Fear, Anxiety and Depression Reviews

A sporadically amusing but slow-paced Woody Allenesque movie lacking real comedic bite, FEAR, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION features director Todd Solondz as Ira, a struggling, neurotic, and inept New York playwright searching for love and success. The failure of his avant-garde play prompts Ira to make an unsuccessful suicide attempt; then he breaks up with his shy, supportive girl friend, Sharon (Jill Wisloff), and becomes involved with a performance artist (Jane Hamper), who in turn dumps Ira for a minimalist painter (Max Cantor). But that isn't the end of FEAR, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION's coupling--not by a long shot. Written and directed by Solondz, the film features some good performances and offers some amusing scenes of the New York art world. But despite its fairly sure evocation of the artist's milieu, Solondz's derivative film places too much emphasis on the various romantic pairings and breakups, without offering real insight into the characters' lives.