Melinda and Melinda

Melinda and Melinda
Directed by	Woody Allen
Produced by	Letty Aronson
Written by	Woody Allen
Starring	Radha Mitchell Chiwetel Ejiofor Will Ferrell Jonny Lee Miller Amanda Peet Chloë Sevigny Wallace Shawn Brooke Smith Larry Pine Steve Carell Daniel Sunjata
Music by	Johann Sebastian Bach Johannes Brahms Igor Stravinsky Béla Bartók
Cinematography	Vilmos Zsigmond
Editing by	Alisa Lepselter
Distributed by	Fox Searchlight Pictures
Release date(s)	March 18, 2005
Running time	100 minutes
Language	English

Melinda and Melinda is a 2004^[1] film written and directed by Woody Allen. It was premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The film is set in Manhattan and stars Radha Mitchell as the protagonist Melinda, in two storylines; one comic, one tragic. Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in the tragedy story alongside Mitchell, while Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, and Steve Carell star in the comedy story. The film was given a limited release in the United States on March 18, 2005.

Plot

The premise of the film is stated by a group of four writers conversing over dinner at the beginning of the film. The question arises: Is life naturally comic or tragic? One of the four proposes a simple story (a distraught woman knocks on a door and disrupts a dinner party) and the two prominent playwrights in the group begin telling their versions of this story, one being comic and one tragic.

Cast details

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. 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.

Radha Mitchell plays Melinda in both versions. Chloë Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chiwetel Ejiofor star with her in the tragedy, while Will Ferrell and Amanda Peet star with her in the comedy. Steve Carell has a small part as Ferrell’s friend.

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 appeared in Vanya on 42nd Street (1994, directed by Louis Malle).

Critical reception

The film received mostly mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received 51% positive reviews, based on 144 reviews.^[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 54 out of 100, based on 40 reviews.^[3]

Box office

Melinda and Melinda opened on March 18, 2005 in one New York City cinema, where it grossed $74,238 in its first three days, the 21st highest limited release opening in Hollywood history.^[4] In weekend two, it expanded to 95 theatres to gross $740,618, seeing its per screen average nosedive to $7,795.

Overseas, it grossed an additional $16,259,545, bringing its worldwide total to $20,085,825.

Soundtrack

Main article: Melinda and Melinda (soundtrack)

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0378947/
2. ^ "Melinda and Melinda - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/melinda_and_melinda/. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
3. ^ "Melinda and Melinda (2005): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/melindaandmelinda. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 
4. ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=melindaandmelinda.htm

External links

• Official website
• Melinda and Melinda at the Internet Movie Database
• Melinda and Melinda at AllRovi
• Melinda and Melinda at Rotten Tomatoes
• Melinda and Melinda at Metacritic
• Melinda and Melinda at Box Office Mojo
• Woody Allen interview for Melinda And Melinda
• Good Small Films (Unofficial Woodypedia and blog)