Cinecultist is torn. We heart Woody Allen. But we do agree that the Woodman's prodigious product is often more miss than hit. Yet, Small Time Crooks was much funnier than we'd expected it to be. And we do think that Sean Penn and Samantha Morton really did deserve all of the accolades they received for their performances in Sweet and Lowdown. Prior to the release this weekend of Anything Else, Woody's newest feature, Cinecultist was certain it was going to be just terrible. Train-wreck. A teenie bopper cast Manhattan? Doesn't sound good. Apparently, most of the people in this discussion thread on Gothamist also agree. But then we read yesterday, A.O. Scott in the New York Times raving about it. "Its relaxed, casual air gives the humor room to breathe, and a gratifyingly high proportion of the piled-up one-liners actually raise a laugh." But our favorite Bay Area critic, Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle hated it. "It has taken Allen over 30 years, but he has finally made a movie that's almost unwatchable."
Argh. With all of this back and forth, CC supposes that despite our best judgement, we'll just have to see the movie ourself. Will report back with any pertinent opinions.
Posted by karen at September 20, 2003 11:35 AM