MELINDA AND MELINDA (2005) (***)
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).