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Movie Thing - no date
Celebrity Review by David Steinhardt
It would be tempting to pile on and decry what a
failure of a comedy Woody Allen's new film,
Celebrity, is. But what's surprising is that within the
failed comedy, there was the possibility of a pretty
good serious film.
Kenneth Branagh, as the film's central character,
tries to be Woody Allen but ends up being neither
Woody nor Branagh- which is a shame, because in
his confusion, he manages to plod through some
bits with great comic potential. As a journalist with
aspirations for something more, he stammers (a la
Woody) as he botches relationship after
relationship, embarrassingly tries to promote his
career as a screenwriter and fails at trying to write
and sell his novel.
But it can't really be the stars fault that every
potentially funny scene falls flat. As other reviewers
have noted, Celebrity has a mean streak about
women which isn't balanced by some other
perspective. When Bebe Neuwirth chokes on a
banana while giving Judy Davis a lesson in how to
perform fellatio, not only are we seeing something
which was done way better in Fast Times at
Ridgemont High, but there's also the unnerving
sense that we're observing an early rehearsal of the
scene that we're in fact watching. It's truly bizarre
that at this point in the old pervert’s film making
career, more stars than ever are falling over
themselves to work with him, while the work itself
is becoming more and more embarrassing and,
well, perverted.
Only Leonardo DiCaprio gives a fully realized
performance as a violent, drug- addled movie brat
who literally takes Branagh's character for a ride.
Although Leo seems to know what he's doing when
he tries to talk Kenneth into joining his orgy, it's
Woody's fault that we have no idea what his
motives are in doing so.
Judy Davis shares the spotlight with Branagh as his
neglected ex-wife who becomes a celebrity by
linking up with an excellently cast Joe Mantegna
and, presumably, masters the art of fellatio to keep
him. Winona Ryder is beautiful as one of Branagh's
girlfriends, while Melanie Griffith is forgettable as a
major movie star who inexplicably wants to fellate
him. The contempt for women, expressed sexually,
is palpable.
And yet (almost accidentally, it seems) we are left
with a serious film about a man who thinks he's
deep yet is actually a clueless idiot. His longing for
a larger role in life is expressed passionately, even
while it's not clear the film maker understands why
his mistakes are grotesque. To have the camera
dwell on Branagh's misty eyes as he pursues a
woman the same day another is moving in with him,
however, seems like unintended irony. The film
itself seems to be telling us that he is a tragic
character because of his great passion for life and
women. The story, however, tells us that he's a
neurotic mess who pursues gratification most when
it will yield him the least.
The title of Celebrity implies that Woody believes
he is making a serious statement about the folly of
who we celebrate in this culture. In fact, the point is
so obvious that it is trivial. He even has Joey
Buttafuoco and his maimed wife make an
appearance. We’re led to believe some higher
purpose exists with such trash-mongering. Let me
tell you all now: there is none.
Thanks to Gabi ! *
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