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'Celebrity' packed with celebrities By Rattaya Nimibutr The Daily Cougar ATLANTA November 13, 1998
(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON-From the recent Deconstructing Harry to Everyone Says I Love You, Woody Allen usually writes, directs and stars in his own movies.  Now comes his newest project Celebrity, in which Allen does not have a starring role, but in which the moviegoer will undoubtedly see his individual style throughout the fame-game flick.
The black-and-white movie is a typical Woody Allen pic, in which the focus is mainly on the lives of a group of people.
Every character gets his/her 15 minutes of fame, but Allen zeroes in on a couple of those characters that revolve around the giant whirlpool of stars.
And that's exactly what Celebrity seems to be: one gigantic pool of senseless talk, superficial celebrities and Allen's recycled jokes that seem to go nowhere.
Yet Allen has that certain punch that enables him to make the movie somewhat bewildering. At the age of 62, Allen carefully places the wise-man, yetcathartic-fun, stamp on his work. And this time, he doesn't share any on-screen kissing with any young stars.
So Allen shifted over to make Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet) the main focus of the film instead. Branagh walks and talks like Allen, so it is not a stretch of
the imagination to think that Branagh actually portrays Allen himself.
What probably saves the movie are the small inputs the actors and actresses offer with Allen's flawed storyline and baffled dialogue.
Winona Ryder, Hank Azaria, Charlize Theron, Melanie Griffith and Bebe Neuwirth are all there, and despite the fame-game attachment, the credibility of the nicely chosen actors add some-some-quality to this film.
Then there's Leonardo DiCaprio, who portrays a hot-headed stereotypical Hollywood honcho in scenes that seem to portray Charlie Sheen's real life. Maybe Allen couldn't get Sheen to play himself.
Celebrity can get slow, and the only hectic amusements come when Allen displays the lives of celebrities. You'd figure he would have learned by now that the fame game saves much of the box-office sales (girls will scream to go see DiCaprio in his 10-minute screen time), but I have to give him props for stepping back from the spotlight and giving people more consideration to go see the film.
So should you go see this? Only if you wonder what Bebe Neuwirth is doing now, how Judy Davis can brilliantly act on screen or if you'd just like to see what Allen can do this time with the same jokes he has been using for years.
Celebrity has its brilliant points, but if you don't like, or have grown weary of, Woody Allen, stay away from this flick.
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Copyright © 1998 by Gregory S. Scherrer, Editor and by the Student Publications Board
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