| MELINDA AND MELINDA |
 2005 - USADirector: Woody Allen
- Reviewed by Vickie
Radha Mitchell stars as Melinda in both tales, which are spun when two writers (Wallace Shawn and Larry Pine) argue over whether a hypothetical story would work better as a comedy or a tragedy. They both have the same basic set-up—a woman arrives unexpectedly and interrupts a dinner party—from which to weave their respective magic and prove their points. We, the audience, are then treated to two versions of similar events, both of which have Melinda at their core. In the dramatic story, Melinda is a downtrodden, suicidal mother of two, whose stay in a mental institution (post-suicide attempt) cost her custody of her kids. She shows up on the doorstep of her longtime friend, Laurel (Chloë Sevigny), and Laurel’s struggling-actor husband, Lee (Jonny Lee Miller). She tells them about the difficult times she’s endured of late, and they reluctantly let her move in while she tries to get her life back on track. Romantic angst, betrayal and soul-searching ensue. In the comedic story, Melinda is a scatter-brained downstairs neighbor to film director Susan (Amanda Peet) and her struggling-actor husband, Hobie (Will Ferrell). Melinda crashes their dinner party after downing a bottle of sleeping pills. She winds up befriended by Hobie, who soon finds himself falling for Melinda despite her flaws and, oh that’s right, his marriage to the lusciously thrashable Amanda freakin’ Peet!. Romantic angst, shenanigans and soul-searching ensue. Both stories deal, at their root level, with relationships. More specifically, seriously flawed relationships. Laurel and Lee are stuck in a marriage based solely on appearance. It’s clear they don’t get along and they don’t even seem to like each other very much, but they’re sticking it out because that’s what snooty, Park Avenue types are supposed to do (they think). Susan and Hobie, meanwhile, seem fairly happy together, if somewhat disconnected by divergent career trajectories (she’s on the brink of securing financing for her new project, Castration Sonata, while he’s spinning his wheels doing voiceovers for toothpaste commercials). Into both marriages stumbles Melinda and, in both situations, she serves as a direct or indirect catalyst for change. But the thing is, I didn’t care about either scenario, either marriage or if anyone changed anything ever. I sat in the theater, staring at the screen, waiting for the movie to kick into gear, but it never really did. It just kind of sat there, lifeless. Heck, if the comedic half of the film (which is the much better half, I might add) hadn’t starred Amanda Peet and Will Ferrell, I have to wonder if I would have even made it to the closing credits. And, aside from a disappointing and largely lethargic screenplay (save for some clever one-liners from Ferrell), I think the main problem with Melinda and Melinda is its casting. Chloë Sevigny and Jonny Lee Miller were incredibly stilted, wooden and entirely devoid of chemistry or onscreen appeal. They’ve both been great in other films, but seemed horribly miscast and unbelievable as an upper-crust Yuppie couple. They kind of sank their half of the movie. Ferrell and Peet fared a bit better, due largely to their comedic timing and convincing affection, but they both seemed like they were wearing cinematic straight jackets and were just DYING to let their talent bust loose. They’ve both done better work elsewhere, and I so wanted them to be able to shine here…but they didn’t. Thankfully, Radha Mitchell, as the woman holding the entire film together, was excellent. She worked both Melinda personas to the bone and turned in one of her best performances. And, strangely enough, even though the dramatic portion of Melinda and Melinda was the narratively weaker half, I much preferred the dark, gloomy Radha Mitchell to the quirky, romantic-comedy Radha Mitchell. As a whole, Woody Allen’s thesis on life is, like life itself, a little awkward, kind of boring in parts, full of promise but not always as amazing as you’d hope it would be. |
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I know it’s probably been said before, but I feel the need to say it
again: it’s a shame that neither of the two parallel stories running
through the latest film from writer-director Woody Allen is all that
interesting or compelling, because there’s so much talent on the screen
that just winds up wasted.