Movie Review

Melinda and Melinda

"Melinda and Melinda" is Woody Allen's new film. It has already opened in Europe to apparently good reviews and box office, and I had heard it touted as one of Woody's best in recent years. But unfortunately this is not the next big score that some people are expecting.

Radha Mitchell stars in a pseudo-dual-role as Melinda, and Melinda. The two Melindas are two different versions of the same exact woman. Actually she is a total figment of two playwrights' imaginations, as the entire God-like framework for the story comes from people chatting in a restaurant. The two playwrights of the group get into an argument about whether life is essentially comedic or tragic. They of course start relating this to their art and attempt to weave a story around the ideas, and the story is about a woman named Melinda.

One of them tells Melinda's story from a tragic viewpoint, while the other uses the same elements to create a comedic story. Both tales start with Melinda unexpectedly showing up on an old friend's doorstep, and she asks if she can stay a while and pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Along the way she affects and arouses those around her, all the while looking for a new man to become involved with.

There isn't much of a plot to "Melinda and Melinda." Very little actually happens, as the movie for the most part is a series of conversations, which is usually a bad sign. It would be one thing if the dialogue had been really deep and probing, with substance bubbling underneath every line. Instead, we get extremely pretentious statements involving incredibly banal subjects.

There are many mentions of opera and classical music, apparently showcasing the fact that Woody Allen knows something about those art forms. To Woody, that's probably the most fascinating thing in town - but to mere mortals, it rings very hollow. To say that the characters in this movie (and, by extension, Woody) are self-involved is a whopping understatement.

There's even one potential suitor of Melinda's, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (I dare you to pronounce his name), who mentions how much he talks about himself, and then keeps talking about himself - and of course he's a classical/opera composer. There is no world beyond these characters' soulless, privileged New York lives, but there should be because their world is boring.

Part of the news is that Will Ferrell is in the movie. Allen should have kept the comedic part in mind, as Ferrell is given very little humorous material to work with. This is strange because Will's section is supposed to be the comedy half of the movie. He has a few amusing parts, but they are sporadic and don't pack the necessary punch to make the film worthwhile. I'm not a big Will Ferrell fan, but I know he's funnier than this movie gives him the opportunity to be.

Woody Allen has made some fantastic films (my favorites are "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "Deconstructing Harry"), and in many ways he rightly deserves his iconic status. But films like this (the bulk of his recent output) make me retroactively dislike his entire body of work a little bit more. "Melinda and Melinda" has many elements that have been familiar in his work since the early 70's, but what was brilliant in a different time is now stale and obnoxious. This movie all but confirms that Woody's artistic greatness has been put to bed.

Scott's Grade: C+

A	15.1%
B	59.2%
C	24.5%
D	1.2%
F	0.0%