Regardless of what one may think about Woody Allen's personal peccadilloes, as an auteur, he does turn out smart movies. Celebrity is no exception. His casting is impeccable (Leo! Sam Rockwell!)—real life tabloid celebrities share screen time with long time Allen favorites. All the requisite symbols (storyencoding) of fame and fortune are scattered about—plastic surgery, personal assistants, impossible restaurant reservations, ladies who lunch. The paparazzi snap the glitterati—the East Coast intelligentsia toss off literary bon mots.

The table-hopping style of storytelling (storyweaving) bears a semblance of a Dramatica grand argument story, necessary for keeping the film from pop icon overload. The main character throughline is quite well defined; Kenneth Branagh as wannabe screenwriter Lee Simon takes on the usual Allen role of the shallow whiner—a lovable miniskirt-chasing loser (judgment-bad). His quest (main character domain-physics) for the spotlight (main character concern-obtaining) fails, in stinging contrast to his impact character, awkward ex-wife Robin's (Judy Davis) success. Robin not only changes her essential nature (impact character resolve), but blossoms (impact character concern-becoming) into a media savvy, camera ready beauty as well. (She's superficial, but much happier!) Lee and Robin's throughlines intersect enough to offer a main vs. impact character story, but the overall story throughline is as elusive as celebrity itself.

In the case of Celebrity, a loosely structured story works well thematically with its ephemeral subject matter—that, unlike the cinematography, is not all black and white. Woody Allen provides just enough of a framework to create a celluloid context for our celebrity culture that allows us to have a laugh on him, and of course, on our own star-struck selves.

Please note: An earlier version of this article is published on www.Dramatica.com.