« Previous | Main Page | Next »

Grade: B | Genre: Comedy/Tragedy Summary: This is a clever film that shows how a person's outlook on life can influence their destiny. Woody Allen is such an interesting creature. He's an exceptional filmmaker whose collective work has left an undeniable imprint on film. He has turned conversation into an art form, paving the way for films like Before Sunrise and Metropolitan. For all his accolades, Woody has been in one hell of a slump. I mean Anything Else, Hollywood Ending, Everyone Says I Love You -- a musical Woody, really? The last truly noteworthy film he made was Mighty Aphrodite and that was ten years ago. How does he keep getting A list actors to sign on for his projects and have the seats fill up at the art room movie houses? Simple. Because he's Woody Allen and when he's brilliant, he's three shades of mesmerizing. Melinda and Melinda seems to be just the film to snap that ugly streak by tossing us a dash of that captivating brilliance that we've been starving for.

This story and his method of telling it are very intriguing. We slip in as a careful observer of four people finishing up their dinner after a show discussing the merits of comedy and tragedy as it pertains to our lives. The two gentlemen are playwrights, yet one focuses on comedy while the other on tragedy. Each is trying to establish his point that the world is colored in the shade that he sees it. A third gentleman interjects a story that he'd recently heard regarding an uninvited dinner party guest named Melinda (Mitchell). Though he told one story, each man had a different interpretation of Melinda. They each grab a hold of the story's baton to relay what they believe happens next -- one coloring Melinda as a tragic figure and the other as a free-spirited girl simply in need of love.

Melinda and Melinda Starring: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chloe Sevigny, Josh Brolin and Jonny Lee Miller Director: Woody Allen Check Movie Showtimes You may also like... Sliding Doors Mighty Aphrodite Metropolitan

The stories aren't anything to really wow you, but the way they are told is very inventive and new. Basically, it rattles off the two stories in tandem, cutting back and forth between Melinda's very similar to the approach of Sliding Doors. The big difference between these two films is Melinda's personality and outlook on life is the means as to where her future will end up. Her physical transformation is basically accomplished through different hairstyles and body posturing (i.e. straight and girl next door vs. curled and bar chick rough, light and sunny vs. rigid and carrying the weight of a failed life).

The script and dialog have the sharp wit and cleverness that we've come to expect from Allen. Our characters are a deeply intellectual lot, busy picking apart their lives as if they were at an introspective garage sale. There are a host of colorful characters from the depressive Playboy model to the guy who won't let his wife get pregnant for fear of having to have sex with a pregnant woman for nine months. They all seem to be stuck in a time warp of the prototypical 80's yuppie New Yorker. New York City and its quaint thoroughfares is a character in and of itself as is par for the course in Allen's films. From the romantic dark bistro to the houses stacked snuggly side by side, he captures this entrancing city and makes you want to live there, if just for a year, to experience this city as seen through Allen's wondering eyes.

Outside of the amazing city and the clever execution of this script, you're drawn to the performances of Radha Mitchell and Will Ferrell. Mitchell comes to Melinda and Melinda as more or less an unknown. This Aussie beauty hasn't filled many starring roles, save the 1998 lesbian romance High Art. She really carries this demanding multiple personality take quite well and certainly shows that she is capable of pulling off a challenging part(s). Will Ferrell is also in top form. Seldom do we really get to see him in a role where he isn't being an absolute goofball. As Hobie, he seems to be the perfect stand-in for Woody Allen. He capitalizes on his dry humor and out of control neurotic personality. When Allen retires and is looking for a man to wear his crown, Ferrell's head fits without question. It was nice to see him in this different comedic element, and I hope he takes on more roles of this nature in the future.

I think the Yankees could learn a thing or two from watching this film. It certainly couldn't hurt, the way they've been playing. Woody Allen shows us that even when things look horribly bleak, great filmmakers are always a step away from reshaping themselves. This is a clever film that shows how a person's outlook on life can influence their destiny. While the plot won't garner any awards for its originality, the execution of these two competing portraits, by this very able cast, make this a film that keeps your mind busy figuring out which peg (person) in Melinda's life will drop through which hole in her heart.

Check Movie Times.