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Radha Mitchell, Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet ... see more see more... , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Wallace Shawn , Josh Brolin , Gene Saks , Vinessa Shaw , Steve Carell , Geoffrey Nauffts , Neil Pepe , Larry Pine , Matt Servitto , Brooke Smith , Arija Bareikis , Shalom Harlow , Zak Orth , Christina Kirk , Andy Borowitz , David Aaron Baker , Stephanie Roth Haberle , Katie Kreisler , Daniel Sunjata , Rob Buntzen , Michael J. Farina , Alyssa Pridham , Quincy Rose , Rick Vincent Holmes , Michele Durning , Yi-Wen Jiang , Honggang Li , Weigang Li , Nicholas Tzavaras

While Woody Allen has long fused comedy and drama in his films, he embraces the two styles in a new and unusual way in this feature. Sy (Wallace Shawn) is enjoying dinner with some friends when they b... read more read more...egin debating the nature of the tragic and the humorous. Sy, observing that a very fine line separates the two, decides to demonstrate this notion by showing how the same essential story can be either funny or sad depending on the way certain elements are handled; for the rest of the film, we jump back and forth between two versions of the story of Melinda (Radha Mitchell), a young woman with some serious problems in her life. In the tragic version, Melinda crashes a dinner party thrown by old friends Laurel (Chloë Sevigny) and Lee (Jonny Lee Miller). When she arrives, Melinda is distraught and under the influence of pills and alcohol, much to the annoyance of Lee, an actor hoping to impress a producer who is one of his guests. After a bad breakup with her husband, Melinda lost custody of her children and came to New York City, where she became involved with Ellis Moonsong (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a handsome and well-mannered composer whose promises to her proved to be worthless. Meanwhile, on the funny side of town, Melinda shows up dazed and confused at the home of Susan (Amanda Peet) and Hobie (Will Ferrell), who are in the midst of a dinner party. Learning about the sad state of Melinda's love life after divorcing her husband and losing custody of her children, Susan decides to play Cupid and fix her friend up with a well-to-do dentist. However, neither Susan nor Melinda are aware that there is another man deeply interested in the troubled divorcée -- Hobie. Melinda and Melinda also features Josh Brolin, Vinessa Shaw, and noted theatrical director Gene Saks. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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48% liked it

15,899 ratings

Critics

53% liked it

156 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Woody Allen

Release Date: March 18, 2005

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DVD Release Date: October 25, 2005

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Flixster Reviews (1,023)

  • bathshebamonk
    March 6, 2012
    bathshebamonk
    Even in his weakest movies, Woody Allen manages to make me think, and M and M was no exception. Is life really a comedy or tragedy according to the way you look at it? Probably. Will Ferrell was the surprise Woody Allen wannabee and he really pulled it off, I thought better th... read morean Woody manages to nowadays. None of these characters were anybody I liked, but I was rooting for all of them, so some magic was being performed somewhere. I look at this movie as something to be seen in the context of Allen's entire body of work, not as a single note.
  • FrizzDrop
    December 27, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Not since Gwyneth Paltrow's Sliding Doors has such a film drawn parallels between two sides of the same story based on cursory details. Allen tells the same tale of a beautiful girl with problems, one side his theatrical drama and the other a quirky comedy. Both stories center ar... read moreound a woman named Melinda, on one side a depressive, alcoholic mother who tries to move on but is thwarted by her weakness for romance, and on the other is a sweet girl who falls in love with a sad sack down the hall. Both tales are equally entrancing, and both show a side of actress Radha Mitchell that is usually blocked off. Though this is one of Allen's lesser known films and his more marginally eccentric, it is still a beauty. Much of the film depends on the actors attributed to it, and much like every Allen film he has assembled some very talented people. Most notably he put the extraverted Will Ferrell in a role where he had to be understated and likable as a romantic lead. Luckily Ferrell pulls it off with a sweet vulnerability that he rarely shows unless he plays a more childlike character. Putting in an appearance in the dramatic interpretation is Chloe Sevigny, who reads her lines exactly like Scarlett Johansson does in Scoop. She reads her lines carefully and delicately, which really irked me as the character came off cold and repetitive because of it. The film also drags considerably between the two intermingling storylines. It's pretty obvious that without the mirror image of the two different stories neither side could stand alone by itself. The comedy with Will Ferrell is certainly cutesy and considerate but it's mostly schmaltz. The drama is so dreary and obsessive that without the comedy aspect it would all seem far too cruel. This balancing act becomes nauseating at times, but when both end respectively it comes together well enough, even going back to the original narration, explicitly showing that destiny is real and reality is relative. It's smart, but odd.
  • RossCollinsUK
    November 27, 2010
    RossCollinsUK
    One of those movies with so much dialogue that I've got to see three times before I can fully appreciate it - I don't have the power of concentration enough to keep up with the plot on the first viewing and I don't taking in all the subtleties until the third! It's an entertainin... read moreg story, made even more so by being the exact same story told twice in parallel but with a twist, one is told as a romantic comedy the other a tragic drama. A philosophical, conversational movie that would appeal to Sex and the City fans.
  • pier007
    November 27, 2010
    pier007
    Flawed by its predictability and lack of punch both in humour and drama. despite that obvious problems I found it quite inventive and pleasant, especially for the satisfactory performances of Radha Mitchell and Chloë Sevigny, even for Will Ferrell doing a modern version of Woody ... read moreAllen. A lighthearted entertaiment.
  • DrZeek
    November 27, 2010
    DrZeek
    An interesting story, telling two sides of the same situation, one dramatic and one comedic. Will Ferrell was recruited by Allen to play his character and he does a good job. Rhada Mitchell is very good in almost a duel role as Melinda. The kind of story that goes back to the old... read more days of Woody Allen movies, complete with jazz, new york settings and rich dialogue. Plays well as an homage to old Allen films.
  • binky013
    November 27, 2010
    binky013
    3.5 stars--does that actually work now? Yes, it does! Right on. A little more of an intellectual exercise than a movie you can get lost in. I had wanted to see this because Chloe Sevigny is in it. She's good; I'm a fan since Boys Don't Cry. The real surprise: I've ... read moreseen Radha Mitchell before, but never really noticed her until this one. This woman can deliver lines.

