Melinda and Melinda
Melinda and Melinda combines romantic comedy and drama in a way that Woody Allen, unique among filmmakers, likes to contrast. It takes place in Manhattan and chronicles a pair of crises that give great reign to the funny and serious talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Amanda Peet, Chloe Sevigny and Wallace Shawn. All the usual Allen areas are explained - the fragility of love, marital infidelity, sophisticated romance, the inability to communicate. As a character in the movie puts it, "He's despondent, he's desperate, he's suicidal. All the comic elements are in place".
Member Reviews
Not one of his better - sal33
Although Woody Allen attempted an original approach to his story, I think he failed to create an engrossing story. His decision to pick different actors for the different story lines I thought worked against his film.
There didn't seem to be enough screen time to develop the different arcs.
A valiant try but in the end I must say the film was flat.Melinda is a welcome change for Allen - Baboonvideo
Woody Allen’s comic riffs and rhythms have become increasingly tiresome with each half-baked neurotic trifle after another (Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, etc), so the fact that Allen has tried something new for Melinda and Melinda is welcome news. Working with a tricky premise, Allen follows two variations on the same story – one comic, one tragic – that follow the aftermath of a surprise guest (Radha Mitchell) to a dinner party. At times, Allen’s dialogue occasionally feels stuck in a timewarp, but at least he appears to be challenging himself again and he scores with a cast that is solid across the board (particularly Mitchell, Amanda Peet and Dirty Pretty Thing’s Chiwetel Ejiofer).Classic Allen - "comfort food" for lifelong fans - Sushi
Melinda and Melinda received mixed review in the press, but I really enjoyed it. The movie is Class Allen, right from the plain black and white credit sequence, to the Manhattanites eating a late-night dinner while arguing about philosophy. Also, Will Ferrel and Amanda Peet are AMAZING in their ability to mimic the Allen-Keaton interaction - something that hearkens back to films like Love and Death. Whether the "is life essentially comic, tragic, or absurd?" question gets answered is up to each viewer to decide. For me, the absurdity is what comes through. I left this movie with a feeling that I'd satisfied my Allen-fix!
Member Reviews
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Not one of his better - sal33
Although Woody Allen attempted an original approach to his story, I think he failed to create an engrossing story. His decision to pick different actors for the different story lines I thought worked against his film.
There didn't seem to be enough ...Melinda is a welcome change for Allen - Baboonvideo
Woody Allen’s comic riffs and rhythms have become increasingly tiresome with each half-baked neurotic trifle after another (Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, etc), so the fact that Allen has tried something new for Melinda and Melinda is welcome news. Working ...Classic Allen - "comfort food" for lifelong fans - Sushi
Melinda and Melinda received mixed review in the press, but I really enjoyed it. The movie is Class Allen, right from the plain black and white credit sequence, to the Manhattanites eating a late-night dinner while arguing about philosophy. Also, Will Ferrel ...