Synopsis
While dining out with friends, Sy suggests the difficulty of separating comedy from tragedy. To illustrate his point, he tells his guests two parallel stories about Melinda ; both versions have the same basic elements, but one take on her state of affairs leans toward levity, while the other is full of anguish. Each story involves Melinda coping with a recent divorce through substance abuse while beginning a romantic relationship with a close friend's husband.
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Cast
- Chiwetel EjioforEllis Moonsong
- Will FerrellHobie
- Jonny Lee MillerLee
- Radha MitchellMelinda Robicheaux
- Amanda PeetSusan
- Chloë SevignyLaurel
- Wallace ShawnSy
- David Aaron BakerSteve
- Arija BareikisSally Oliver
- Josh BrolinGreg
Recommendations
- 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Woody's back on solid ground with his first memorable pic of the new millennium. - 80
Variety
Radha Mitchell stirs memories of complex Allen heroines from Annie Hall on down, even if the action is dispersed via a larger ensemble cast which he currently favors. - 75
Rolling Stone
With Melinda and Melinda he's (Allen) not just going through the motions. He's saying the game isn't over before you laugh till it hurts. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
This is closer to an Allen comeback than anything else he's made recently. Maybe he'll achieve it with his next movie, "Match Point," due this year. - 70
The New Yorker
It's emotionally more alive than anything Allen has done since "Sweet and Lowdown," in 1999. I was absorbed in it, and I liked parts of it. And I wish to God it were better. - 70
The New York Times
As he (Allen) interweaves two versions of the Melinda story, one meant to be bathed in pathos, the other sprinkled with whimsy, it becomes apparent that his notions of comedy and tragedy do not quite correspond either to scholarly dogma or to everyday usage. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
The best reason to see Melinda and Melinda is Radha Mitchell, who has her grabbiest role (or two of them) since she broke through with "High Art." - 60
Time
Allen has assembled an attractive cast and given most of them clichés to inhabit. He has also stinted on inventiveness.
