CELEBRITY (1998) ¢ ¢ ¢
D: Woody Allen
Kenneth Branagh, Judy Davis, Joe Mantegna,
Winona Ryder, Charlize Theron, Famke Janssen,
J.K. Simmons, Michael Lerner, Allison Janney,
Dylan Baker, Kate Burton, Leonardo DiCaprio,
Bebe Neuworth, Hank Azaria, Gretchen Mol
Smart, sophisticated, self-absorbed New Yorkers cross paths, hook up, break up and treat each other badly in an apparent race to find out which of them is the most pretentious and superficial. Is that being too harsh? I don't know. Maybe. Kenneth Branagh plays the Woody surrogate, and to whatever extent it reflects the director's own behavior and personality, it'a a scathing self-portrait. There isn't a character in the film you'd really want to know, and maybe that's the point. Branagh's character doesn't learn a thing and ends up right back where he started. Judy Davis, playing his estranged wife, finds something like true happiness by evolving into the exact sort of person she loathes. Donald Trump makes a cameo appearance and fits right in. It leaves you feeling grateful not to be living in Woody Allen's New York.
