NEW CAREER I: schoolteacher Woody tries to impress Christina Ricci and Stockard Channing with his comic talents.

Some things in Woody Allen movies never change. The opening titles, the jazz score, and the New York setting are trademarks — which is why it takes a little while to realize that Anything Else represents a return to form for Allen. There are jokes about therapy, masturbation, God — and they’re actually funny. Whereas his recent films have felt labored, there’s a refreshing lightness here.

Perhaps this is due to Woody’s happy realization that he’s too old to star in his own films. His alter ego here is Jason Biggs as a young comedy writer in a relationship with unstable would-be actress Christina Ricci, whose insecurities and hang-ups threaten to ruin things. The plot sounds a lot like Annie Hall, but it turns out that a rehash of good Woody Allen movies is still pretty good. Biggs doesn’t bring much more to the table than a Woody Allen impression, but Allen himself is funny as a paranoid schoolteacher who decides to break into the comedy scene at age 60. The film is being marketed as a teen comedy, but don’t be fooled — this is a Woody Allen movie. (96 minutes)