The good news about this three-story, three-director view of New York life is that, in it, Woody Allen reaffirms his talent for wildly original comedy with a laugh around every other street corner. The bad news is that you have to sit through two other rather indifferent tales as well. They could have released Woody's 40-minute wonder on its own and forgotten the other two stories altogether. In the first story, Life Lessons, temperamental artist Nick Nolte will go to any lengths to prevent untalented bimbo painter Rosanna Arquette from leaving him. The second, Life Without Zoe, concerns a small girl whose personality and quick thinking helps reconcile her parents. Brother, forget it. These anecdotes, directed by Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola, are much ado about nothing. In Woody's tale, Oedipus Wrecks, he's a lawyer beset by the Jewish mother (Mae Questel) to end them all. Imagine his joy when he takes her to a magic show and she disappears in a Chinese box. No-one sees her for days and he's a changed man. But retribution beckons... This segment is funny all the way through, but perhaps at its best in Woody's misadventures with a clairvoyant. TRIVIA: Stay tuned for the end credits, which include one for 'stunt diners'.

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