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Directed By
Woody Allen
Written By:
Woody Allen
Cast:
Will Ferrell, Vinessa Shaw, David Aaron Baker, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sabrina Lloyd, Jonny Lee Miller, Radha Mitchell, Andy Borowitz, James Ecklund, Jennifer Grayson
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Melinda and Melinda (2004)
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Movie Review by Tony 
April 7th, 2006
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Everyone has a viewed a romantic comedy right? Check. Everyone has viewed a drama right? Check. This time we put them together to make two films in one. Woody Allen's "Melinda and Melinda" asks is human life comedic, or tragic? He tells a woman's story twice- once as a comedy, once as a drama.
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Emotionally unstable Melinda (Radha Mitchell) crashes a Manhattan dinner party, and chaos ensues, romantic temptations, and unexpected love affairs. The premise is the same, but in one story played for laughs, the other played for drama. Radha Mitchell does a great job on both sides of the coin in this movie. She's in about 98 percent of the movie and bounces back and forth from both roles with relative ease and poise.
�Chiwetel Ejiofor and Radha Mitchell in Fox Searchlight's Melinda and Melinda
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Woody Allen specializes in Manhattan based romances with characters who are quirky, lovable, and fun. But we all have seen those types of comedies from him before, this time he spices it up and adds another story. Allen is a master at writing speech between characters and this is no exception.
�Will Ferrell and Radha Mitchell in Fox Searchlight's Melinda and Melinda
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In one story, Melinda is popping pills, drinking, and her life is in shambles. She throws herself onto some of her old friends and stays with them until she can get some semblance of her life together. She meets one of her friends pals in the smooth talking, wise, and full of lyrical wisdom Chiwetel Ejiofor who is very strong in this role. Every time he spoke or spout of wisdom, I was sitting in and really listening. Strong writing here by Allen. This is played as a drama.
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In the second story, she shows up randomly in an apartment where Amanda Peet is trying to get funding for her latest film project. She is married to Will Ferrell who gives a particularly funny and neurotic performance as an out of work actor who falls in love with Melinda upon laying eyes on her. This is played as a comedy.
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Whether Allen is writing drama or comedy, this is a highly entertaining film with powerful and lyrical writing and strong performances by Ejiofor, Ferrell, and Mitchell. Allan does a nice job of going back and forth between stories and adding his own touches on each story. We all have seen romantic comedies done before, but this time it's done with a twist.
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-Tony Farinella
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