Rent Celebrity (1998)

Social Satire. - Celebrity review by Steve

Woody Allen's rewrite of La Dolce Vita landed with a loud critical thud,  and Kenneth Branagh's Woody impression met a stunned response. It would have worked better if Ken had the charm to account for the stars receiving him so readily into their entourage, and Melanie Griffiths relaxing him so libidinously. But, it's time for a rethink. Celebrity was ahead of its time.

Branagh plays a travel writer who leaves his wife (Judy Davis) and plans to become a screenwriter. He funds himself by freelancing for celebrity mags, which brings him into contact with A-listers, like fashion model Charlize Theron and hell raising actor Leonardo DiCaprio and their periphery of sycophants, publicists, and gofers.

Davis quits being a teacher of medieval fiction to present daytime tv, interviewing B list makeweights like gossip columnists and politicians.  While not a profound piece of work, Celebrity does generate enough zeitgeist to work as a final cry for help from a society obsessed with the trivial.

These characters are no more degenerate than the intellectuals of Woody's early period, but they don't aspire to anything more cultural than a rung on the celebrity ladder.  They assume fame frees them from personal responsibility.  The script is sharp and the many celebrity cameos give the film an attractive gloss- and the ending is a knockout.