Melinda and Melinda (2004)
Country: US
Technical: col 99m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn
Synopsis:
In the course of a dinner party, theatre types discuss how the same material can be food for comedy as well as tragedy. The film illustrates their points via twin stories involving the messed-up character of Melinda.
Review:
Employing a framework straight out of Broadway Danny Rose, Allen continues to recycle his material, using an unwieldy sledgehammer to crack a walnut Alvy Singer once dispatched with one sentence (how comedy helps us bear the essential misery of existence). To make matters worse, the writing rings hollower than ever, the cast fails to sparkle, and the only lines that come off involve Ferrell performing an embarrassing Woody impression. The customary assumptions underlie much of the dialogue: classical music lover = sensitive, fast cars and blood sports = neanderthal, neurosis = funny, dentistry = unsexy, sexy = good.
Country: US
Technical: col 99m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn
Synopsis:
In the course of a dinner party, theatre types discuss how the same material can be food for comedy as well as tragedy. The film illustrates their points via twin stories involving the messed-up character of Melinda.
Review:
Employing a framework straight out of Broadway Danny Rose, Allen continues to recycle his material, using an unwieldy sledgehammer to crack a walnut Alvy Singer once dispatched with one sentence (how comedy helps us bear the essential misery of existence). To make matters worse, the writing rings hollower than ever, the cast fails to sparkle, and the only lines that come off involve Ferrell performing an embarrassing Woody impression. The customary assumptions underlie much of the dialogue: classical music lover = sensitive, fast cars and blood sports = neanderthal, neurosis = funny, dentistry = unsexy, sexy = good.
Country: US
Technical: col 99m
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn
Synopsis:
In the course of a dinner party, theatre types discuss how the same material can be food for comedy as well as tragedy. The film illustrates their points via twin stories involving the messed-up character of Melinda.
Review:
Employing a framework straight out of Broadway Danny Rose, Allen continues to recycle his material, using an unwieldy sledgehammer to crack a walnut Alvy Singer once dispatched with one sentence (how comedy helps us bear the essential misery of existence). To make matters worse, the writing rings hollower than ever, the cast fails to sparkle, and the only lines that come off involve Ferrell performing an embarrassing Woody impression. The customary assumptions underlie much of the dialogue: classical music lover = sensitive, fast cars and blood sports = neanderthal, neurosis = funny, dentistry = unsexy, sexy = good.