A director is forced to work with his ex-wife, who left him for the boss of the studio bankrolling his new film. But the night before the first day of shooting, he develops a case of psychosomatic blindness.
Suffering from writer's block and eagerly awaiting his writing award, Harry Block remembers events from his past and scenes from his best-selling books as characters, real and fictional, come back to haunt him.
Director:
Woody Allen
Stars:
Woody Allen,
Judy Davis,
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
An insurance investigator and an efficency expert who hate each other are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist with a jade scorpion into stealing jewels.
Lee Simon, unsuccessful journalist and wanna-be novelist, tries to get a foot into the door with celebrities. After divorcing his wife Robin, Lee gets to meet a lot folks of the rich and / or beautiful, partly through journalism, partly because he has a script to offer. But life among those from out-of-this-world is hard, and his putative success always results in defeat. Meanwhile Robin meets a very desirable TV-producer and takes the first steps in the world of celebrities herself. Written by
Julian Reischl <julianreischl@mac.com>
Allen wanted to hire Kenneth Branagh for the lead role but was unsure whether he could pull off an American accent. As Branagh was filming The Gingerbread Man (1998) at the time, Robert Altman screened most of the film for him, and Branagh got the part. See more »
Goofs
When Frederique Van Der Wal turns around in the first bar scene, the wireless microphone transmitter around her waist is in view. See more »
Quotes
Lee Simon:
One minute you're in the lunchroom at Glenwood High and you f***ing blink and you're 40, you blink again and you can see movies at half price on a senior citizen's pass. Ask not for whom the bell tolls, or to put it more accurately, ask not for whom the toilet flushes.
See more »
One of the most brilliant Woody Allen's 90s' pictures, such a mockery of the "beautiful people" with some traces of a romantic comedy and some reflexions about couple troubles made in Woody. But there's an objection and that's Kenneth Brannagh. He's a great actor (no doubt about it) but in "Celebrity" you can't help thinking that he's imitating the character that Woody should've played. It's quite clear that Woody wrote this for himself, but he was too old to play a man that conquers Winona Ryder or Famke Janssen.
Last but not least, what about Judy Davis?? God, she's magnificent, one of the best actresses ever, and that scene with the prostitute is totally hilarious. Woody should've married her instead of Mia 30 years ago!!
So, if Woody would've played the role that eventually played Brannagh this could've been one of his best works. But Brannagh is not Woody, and that's noticeable.
*My rate: 7/10
15 of 19 people found this review helpful.
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One of the most brilliant Woody Allen's 90s' pictures, such a mockery of the "beautiful people" with some traces of a romantic comedy and some reflexions about couple troubles made in Woody. But there's an objection and that's Kenneth Brannagh. He's a great actor (no doubt about it) but in "Celebrity" you can't help thinking that he's imitating the character that Woody should've played. It's quite clear that Woody wrote this for himself, but he was too old to play a man that conquers Winona Ryder or Famke Janssen.
Last but not least, what about Judy Davis?? God, she's magnificent, one of the best actresses ever, and that scene with the prostitute is totally hilarious. Woody should've married her instead of Mia 30 years ago!!
So, if Woody would've played the role that eventually played Brannagh this could've been one of his best works. But Brannagh is not Woody, and that's noticeable.
*My rate: 7/10