SnoopyStyle Lee Simon (Kenneth Branagh) is a womanizing celebrity journalist. He flirts with Nola (Winona Ryder) and movie star Nicole Oliver (Melanie Griffith) trying to pitch her his screenplay. He had divorced his teacher wife Robin (Judy Davis) after 16 years of marriage. She is stressed out and goes to a religious retreat. He follows model (Charlize Theron) and crashes his car. He starts dating Bonnie (Famke Janssen). Robin goes to plastic surgeon Dr. Lupus and meets TV producer Tony Gardella (Joe Mantegna). While Lee's life slowly crumble, Robin finds new life in the celebrity world herself.Kenneth Branagh is mimicking Woody Allen except the comedy doesn't transfer completely. There is something about Woody's nerdy jitteriness that is inherently funny. Branagh isn't a comedian. Add to the fact that this is in black and white, this feels like an inferior shadow of better Woody Allen movies. There are lots of celebrity cameos in the cast but I can't get rid of the feeling that this is an empty Hollywood shell. I guess that's part of the point. It has some funny moments but not really enough.

Desertman84 Black-and-white Sven Nykvist cinematography highlights this Woody Allen comedy about fame and obscurity among Manhattan celebs in this film entitled,Celebrity. The screenplay focuses on the divergent paths a couple takes following their divorce.It has an all-star cast in Hank Azaria,Kenneth Branagh,Judy Davis,Leonardo DiCaprio,Melanie Griffith,Famke Janssen,Michael Lerner,Joe Mantegna,Bebe Neuwirth,Winona Ryder and Charlize Theron.This comedy-drama film is written and directed by Woody Allen.Lee Simon is an unsuccessful novelist turned travel writer who immerses himself in celebrity journalism following a midlife crisis and subsequent divorce from his insecure wife, Robin, a former English teacher, after sixteen years of marriage.As he stumbles his way through both professional encounters and sexual escapades with performers, models, and other players in the world of entertainment, Lee increasingly questions his purpose in life. He blows numerous opportunities due to his fame-seeking and neuroses.Meanwhile, Robin trades her many neuroses for a makeover and a job with television producer Tony Gardella that leads to her own celebrity interview program. She takes advantage of numerous opportunities and ends up happy and successful.This film pinpoints the excessive role of celebrities in American culture and their impact in the average American.The black-and-white film is impressive, but the tale is shallow and diffuse and has little to say about our media- saturated life and obsession with fame.It was scattered but it nevertheless managed to be entertaining.

jinscoe One of Woody's overlooked gems. It's held up remarkably well. Still very entertaining, funny, and all too timely. And what else had Charlize Theron done at this point? She's a revelation. Kenneth Branaugh is spot-on as Woody himself (even better than John Cusack was in that role in "Bullets Over Broadway." Judy Davis gives one her all time great neurotic performances. Why wasn't she Oscar-nominated for this?! This movie offers among the best testimonials as to why so many actors want to be in a Woody Allen film. He raises the bar for nearly all of them, even while skewering their neuroses, egos, and the warped world they must thrive in. Party scenes topped only by back-stage chaos at TV talk show.

keystone_cop17 I don't write many of these reviews, but upon viewing Celebrity again, and noticing that it is Woody Allen's lowest rated film - I felt that I absolutely must say something. As stated in my summary I think this film is brilliant. There are so many nuances, so many little things that work so well. What people fail to realize is that this movie is not about liking the main character. In fact, he is decidedly unlikable. But we are not supposed to empathize with him. We are supposed to feel sorry for him. Lee needs "help" as is clearly stated at the end of the film. What's more, the movie is about Celebrity. Plain and simple. It shows us every kind of celebrity from the TV Priest to Brandon Darrow's party boy character. It shows the ridiculous and cardboard thin nature of celebrity as the old woman clearly points out about a famous hostage: "what - he's a hero for being captured?""Celebrity" illustrates America (and maybe the world's) bizarre obsession with fame, by holding up a mirror and presenting the people as they really are. It also shows us how we as an audience can be fooled, and how we worship celebrities for moments of fabricated beauty. This is brilliantly shown during the "Kiosk at Midnight" scene between Nola and Lee. It's possibly one of the most beautiful scenes ever put on film - but it's between two perverse and loathsome people. But we are fooled - and just for a moment, all is right. Such is the nature of celebrity. 10/10 Give this film another shot.