Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

lewiskendell "Comic or tragic, the most important thing to do is to enjoy life while you can. Because we only go round once, and when it's over, it's over. And, perfect cardiogram or not, when you least expect it, it could end like (snaps fingers) that."The general opinion about Melinda & Melinda is pretty mixed. I fully expected this to be one of Allen's weaker movies, but I ended up enjoying the heck out of it. I don't know if my enjoyment was because of my recent infatuation with Radha Mitchell, or if the movie really was just that good. Whatever the reason, I'm convinced that this movie is sorely underrated. A group of friends sits at a table at a restaurant, and listens to two versions of a story; one comic, and the other tragic. The stories are both played out with completely different actors; save for the character of Melinda (played by Radha Mitchell), who arrives unexpectedly in the middle of a dinner party in both stories. I know that may sound a little confusing, in a movie that questions whether the essence of life is comic or tragic, it works well.Three complaints: some of the humor was hit-and-miss, the script was a little too unfocused to communicate the themes of comedy and tragedy in a way that presented a totally focused point, and Ferrell didn't have a perfect handle on the "Woody Allen role" (though I can't really think of who could have done it better).  Those are the only less- than-favorable comments that I have to make. I thought the film as a whole was a combination of a great cast and smart writing, and those are the main things I look for in anything Allen directs. This is a traditional Woody Allen movie. More Annie Hall than Match Point. Which means it's very verbose, focused on a specific type of people that you only find in New York City, and it has his trademark humor. I would hesitate to recommend this to an Allen novice, but if you know what you're getting into and you "get it", then you might enjoy Melinda & Melinda as much as I did.

Kuroel Can't remember an Allen movie I actually liked, but I decided to give this movie a shot nonetheless. The concept was very delightful, but sure enough, Allen is still bad.We all know the usual mannerism of Will Ferrell, but much like every other character in this movie, his delivery was more like an imitation of Allen himself - down to the stuttering. I completely agree with another reviewer who questioned "How many actors can he get to stand in for his own neurotic, compulsive über-New Yorker persona?"Allen's directing style is very distinguished, but I'd say more like repetitive. He's basically producing never ending remakes of the same story with the same characters. The dialogue was horrendous. Wooden clichés sprinkled with occasional fancy words. Hobie considers himself to be an intellect (like all the characters that are projections of Allen) yet he speaks and stutters like a 10-year-old. Then, in the middle of mindless repetitive ramblings where he goes on and on and on about some extremely mundane topic, he throws in a completely random reference to Dostoyevsky or Kieślowski. Wha? Worst thing is - I really think that Woody is giving himself pat on the back for the "ingenious" cultural references. The cinematography wasn't a treat, either. In one of the restaurant scenes the camera sweep was so bad it was painful to watch.Without giving out too much about the ending, the dialogue was so embarrassingly corny, I thought it was a dream sequence until the credits began to roll on the screen. The ending could have been cobbled together by an average 12-year-old fan-fiction writer.

Sirus_the_Virus Radha Mitchell plays a woman with a troubled past in Melinda & Melinda. Radha Mitchell is a little known actress. I have only seen her in three films. And I must say that I have enjoyed all of those. But in those films you never really see much acting from her. In Melinda & Melinda, Mitchell shines.Woody Allen yet again shows that all of his films are great. This is another one. This is a unique one too. Allen here demonstrates a good use in story telling and shows that he's not only great at romantic comedies, but at romantic dramedies too. He can do anything. He can even do murder mystery. But I think he really shines with drama. My favorite Allen film, Match point(which Woody Allen even says is his favorite), was spectacular.Melinda & Melinda is a story told in two different formats. One is a drama and the other is a comedy. In the drama and the comedy, Melinda(played by Radha Mitchell) barges in at a dinner party. A woman with a troubled past. In the comedy, she's a woman who walks in after taking 28 sleeping pills. In the drama, she's a woman with a troubled past that goes to stay with her old friend(played by Chloe Sevigny).In both she stays with the couples(in the comedy played by Will Ferrel and Amanda Peet and in the drama Chloe Sevigny). In the comedy, an out of work actor(played by Ferrell) wants Melinda, but doesn't want to hurt his wife. In the other, her friend tries to hook Melinda up, but falling in love with him. You sort of know that one is not going to end happy. Out of the two formats, you will be more interested in the comedy. Will Ferrell is funny as the actor. And there are a couple of cameos such as Josh Brolin and Steve Carrell.All of the acting is very good. This is a film that shows you that life isn't nice sometimes. But you can take my word for it, you will be very entertained. A lot of stuff happens. The comedy side seems like original Allen, and so does the drama. It's nice to see. Until the end. The drama end isn't too nice. But neither is life. See it.Melinda & Melinda: A-

robert-temple-1 Let's face it, even our favourite and most talented film directors get it wrong sometimes, and this is one of those times. This film script is one of those 'clever ideas' that people get late at night, and when they are half drunk they say: 'Wouldn't it be great if ...?' But in the cold light of the morning, this should have been abandoned as too artificial. The idea of having two alternative stories about a girl called Melinda, one comic and one tragic, is too theoretical. You might as well try and make a film out of DAS KAPITAL, which is also theoretical. Woody here is 'too clever for his own good' and it backfires. There is no use talking about the performances, as actors here are not the point. A film which is excessively contrived, as this one is, is simply an embarrassment to everyone associated with it. I must say, the evening scenes of the people talking about the two Melindas are the most contrived of all, and not at all cinematically well executed. Films are meant to be illusions, but they need to be convincing illusions, not artificial fabrications such as university undergraduates would come up with while chatting in the dorm.