    Two observations:


    1. Wally Shawn can do anything.


    2. Will Ferrell must not be allowed to do any more movies until he submits to some acting lessons. It's like he's always playing some version of that cheerleader character from SNL.
  • lewiskendell
    July 8, 2010
    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 & M... read moreelinda 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, quirky, focused on a specific type of people that you only find in the New York City that exists in Woody's mind, 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.
  • LWOODS04
    March 8, 2010
    LWOODS04
    Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chloe Sevigny, Wallace Shawn, David Aaron Baker, Arija Bareikis, Josh Brolin, Steve Carell, Brooke Smith, Johnny Lee Miller

    DIRECTED BY: Woody Allen

    I got a couple good reviews on the film saying how good it was, ... read moreso I thought I would give it a watch. But unfortunately I didn't have the same experience. I found it quite boring and very blah. I couldn't get into it. I found myself struggling just to finish it. It's one of those movies when you go "FINALLY" when it's over. This is only my opinion. Other people have enjoyed this film. I am just not in that category. So I say since there are some who loved it and went as far as giving it five stars, give it a try. You may like it.. ??
  • jennifxu
    November 29, 2008
    jennifxu
    Seriously, as I watch more and more of these supposed "worse" Woody Allen movies I fail to see how he has fallen from Annie Hall in any way. I like seeing all these familiar yet not quite astronomically famous faces set in a Woody context and it makes me see them differently, I g... read moreuess. Like I don't like Chloe Sevigny on a normal basis but now I like her much much better. Radha Mitchell is radiant in both stories and she's quite good at getting me to simultaneously hate her and love her and pity her. It's not a movie that's really ABOUT anything except the comedy vs. drama analysis but it's quite interesting to see how fleshed out the drama characters are and how you don't know really anything about the comedy characters but you don't care because the characters are so freaking FUNNY. Putting in Will Ferrell was a nice touch, I think.
  • aliceinpunderland
    August 3, 2008
    aliceinpunderland
    Neither of the two stories were terribly tragic or comic. Perhaps Woody's most pretentious script. Textbook definitions of how NOT to reveal information, both in dialogue and monologue.

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Critic Reviews

Ken Tucker
May 12, 2006
Ken Tucker, New York Magazine

Neither version of Melinda, despite Mitchellâ(TM)s game try at making them distinctive beyond their different hairdos, is funny or tragic enough to fully engage us; thereâ(TM)s no opportunity for an a... Full Review

Eric Harrison
April 8, 2005
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

The Shawn character says, 'Moments of humor do exist (in life). I exploit them, but in a tragic context.' Allen couldn't have said it better himself. Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
April 7, 2005
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It's middle-rung Woody, but compared to such dismal efforts as "Hollywood Ending" and "Anything Else," the movie is a godsend. Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek
April 2, 2005
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com

The comic and tragic stories are cleverly intercut, but they're both so inconsequential that it's hard to bring yourself to care which one you're watching. Full Review

James Berardinelli
April 2, 2005
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Has a fascinating premise; it's the execution that's sloppy. Full Review

Roger Moore
April 1, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's pleasant and challenging enough, in fits and starts, and certainly not the embarrassment of his last few movies. Full Review

Tom Long
April 1, 2005
Tom Long, Detroit News

Half works, and the half that doesn't work isn't so bad that it's not worth sitting through to see a Woody Allen comedy starring Will Ferrell.

Terry Lawson
April 1, 2005
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

It is a stunt, but at least it is a serious one. Full Review

Robert Denerstein
April 1, 2005
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

A movie that too often is dull and duller, an exercise posing as a full-blown drama. Or is it posing as a comedy?

Michael Booth
April 1, 2005
Michael Booth, Denver Post

Overcoming the handicap of an overt, writerly device, Allen crafts a warm comedy and a painful tragedy right before our eyes. Full Review

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    • Ellis: We're going to this little bistro in downtown west. It's very quiet, very dark, very french.
    • Laurel: I haven't been to a dark bistro since college.
    • Ellis: Well come on, you're going to love it. I've fallen in love there a bunch of times.
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Melinda and Melinda Trivia

  • In which movie are Will Ferrell and Amanda Pete married?  Answer »
  • Radha Mitchell starred with which comedian in Melinda and Melinda?  Answer »
  • Which Woody Allen film opens with a group of people discussing comedy versus tragedy?   Answer »
  • Which actor/actress has starred in the following movies? Elf Talladega Nights Stranger than Fiction Anchorman Melinda and Melinda  Answer »
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