Woody Allen's latest, Melinda and Melinda, has a promising premise: In a familiar Allen scene where pretentious, cardigan-clad, arty folk philosophize over wine in public, two playwrights discuss a situation they've overheard. That situation belongs to Melinda, an unstable, travel-worn woman who interrupts an important dinner party by unexpectedly arriving at her friends' Upper East Side apartment. One playwright (Larry Pine) envisions Melinda's background as a tragedy, while the other (Wallace Shawn) invents a comedy. Director Allen, however, looks at both, and the film delineates the playwrights' respective takes, essentially making two films.
The only constant in the two stories is Melinda, the unannounced guest, endearingly played by Radha Mitchell. The tragic tale has Melinda, aft... |
Rating of
1.5/4 |
