Celebrity (1998)

My Review

Director-writer Woody Allen (“Annie Hall” 1977) turns out another mediocre film called “Celebrity,” a topic he should be quite familiar with. Instead of starring in the lead role, he has Kenneth Branagh doing a poor Woody Allen imitation in an extremely boring and a very empty story about a celebrity journalist and his wife.

Judy Davis plays Branagh’s wife, with a star-studded supporting cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Melanie Griffith, Winona Ryder, Famke Janssen, Charlize Theron, Joe Mantegna, Hank Azaria, Bebe Neuwirth, Debra Messing, Allison Janney, Sam Rockwell, Gretchen Mol, Michael Lerner, J. K. Simmons, Dylan Baker, Kate Burton, Aida Turturro, Jeffrey Wright, and Donald Trump in a cameo as himself.

Other than this curious little feature of a brief appearance by the future 45th and 47th President of the United States, “Celebrity” has very few redeeming qualities and was a big flop at the box office for Sweetland Films, Magnolia Productions, and Miramax Films. This turkey was filmed entirely in New York City, New York.