Anything Else (2003)

Woody Allen’s new romantic comedy "Anything Else" is a lesson in the reality that love at first sight isn’t always 20/20. Jason Biggs stars as Jerry Falk, who learns that lesson the hard way when he falls head over heels in love with the beautiful but flighty Amanda. "I think love at first sight ultimately lends itself to some relationship problems down the road," Biggs says. "Jerry falls in love at first sight, but then is blind to everything that happens thereafter, so it’s all downhill from there."

Christina Ricci, who stars as Amanda, remarks frankly, "Amanda is very seductive and very good at playing into what a man would want, but she’s basically just a child, who is incapable of really loving anyone…probably not even herself. She’s emotionally immature, but she calls it a ‘commitment problem’ because it sounds a lot more mature and dignified than saying ‘I’m just a big baby,’" she laughs. "She’s really the ultimate nightmare girlfriend."

"I would absolutely agree with that," Biggs states, though he is quick to add that his character, Jerry, has his own set of problems, as evidenced by the fact that he puts up with everything Amanda throws at him and keeps coming back for more. "Jerry is a pushover," he acknowledges. "He’s a little too forgiving of Amanda and those certain qualities about her—like her infidelity and her relationship committal issues. Jerry is very timid about ending relationships that he needs to break from for his own good. I suppose he is very unselfish in a way; he puts others before himself."

Ricci sees the problem a little less altruistically from Amanda’s perspective. "I think the fact that she is always just beyond his reach and never really gives herself to him is what keeps him chasing after her."

In casting Christina Ricci as Amanda, Woody Allen says that he fulfilled one of his ambitions as a director. "I am repeatedly asked whom I would want to work with that I haven’t already. I would always say Christina Ricci. I have been a big fan of hers for years, and she really came through for me here."

Ricci says that what first excited her when she read the script was, "I thought it was a great mixture of ‘Annie Hall’ and ‘Stardust Memories,’ which is my favorite Woody Allen movie. And Amanda is such a typical Woody Allen girl, so I figured if you’re going to do a Woody Allen movie, you might as well play the quintessential Woody Allen girl."

To star opposite Ricci, Allen cast Jason Biggs as Jerry after seeing a clip of him in one of his earlier films. "I loved him instantly," the director affirms. "He is very gifted."

"It happened so quickly," Biggs recalls. "I was told that Woody Allen had a possible part for me in his next project and asked if I would meet with him. Of course, that was a no-brainer. The meeting lasted less than five minutes. We didn’t even sit down; we just stood in the doorway to his office. He started telling me about the story, and talking as if I had the role. I left the office wondering, ‘Do I have the part?’"

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