Melinda and Melinda

This movie toys with the perspectives of life: either drama or comedy! Thus, we got the same characters playing in the drama part and in the comedy part. With Woody Allen writing & directing, and Amanda Peet in a leading role, I thought my evening would be enjoyable and… it was terrible !!!! No dynamic at all but boring monologues or too fast dialogs so you can't follow anything! So dull that after half an hour, I fast-forwarded the drama part to only watch the comedy: Then, I am left with a two-cents jokes comic guy who looks alike G.W. Bush and Amanda Peet in a ghostly part. Maybe it would have been more interesting to have the same cast for their counterpart but hey, I am not the worldwide recognized talented Woody Allen !

Woody Allen as a stand-up comedian saw the humor in some of life's injustices. Here he suggests infidelity is one of those injustices. At first glance, this "open" attitude seems at odds with the fact that virtually all Woody Allen films have been love stories (even Bananas!); maybe they're really falling-in-love stories. To dramatize this story, he wisely included Rhadha Mitchell, Chloe Sevigny, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose performances were as hypnotic as their names (the others, in lesser roles, were also good). What happens is routine; it's just a set-up to evaluate various ways of reacting to infidelity. Some of the dialog is among the best I've heard. How we react to setbacks can be an important part of our lives (not as important as showing up, of course). Woody Allen's philosophy of life isn't rocket science: when possible, have a good time. And bring a friend.

Four friends are in a bar table discussing perspectives of life. When the story of Melinda is brought to their conversation, two different versions based on the same event are developed by two fellows, showing a comedy and a tragedy. In the end, they conclude that the most important thing is enjoy life. "Melinda and Melinda" is a reasonable movie, but with a very good performance of Radha Mitchell in the lead role. This theme is not original, and I prefer the magnificent Gwyneth Paltrow's "Sliding Doors", where the lead character lives two parallel lives. Will Ferrell as the alter ego of Woody Allen does not work well. Although not being a bad movie, with entertaining dramatic and comic versions of the same predictable story, it is quite deceptive for a Woody Allen's movie. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Melinda e Melinda" ("Melinda and Melinda")

I thought that this film is right out of the classic Woody Allen mode. His theme of having events determined by others -- in this case, the writers -- was reminiscent of his one-act plays, "God" and "Death," and follows the tracks of the worldview he has always explored in his films. It was very well-written and crafted, an enjoyable night at the flicks. One thing that struck me is that the character played by Will Ferrell is exactly the part that Woody can no longer play because he's too old. It was not long into the film before I discerned that these are lines that Woody had written for himself, the character he'd always played, but a younger man was delivering them for him. And that only added to the charm of the film for me.