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Melinda and Melinda

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Melinda and Melinda
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWoody Allen
Written byWoody Allen
Produced byLetty Aronson
Starring
CinematographyVilmos Zsigmond
Edited byAlisa Lepselter
Production
company
Gravier Productions
Distributed byFox Searchlight Pictures
Release dates
  • September 17, 2004 (2004-09-17) (SSIFF)
  • March 18, 2005 (2005-03-18) (United States)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$20.1 million

Melinda and Melinda is a 2004 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film is set in Manhattan and stars Radha Mitchell as the protagonist Melinda, in two storylines; one tragic and the other comic. It premiered at the 2004 San Sebastián International Film Festival and was given a limited theatrical release in the United States on March 18, 2005, by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Plot

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Four writers converse over dinner about the value of comedy and tragedy. The question arises: Is life naturally comic or tragic? One of the four proposes a real story he heard somewhere else: a distraught woman named Melinda disrupts a dinner party held by a couple, and a series of events involving affairs and a suicide attempt ensues. The two prominent playwrights in the group begin telling their versions of this story, one being comic and one tragic.

In the tragic story, Melinda, a widowed friend of the couple (consisting of failed actor Lee and wealthy socialite Laurel), ends up staying at their house. During the course of the story, she loses the custody of her children due to her history of alcoholism and drug abuse. Believing Melinda is depressed due to the loss of her husband, Laurel decides to help her look for a boyfriend. At a party, the two women end up falling for the same man, a pianist and composer named Ellis Moonsong. Melinda starts dating Ellis, who also starts an affair with Laurel. During a date, Melinda reveals to Ellis that her husband's death was not accidental, as everyone believes. She actually killed him after discovering that he had been cheating on her. One evening, Laurel finds out Lee is having an affair with an acting student of his. Defending himself, Lee mentions he knows Laurel is cheating on him with Ellis, and Melinda overhears this. After Laurel and Ellis confirm this to her, a distressed Melinda attempts to jump off a building. However, Ellis manages to save her.

In the comedic story, Melinda is a neighbor of the couple (consisting of failed actor Hobie and aspiring filmmaker Susan). Hobie is smitten by Melinda and develops a friendship with her. Despite his relationship with Susan being fraught, Hobie feels guilty about even considering an affair. While at a store, he finds an old lamp and rubs it while wishing for a way to have a romantic relationship with Melinda without hurting Susan. When Hobie returns home, he finds Susan having sex with one of the possible candidates to produce her next film. Delighted, Hobie breaks up with Susan and asks Melinda out. However, before he can confess his feelings for her, Hobie discovers Melinda started a relationship with a pianist she met on the street. Melinda and her new boyfriend decide to help a secretly jealous Hobie find a girlfriend. They set her up with a Playboy model, and the four go on a date on Halloween that involves seeing a movie and attending a party. There, the two strangers realize they both feel lonely and decide to go to Hobie's apartment to have sex. Seeing them leave the party together, a hurt Melinda realizes she has feelings for Hobie. Back at his place, before they can have sex, the model realizes she is still sad about her previous break-up. She tries to throw herself off the building before Hobie stops her. After she is gone, Hobie finds Melinda spying on him, and they both confess their feelings for each other.

Without reaching a true conclusion on the value of tragedy and comedy, the writers realize that it is important to appreciate the tragic and comedic moments in life as one never knows when it will end.

Cast

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Mitchell plays Melinda in both versions. Sevigny, Miller, and Ejiofor star with her in the tragedy, while Ferrell and Peet star with her in the comedy. Carell has a small part as Ferrell's character's friend.

Production

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Woody Allen said in Conversations with Woody Allen that he wanted to cast Winona Ryder in the title role. He had to replace her with Radha Mitchell because no one would insure Ryder due to her arrest for shoplifting; this would have made it impossible to obtain a film completion bond. Allen stated he was sad because he had written the part for Ryder after working with her on Celebrity (1998). In the same interview, he also claimed to have intended Ferrell's part for Robert Downey Jr., but, again, insurance got in the way due to Downey's history of arrests and drug abuse.[1]

The film also stars Wallace Shawn (alluding to his dinner-philosophy argument in My Dinner with Andre) as the comic playwright, Larry Pine as the tragedian, and Brooke Smith as Cassie. All three had appeared in the 1994 film Vanya on 42nd Street, directed by Louis Malle.

Reception

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Box office

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Melinda and Melinda grossed $3.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $16.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $20.1 million.[2] The film opened on March 18, 2005, in one New York City cinema, where it grossed $74,238 in its first three days. On its second weekend, it expanded to 95 theaters to gross $740,619, seeing its per-screen average drop to $7,795.[3]

Critical response

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Melinda and Melinda received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 51% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Woody Allen's uneven Melinda and Melinda fails to find neither comedy nor pathos in what seems like a rehash of his previous themes."[4] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[5] Leonard Maltin gave the film two stars, calling it "meandering", with "echoes ... of earlier, better Allen movies".[6]

Soundtrack

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Melinda and Melinda
Soundtrack album
ReleasedMarch 8, 2005 (UK)
Genre
LabelMilan
ProducerEmmanuel Chamboredon

The soundtrack album to the film was released on March 8, 2005, by Milan Records. It mostly features a selection of swing music and big band tracks, which is typical for Allen's films.[7]

Track listing

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Side A
No.TitlePerformerLength
1."Take the 'A' Train"Duke Ellington and His Orchestra4:38
2."Best Things in Life Are Free"Erroll Garner4:11
3."Somebody Stole My Gal"Erroll Garner3:25
4."I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"Duke Ellington and His Orchestra4:45
5."Memories of You/Moonglow/No Moon at All/Darn that Dream"Dick Hyman5:27
6."Concerto in D for String Orchestra: 2.Arioso: Andantino"English Chamber Orchestra4:51
7."String Quartet No. 4"Shanghai Quartet4:33
8."Prelude 2 Well Tempered Clavier"Dick Hyman3:15
9."Love Me"Dick Hyman2:35
10."Don't Get Around Much Anymore"Dick Hyman4:39
11."In a Mellow Tone"Duke Ellington4:47
12."Will You Still Be Mine?"Erroll Garner4:12

References

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  1. ^ Lax, Eric (2010). Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking. New York: Knopf. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-307-42710-6.
  2. ^ "Melinda and Melinda (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "Melinda and Melinda (2004) – Domestic Weekend". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Melinda and Melinda". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  5. ^ "Melinda and Melinda". Metacritic. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  6. ^ Maltin, Leonard (2009). Leonard Maltin's 2010 Movie Guide. New York: Signet. p. 898. ISBN 978-0-451-22764-5.
  7. ^ Harvey, Adam (2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen: A Complete Guide to the Songs and Music in Every Film, 1969–2005. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7864-2968-4.
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