muse is getting more than a little aggravation from Cupid in this romantic comedy written and directed by Woody Allen. Jerry Falk (Jason Biggs) is a p... read more read more...romising 21-year-old comedy writer living in New York City. While Jerry has talent, he's having a hard time getting his career off the ground, which might have something to do with the fact his agent Harvey (Danny DeVito) is a well-meaning, but ineffectual, blowhard, and his mentor David Dobel (Allen) is an increasingly paranoid eccentric whose twin careers as a teacher and standup comic are both floundering. Poised at the top of Jerry's mountain of anxieties is his relationship with his girlfriend Amanda (Christina Ricci); from the first moment he saw her, Jerry has been in love with her, but Amanda's multiple neuroses, fear of commitment, and frustrating intimacy issues make her all but impossible to be around. Jerry is approaching his breaking point when the small flat he shares with Amanda becomes home to a third roommate -- Amanda's mother Paula (Stockard Channing), who has decided to come to New York to chase her dream of becoming a cabaret singer. Anything Else also features supporting performances from Jimmy Fallon, William Hill, and jazz vocalist Diana Krall. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

44% liked it

21,254 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

131 critics

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Woody Allen

Release Date: September 19, 2003

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: December 23, 2003

Stats: 713 reviews

Your Rating



clear rating

Flixster Reviews (713)


  • January 7, 2008
    This wasn't very good. The story was bleah and the actors didn't seem to put out performances at all. I didn't care what happened to any of these people halfway through.
  • December 31, 2007
    I dislike movies about seasoned pros imparting advice to wide-eyed proteges. In terms of Woody's oeuvre, there was too much didacticism and not enough heart...
  • July 16, 2007
    it was kind of eerie to see american pie jason biggs emulate woody allen so accurately. christina ricci was uneven but she's completely gorgeous and i can understand why jason biggs is obsessed with her. evokes classic woody allen humor and falters at times but generally it's all... read more good fun. i wouldn't consider it one of the better woody allen films but this is a movie where woody is thoroughly comfortable with his style and i think, in the later years, creates some variations. i want to hurt people who are all annie hall BLAH BLAH this and that. allen's not going to make another annie hall, but his style has always be the same. get over yourselves! all allen films are inherently the same and different.
  • March 20, 2006
    For the first time in my life I had to just stop watching a movie due to boredom and shotty diologue.
  • October 22, 2009
    I seriously thought this was going to be about some romantic comedy we naturally see. I was SO wrong, in so many levels. This movie is about little psychos who can drain someone, a "life sucker" if you will. Very well done, some plot holes but it's good in general. Woody Allen (a... read morelways) makes it worth a watch.
  • September 7, 2009
    One of the best films of 2003. The way Woody Allen's current work is so frequently shunned by audiences and film critics is shameful. He is a relevant, extremely skilled filmmaker, and this piece of work fits nicely into his brilliant career. It's a beautifully photographed piece... read more - Allen's only movie to be filmed using an anamorphic ratio aside from Manhattan. Jason Biggs is charming in the lead, and he shares fantastic screen chemistry with Woody Allen. Christina Ricci is top-notch as a confused, neurotic character, and all the supporting roles are filled nicely as well. Everything I want from a romantic comedy, and so much more. Anything Else is great.
  • November 9, 2009
    I thought this film is way underrated. You'll have to be a "reader" or "intelligent" to understand fully what Allen achieved in Anything Else. It was hilarious and classic. Definitely worth watching twice for the memorable sayings. If you are into boring, senseless bloodbath acti... read moreon, this is not for you.
  • April 28, 2009
    This movie sucked! I LIKE Christina Ricci but this was one of Woody Allen's worst!
  • March 14, 2009
    Has moments but not very good.
  • August 3, 2011
    While some have called this Woody Allen's all-time worst film, I have to disagree. It's certainly no masterpiece - it's largely bland and uninspired - but there is a sort of gentle inoffensive charm to it, especially Christina Ricci's cheerfully disorganized portrayal of Amanda. ... read moreIf anyone but Allen had made this movie it wouldn't have been that bad. It's only in comparison to his other works, many of which I would consider masterpieces, that this ranks pretty far down in the canon.

Critic Reviews


Rex Reed
October 16, 2003
Rex Reed, New York Observer

None of this adds up to much of a movie; it's more like a filmed hodgepodge of not-fully- thought-out ideas and one-liners and small shards of jaundiced polemic. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
October 9, 2003
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

Curiously, Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci come out better than I imagined after being compelled to play out the movie's sadomasochistic tag line. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
September 27, 2003
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

I didn't laugh once. Full Review

Michael Atkinson
September 23, 2003
Michael Atkinson, Village Voice

Who knows what sense an American Pie-digging, Woodman-ignorant undergrad might make of the canned rhythms, the trilobite-era one-liners, the awkward declarative dialogue, the Catskills-resort frames o... Full Review

Jean Oppenheimer
September 21, 2003
Jean Oppenheimer, Hollywood Reporter

There is nothing to set this work apart from any number of mediocre Allen films.

James Berardinelli
September 20, 2003
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

There's a lot of truth in the screenplay, and, combined with Ricci's top-notch, can't-take-your- eyes-off-her-when- she's-on-screen performance, this gives the movie a strong spine. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
September 20, 2003
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

Anything Else isn't just the latest Woody Allen movie; it's also the smallest. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
September 20, 2003
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

At times it seems as if we're watching a high school production of Woody Allen.

Desson Thomson
September 19, 2003
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

The movie doesn't have the energy to be truly horrible. It's too muted and enervated. But it's a somewhat tedious thing to sit through. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
September 19, 2003
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

Two Woody Allens, two kvetching, whining, neurotic incompetents bungling their lives, being taken advantage of, furiously resenting the universe, which will not notice them until it decides to kill th...

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Prozac Nation
    Prozac Nation (67%)
  • Casper
    Casper (29%)
  • Love and Death
    Love and Death (50%)
  • Wedding Daze
    Wedding Daze (33%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Anything Else : Watch Free on TV


Anything Else Trivia


  • Patrick Swayze once said in an interview that he hated the Dirty Dancing line "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," but once he was doing the scene, he couldn't think of anything else to say.  Answer »
  • Complete the quote. Swat Cop: Anything else that'll keep this elevator from falling? Jack: Yeah. ____________  Answer »
  • who directed "Anything else"?  Answer »
  • Which Actress Was: -Ellie In Cursed -Selby In Monster -Katrina Van Tassel In Sleepy Hollow -Penelope In Penelope -Amanda In Anything Else  Answer »

Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for Anything Else. Want to create one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists


Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?