Celebrity

9/7/19981h 53m

Theatrical Release (US)

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

Overview:

The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.

Director:

Woody Allen

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$12,000,000.00

Revenue:

$5,078,660.00

Key words:

celebrity
exzentrik
reporter
ex-wife

Cast

Hank Azaria

~ as ~

David

Kenneth Branagh

~ as ~

Lee Simon

Judy Davis

~ as ~

Robin Simon

Leonardo DiCaprio

~ as ~

Brandon

Melanie Griffith

~ as ~

Nicole Oliver

Famke Janssen

~ as ~

Bonnie

Michael Lerner

~ as ~

Dr. Lupus

Joe Mantegna

~ as ~

Tony Gardella

Bebe Neuwirth

~ as ~

Nina - the Hooker

Winona Ryder

~ as ~

Nola

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
6
"Lee" (Kenneth Branagh) and wife "Robin" (Judy Davis) have been coasting along for quite a while when he suddenly declares to her that he wants a divorce. He's a writer largely reduced to churning out travelogues who has had his head banged against the wall following a high school reunion that made him realise that mundanity is set fair unless he does something about it. She doesn't take that so well, and seeks solace in a retreat that might be part of their problem. He feels that her strong Catholic religion has repressed their sex life and that, in turn, has impacted upon his literal creative juices. He certainly reckons that his new love "Bonnie" (Famke Janssen), herself a story editor, might be able to stimulate that. Meantime, "Robin" lands on her feet and is soon working with television executive "Tony" (Joe Mantegna) who offers her an whole new range of opportunities and as these two people begin to live independent lives, one begins to relish it and the other, well maybe less so. Is it a case of grass being greener or being careful what you wish for? It's an adequate drama this one that illustrates well the pulling power of Woody Allen in assembling a fairly stellar cast, but the episodic style of the storytelling is miss more than hit for me, and with the underpinning marital drama barely registering on the interesting scale, it really falls to one lively and authentic looking scene with Leonardo DiCaprio as the over-indulged film star having a mega-strop with his girlfriend and threatening to trash the hotel to bring the film to a brief form of life. It's too long, at times repetitive, and extremely verbose as the characters never seem capable of shutting up long enough to listen to what has already been said, let alone absorb or implement it's messages. Monochrome helps it's look, as does the classic sounding score, but as an opportunity to satirise the whole business of celebrity and the fickleness of fame, it rather disappoints.