Melinda and Melinda (2004)

Two alternating stories about Melinda's (Mitchell) attempts to straighten out her life.

Director:

Woody Allen

Writer:

Woody Allen

Stars:

Wallace Shawn, Will Ferrell, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Wallace Shawn	...	Sy
Neil Pepe	...	Al
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Louise
Larry Pine	...	Max
Radha Mitchell	...	Melinda Robicheaux
Michael J. Farina	...	Man with Dog
Jonny Lee Miller	...	Lee
Chloë Sevigny	...	Laurel
Matt Servitto	...	Jack Oliver
Arija Bareikis	...	Sally Oliver
Brooke Smith	...	Cassie
Zak Orth	...	Peter
Will Ferrell	...	Hobie
Andy Borowitz	...	Doug
Amanda Peet	...	Susan

Storyline

Over a meal in a French restaurant, Sy poses a conundrum to his fellow diners: Is the essence of life comic or tragic? For the sake of argument, he tells a story, which the others then embellish to illustrate their takes on life. The story starts as follows: A young Manhattan couple, Park Avenue princess Laurel and tippling actor Lee, throw a dinner party to impress Lee's would-be producer when their long-lost friend Melinda appears at their front door, bedraggled and woebegone. In the tragic version of what happens next, the beautiful intruder is a disturbed woman who got bored with her Midwestern doctor-husband and dumped him for a photographer. Her husband took the children away and she spiraled into a suicidal depression that landed her straight-jacketed in a mental ward. In the comic version, Melinda is childless and a downstairs neighbor to the dinner hosts, who are ambitious Indy filmmaker Susan and under-employed actor Hobie. Back and forth the stories go, contrasting the ...

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Plot Keywords:

actor | dinner party | party | filmmaker | stage play | 

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Taglines:

Life can be a comedy or a tragedy, it all depends on how you look at it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for adult situations involving sexuality, and some substance material

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [es] Fox Searchlight [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 October 2004 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Melinda, Melinda

Filming Locations:

Dune Road, The Hamptons, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$206,233 (Brazil) (27 May 2005)

Gross:

$606,549 (Brazil) (1 July 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, Gravier Productions, LF Hungary Film Rights Exploitation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Mono)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During filming, Radha Mitchell was the only actor who had the entire script. The other actors just had their storyline.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie it is poring with rain and yet not a single car that drives by on the street has its windshield wipers on

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Quotes

Hobie: They still talk about my portrayal of King Lear. I played it with a limp.

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Connections

Referenced in The Knights of Prosperity: Operation: Ralph (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Big Eternity"
Written by Adam Hamilton
Performed by Adam Hamilton
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/MasterSource

User Reviews

Witty, incisive, refreshing

This film probably marks the crucial point where Woody Allen takes one step back and lets others take over the Woody persona of a typical Allen film. It's happened before, in Celebrity and Anything Else, but now the lead characters can breathe as themselves without having to essentially 'be Woody'. Sure the resemblances are still there but more in the situations than in the characters. Will Ferrell displays proper comic timing and Jonny Lee Miller tries valiantly with what he's given. The script sparkles with more one-liners than most recent efforts and an appropriate return of the 'lust for life' motif seen in earlier films such as Hannah and Her Sisters or Everyone Says I Love You. If you don't appreciate that comic situations are both sad and full of life, and that tragedy has a fair share of unexpected delights as well as heartache, than you're definitely missing the point. Woody displays both of these in equal quantity spread liberally throughout the film in all situations. And so what if the end plays more like a series of sketches than a full-on film? It's the mark of a master than can make us enjoy what we see regardless of narrative form. 8 out of 10.