Celebrity (1998)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer (WGA):

Woody Allen (written by)

Release Date:

20 November 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A funny look at people who will do anything to get famous... or stay famous.

Plot:

The fortunes of a husband and wife differ drastically after they divorce.

Plot Keywords:

Celebrity | Journalist | TV Producer | Actress | Ensemble Film

Awards:

4 nominations

Cast

Greg Mottola	...	Director
Jeff Mazzola	...	Assistant Director
Dick Mingalone	...	Camera Operator
Vladimir Bibic	...	Director of Photography
Melanie Griffith	...	Nicole Oliver
Francisco Quidjada	...	Erno Delucca
Aleksa Palladino	...	Production Assistant
Dan Moran	...	Jackhammer Operator
Peter Castellotti	...	Sound Recordist (as Pete Castellotti)
A. Lee Morris	...	Second Assistant Cameraperson
Douglas McGrath	...	Bill Gaines
Kenneth Branagh	...	Lee Simon
Maurice Sonnenberg	...	Dalton Freed
Winona Ryder	...	Nola
Craig Ulmschneider	...	Daniel - Production Assistant

Also Known As:

Woody Allen Fall Project 1997 (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sex and some drug use.

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Mono)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:18 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Australia:M | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Barbetta Restaurant - 321 W. 46th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Sweetland Films

Trivia:

In the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio and Kenneth Branagh are watching a boxing match, magician David Blaine can be seen sitting behind them. Blaine was on the set visiting DiCaprio that day and they put him in at the last minute.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Robin visits the hooker, the crew and equipment are both reflected in a window as the two women go out onto the patio.

Quotes:

Souvenir Hawker: They're all genuine ceramic, and we got this rubber bulb here, you squeeze this, fill it with some washable red vegetable dye, give it a squeeze, you can make his wounds bleed. Watch in the back, there. Isn't that something?

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No.5 in C Minor, Op.67

Woody's best in years

A lot of the reviews have said that this film is one of the weaker recent Woody Allen movies, but I actually thought it was his best since Husbands and Wives. It's much more subtle but every bit as scathing as Deconstructing Harry. Everyone says Woody's films just aggrandize himself, but I feel that his latest few have been exercises in self-loathing.

Certain people (in these very pages) have felt that one is supposed to sympathize with the Branagh character. Certain people, we must remember, are on crack. Branagh plays a low-life louse who gives the word narcissim a whole new meaning. He is looking to revitalize his life by entering the world of celebrities. He is contrasted with his ex-wife (the always amazing Judy Davis... who doesn't she do more films?) who is also looking to change her life, but not necessarily by becoming famous. She does become famous, and near the end she says what I think is the key line: "I've become the kind of person I've always detested, but I'm happier." My friend and I had an argument later about what the film was saying: a) that Judy has given up on seriousness and meaning by becoming a celebrity, but now she's happier, or b) that the "entertainment products" that these people turn out don't matter at all, and that if one can find personal happiness (Judy eventually becomes much more social and comfortable with people) by doing them, then that's great. I don't know, but this is a far more interesting treatise on finding happiness than the dreary "Happiness" was.

This is also the funniest Allen film in years, with two total laugh-out-loud lines which I won't spoil here.

Overall, I felt the celebrity part, and all the walk-ons we not at all the focus of this movie, it just uses that world as a backdrop. This film is also very sweet and real, with the scene in which Judy Davis visits a psychic being one of the most intimate and touching I've seen.

One last thing, it's fun to see a Woody Allen film in New York City, because you can watch the audience trying to identify all the places where the scenes are set.

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