Melinda and Melinda

Will Sloan1.5

Is life fundamentally comic or tragic? This not-particularly-clever-or-interesting question is central to Woody Allen's 2004 joint, which tells the same story twice, in alternating "comic" and "tragic" strands, united by Radha Mitchell's central character. In the end, we learn that comedy and tragedy are not far apart - a principle Allen brilliantly illustrates by making the "comic" scenes no funnier than the "tragic" ones. We also learn that love is irrational and the heart wants what it wants - ideas that Allen's filmography has been been inordinately preoccupied with since about 1992, for some reason. Agonizingly boring from beginning to end, but I did like the production design. Lots of nice apartments, tastefully furnished. Allen was presumably too busy pondering the nature of comedy and tragedy to bother asking himself how all all these unemployed actors, filmmakers, and musicians can afford such spaces. The cast struggles with Allen's lumpy dialogue, and no chemistry is generated between any two people. Radha Mitchell works hard, but the magic isn't there. Will Ferrell is in a different movie from everyone else, and by default is the best thing here; I occasionally got a kick out of watching him do an SNL impression of Woody Allen.Contains a clip from Ulmer's The Black Cat and a very brief appearance by New Yorker jokesmith Andy Borowitz.Watched for a Vilmos Zsigmond episode of The Important Cinema Club, hilariously enough.

Slig0013.0

A Woody Allen film about the relationship between comedy snd tragedy. We open at a dinner table where two patrons tell two similar stories about Melinda, one slanted towards comedy and the other tragedy. Melinda and Melinda certainly has an interesting premise. The film plays out with the two stories running alongside one another. Radha Mitchell plays Melinda in both, though they feature a seperate support cast. It's structured well enough and its easy to follow the two sides of the story, but unfortunately one side is a lot more interesting than the other. Will Ferrell is the standout of the cast. He's basically playing Woody Allen in the comedy section and provides the film with all of its laughs. The third act in particular really sees this story come alive and just made me think this would have been a better film if it dropped the whole comedy/tragedy angle and just had a Will Ferrell starring Woody Allen romp instead. At the end of the day, the film only makes the rudimentary point that your take on life is tragic or comedic based on how you view it anyway. I could have told you that.

Rodrigo Homsi2.5

O Biden estragou a review.Tragédia ou comédia.Confrontar ou escapar da realidade.Vejam se é tragédia ou comédia:02 velhinhos, um em estado senil avançado não consegue mais formular respostas sem dar tela azul, o outro um mitômano nazista declarado com viés autoritário concorrem a presidência dos EUA. Tragédia ou comédia? Não parece uma esquete do SNL? Mas se é real não é uma tragédia sem precedentes?Woody Allen tentou abordar esse tema com um elenco vasto, utilizando personagens diversos entre o núcleo cômico e o núcleo trágico, exceto Radha Mitchel como Melinda, então temos um inchaço do elenco e a teoria do cômico ou trágico perde força quando as pessoas e seus comportamentos, bem como as situações são completamente distintas da teoria que se queria provar a respeito do ponto de vista de quem vive ou narra a história.