Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Genre

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn, Josh Brolin, Vinessa Shaw, Steve Carell, Arija Bareikis, Matt Servitto, Zak Orth, Brooke Smith, Daniel Sunjata, Larry Pine, Andy Borowitz

Storyline

A girl, Melinda (Radha Mitchell) arrives unannounced at a dinner party, and two alternative stories unfold, one comic and tragic.

Opinion

Right when I started to think Woody Allen's 21st century stuff was good, he had to make something to prove me wrong with "Melinda and Melinda", a slow, dull and a bit confusing comedy-drama that doesn't really work neither as a comedy nor as a drama. 

Shouldn't one wait until he/she have a story before bother making a film? Well, it looks like Allen forgot about it when he decided to make this film. He just put together two alternatives to a given situation, and it looks more like improvisation than a proper plot. 

Maybe it's because I was a little tired when I watched it, or maybe it's the way the film is made, but the two storylines get a bit confusing, and at times it takes time to realize which story you are in. Not to mention that is almost impossible to say which one is supposed to be tragic and which one is supposed to be funny, because they are both bland.

Allen's narrative choice is interesting - a group of people are telling the two stories - but it's nothing new, he did that already ages ago in "Broadway Danny Rose". And I really shouldn't mention that film, because it is on a whole different level.

The only thing that made me laugh about "Melinda and Melinda" is the script. It is so bad, it's laughable. The dialogue is horrible, and the characters are so not interesting.

Part of the cast was a bit of a surprise considering everything else. In spite of the script, Radha Mitchell somehow managed to carry the film, and Amanda Peet managed to give a good performance - even though she didn't have enough screen time in my opinion. Unfortunately Will Ferrell wasn't able to make the film funny with his attempt at impersonating Woody Allen. And Chloë Sevigny was just annoying.