# Celebrity (1998)

### reviewed by
Seth Bookey

    Woody Allen Cries "Help!"

    Celebrity (1998)

Seen on 21 November 1998 with Laura and Peter at the SONY 19th Street for $8.75

More than 30 movies into the game, Woody Allen finally puts his plea into the air, in skywriting: H-E-L-P. Big white letters in the sky for all to see. At least all of New York to see, as it sometimes seems we are his only intended audience.

In an entertaining but not-so-deep effort, Woody takes on the perils of being popular in our media-soaked culture. The attitudes we have of the rich and famous, many of whom are beautiful and consequently, rich and famous, are somewhat examined here. Only somewhat. If nothing else, Allen shows us that our celebrities are just as screwy as the rest of us. They just get an tremendously larger share of attention than the rest of us ever see.

Here, the "Woody Allen character"--the character that the audience clearly sees as the character we think Woody Allen is like in real life, and the one we see in movie after movie--is Lee Simon. He is an "entertainment reporter" who moves among the beautiful people. As Lee, Kenneth Branagh does an incredible acting job, as he takes on not just Allen's mannerisms, but a lot of his vocal affects. If you'd never seen Branagh before you'd think he was New York's famous stammering director and not a well-spoken Brit.

As ever, Allen provides flashbacks to Lee's breakup with his wife Robin (Judy Davis), and follows their parallel journeys. We follow Lee through several sojourns--an interview turned interlude with an actress (Melanie Griffith), a crazed evening on the town with a Supermodel (Charlize Theron, of Devil's Advocate), and debauchery with teen idol Brandon Darrow (Leonardo DeCaprio). Meanwhile, he also has relationships with a book editor (Famke Janssen) and a waitress (Nola, played by Winona Ryder).

The much more interesting character and story is that of Robin, who goes from feeling like a nothing as an English teacher to working for her next boyfriend, Tony Gardella (Joe Mantegna), a TV producer. Faced with "having it all" she is disbelieving and underconfident. Alternating from frantic to aggravated to elated, Judy Davis shows yet another intense performance for a Woody Allen movie that makes you wonder why he kept casting Mia Farrow. My God! Imagine how much more spectacular Broadway Danny Rose would have been with Judy Davis. Robin's growth and development are the most interesting parts of the movie, making Lee's adventures seems like so many red herrings. If you know of a bad Judy Davis performance, let me know. It seems inconceivable.

Also, Woody's preoccupation with oral sex and hookers (this time it's Bebe Neuwirth) is still going strong. If I really thought that they were back for shock value and irony, I wouldn't mind, but it seems more adolescent and self-serving. I suppose the President's antics have given him further license.

Sometimes, watching Celebrity, you think that perhaps it's just an excuse for Woody to string together some scenes that have nothing to do with each other. It's more an exposition of celebrity than an exploration or explanation. Celebrity is entertaining, but any comparisons to Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors would be undesering.

Making cameo appearances are Donald Trump, Isaac Mizrahi, and the Buttafuocos--both Mary Jo and Joey.

Copyright (c) 1998, Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021 sethbook@panix.com; http://www.panix.com/~sethbook

More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html

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