I know this movie is supposed to be some sort of come-back film for Allen, about how comedy is nine parts tragedy and one part laughs, but I didn't laugh at one part. This is another example of a movie that is a superb idea and completely botched by execution. I am thinking that when one compares a story through humor against tragedy that one part should at least be uplifting; the combo was clumsy and at points really took me out of the experience.
I really liked the idea of this film and fully expected to be absorbed, but it came off completely cold to me. The characters were almost completely un-likable, and although sometimes I like that, this was not something done with bravura. The dischord between characters only served to distance me and by accident. This is not some planned homage to the tragicomic diety of entertainment; this is an experiment in abject boredom and heartlessness. There is a deeply cold core to this movie that cannot be expunged by a million inane Will Farrels and quite frankly, if a movie is going to depress me, I think there ought to be some deeper meaning involved. This is high concept at its worst. If you want the experience but not the depression this movie gives, I suggest watching the Baxter instead, and I didn't like that movie much either.