I was surprised with this film, because I was a little disappointed with it. Woody Allen is a master of taking a plot concept and mining it for all its worth. His PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO is a brilliant example of this. Here, comedy playwright Sy (Wallace Shawn, THE PRINCESS BRIDE) and dramatic playwright Al (Neil Pepe, ANALYZE THIS) debate if life in inherently comedic or tragic. They are presented with a tale and both decide that it is comedic and tragic respectively. The rest of the film is their version of the tale of Melinda, who is played in both versions by Radha Mitchell (FINDING NEVERLAND).
In both versions, Melinda stumbles into a dinner party uninvited. In the drama, she is the friend of Laurel (Chloe Sevigny, BOYS DON’T CRY) and Lee (Jonny Lee Miller, HACKERS). Lee is a struggling actor who is having an affair with an acting student. At a party, Melinda meets a pianist named Ellis (Chiwetel Ejiofor, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS). Melinda’s life has been one tragedy after another and this is but another chapter. In the comedy, Melinda is the depressed next-door neighbor of filmmaker Susan (Amanda Peet, CHANGING LANES) and out-of-work actor Hobie (Will Ferrell, ANCHORMAN).
The similarities between the two versions of the story are humorous, but I felt Allen missed some opportunities. I would have liked for the versions to play closer with only the POV and ending points different, because it truly would have displayed how close comedy and tragedy really are. In addition, Allen can’t help but weave sly humor into the dramatic tale even if it undercuts the drama. It doesn’t really ruin the film, but shows more about how Allen really views life himself.
Even with these complaints, the film is still Allen’s best since BULLETS OVER BROADWAY. Mitchell is very good, bringing real life to the sometimes talky dialogue. Ferrell seems to be channeling Allen, which made me laugh even when he wasn’t doing anything funny. Other good performances come from Ejiofor and Sevigny. For a smart comedy, you can never go too wrong with Woody Allen, who seems to be on an upswing of late. When Allen is on, he’s one of the best working today.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
