In Defense of CELEBRITY

[L_PHI...@sch.ci.lexington.ma.us]

Woody Allen's CELEBRITY got harsh reviews, worse in some ways
than the reviews for DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (which I hated). But I
like CELEBRITY. Yes, there's misogyny in it, and some have seen
hypocrisy in the way he treats the topic (I don't agree). And I
understand that there are a lot of people who simply can't watch
his films after the Great Conjugal Unpleasantness of recent years.

But CELEBRITY is funny and well-acted. I thought the
old-style Allen one-liners were surprisingly fresh and effective; I
laughed as I haven't since MANHATTAN or HANNAH AND HER SISTERS.
The acting is excellent down to the smallest roles (with one big
exception). Leonardo DiCaprio plays the predatory brat-actor with
an interesting range of menace, hysteria, humor, and above all huge
energy, and the part is written funny, too. Judy Davis is such a
terrific actress. Her part here is similar to her character in
HUSBANDS AND WIVES (I thought that performance was a masterpiece)
and again she goes way, way beyond what could have been a
neurotic-modern-woman stereotype.

The lead role is the most classic and cliched Woody Allen
stand-in character in ten or fifteen years, and probably wouldn't
be that tolerable even if played by a fortyish Woody, but as played
by Kenneth Branagh it's a disaster -- because he's *imitating*
woody, shot for shot and stammer for stammer. Excruciating to
listen to and watch.

Still, I think CELEBRITY represents a modest recovery.

Les Phillips

[Caro...@aol.com]

I liked CELEBRITY a great deal too including Kenneth as Woody. Of course, I
liked Deconstructing Harry. In fact, I really like all of his movies even
though it isn't fashionable to say so after The Great Conjugal
Unpleasantness, as Les puts it.

Carol

[Mariana Cirne]

I love almost all of woody allen's movies, to me he's the best director
and writer in american cinema, and one of the best ever. "Everyone says
I love you" went straight to my top ten list right after I saw it. I
dont give a shit what mia farrow has to say about him, and to tell you
the truth I dont believe that child molester talk. Of course his having
married his 20 year old stepdaughter is something that led me to
question his character, but that doesn't make him a pervert. Lewis
Carroll was a pervert and that doesn't make Alice in Wonderland less of
a masterpiece. Ad homine (sp?) arguments are something we have to be
very cautious about, since it is only rarely that they are pertinent.

cheers,
Mariana.

[Sasha Stone]

>married his 20 year old stepdaughter is something that led me to
>question his character, but that doesn't make him a pervert. Lewis
>Carroll was a pervert and that doesn't make Alice in Wonderland less of
>a masterpiece. Ad homine (sp?) arguments are something we have to be
>very cautious about, since it is only rarely that they are pertinent.
>

Slight correction: That *does* make him a pervert, but it doesn't make
ANNIE HALL any less of a masterpiece. In my opinion, of course.

Sasha