With his latest effort, “Celebrity,” Woody Allen has either lost his touch or entered an entirely new level of filmmaking which will only be recognized for its brilliance long after the author’s death.

Frankly, there is nothing new under the sun.

This film offers fans nothing original except for a hilarious two-hour Woody Allen impression by Kenneth Brannaugh, whose imitation is so accurate that it acts as a complete and total distraction from the story, which is simply a rehashing of every major theme Allen has ever done.

If you have seen “Husbands and Wives,” “Annie Hall” or “Hannah and her Sisters,” then you know this story inside and out.

Brannaugh is Lee, the character that Woody Allen would have normally played. He is a neurotic New York intellectual writer who is having a mid-life crisis.

He has left his wife for reasons he cannot adequately explain to her, himself or the audience beyond his having changed and developed interests in other women.

Lee gets a sports car and goes searching for love in all the places he overlooked the first time. His attempts at romance and career advancement often lead him into ridiculous situations. Overall, this theme is pretty tired.

Sitting in the theater, it was hard to contain my incredulity. It is difficult to imagine anyone but Allen acting as insecure and neurotic as Lee.

Brannaugh looked and felt out of place. It was like watching Rich Little do “Hamlet” as Johnny Carson.

Patrons could be overheard asking each other, “Is this supposed to be funny?” “Is he serious?” Unfortunately he seems to have been.

Judy Davis is a bright spot in this film as the jilted wife left shattered after her divorce. She is looking for peace in a convent at the film’s opening, while flashing back to the plot exposition scenes of her breakup.

These scenes have been played out in other Allen movies, but Davis made it seem like it was only the fourth or fifth time you had seen such a breakup. Her anger and frustration seemed genuine, and her performance was humorous.

The story drags out for a couple of hours in an endless parade of scenes which looked like a film student’s lame attempt at imitating Woody Allen.

There used to be two kinds of people in this world: people who were Woody Allen fans and people who just didn’t like him. Now there is a third category for fans who are wondering what he is thinking when he makes these movies.

His recent efforts have been stellar in comparison. “Mighty Aphrodite” and “Deconstructing Harry” were both original efforts.

But “Celebrity” just makes the audience want to shout, “We get it, Woody. You’re an insecure, horny old guy with serious relationship issues who feels the need to put his boring repetitive life problems on the screen for all to see. Quit hammering it home, for the love of god!”

2 stars out of five

---

Greg Jerrett is a graduate student in English from Council Bluffs.