Woody Allen sums it all up as "Dramedy."
The dinner discussion that starts the latest film from writer-director Woody Allen could be his own internal monologue as a writer still looking for answers. Two playwrights are discussing the essence of life.
One, a serious dramatist
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(
In the Realms of the Unreal
's Larry Pine), says life is all about tragedy, full of disappointments and let-downs that define who we are. The other (
My Dinner with Andre
's Wallace Shawn) says comedy is the center of all things.
A third man presents the dinner guests with a scenario and asks if it's the basis for a comedy or drama. Each writer then tells a tale based on the scenario, both centering on a woman named Melinda (Radha Mitchell). Both Melindas are going through early mid-life crises brought on by heartbreak and the general confusion that comes with being alive.
Quickly approaching his 70th birthday, Allen seems to be struggling with the big questions that haunt us all ("Why are we here?" "What does it all mean") more than ever. The split narrative serves Allen's apparent lack of surety as to how he should be writing at his advanced age as well as being a device for a writer with too many stories to tell. Both stories have funny and dramatic moments, ruminations on the meaning of life and how quickly it's over, but soon the stories begin to blend together into one Melinda-centric narrative. One becomes no less definitive in its stated genre than the other as the funny scenes become serious and vice versa. Allen manages to keep tight control over the freewheeling structure, however, allowing the two narratives to converge without losing the audience.
In language and staging, the dramatic storyline feels as if it has been lifted directly from the stage and has a studied, disciplined rhythm. The comedy plot, while ostensibly looser, stifles the actors with uncomfortable material. As a result, much of the laughs come out half-hearted and the jokes die on delivery.
Will Ferrell, whose typical zaniness has been reined in, delivers a wide-eyed and bumbling performance, channeling Allen's voice and mannerisms throughout much of the film. This substitution loses something in the translation, however, as it only shows us that Ferrell's Woody Allen impression needs some serious work.
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The point-that life is both funny and sad and can't easily be defined as one or the other-is a deceptively simple one that
Allen manages to squeeze a lot from, but he ultimately offers nothing revelatory that we haven't heard before.
Melinda
also fails to be as funny or engaging as some of Allen's earlier work, but if a message bears repeating, his distinct voice is one worth hearing it in.
Melinda and Melinda
is a smart film that doesn't fully live up to its potential, an idea Allen seems to have been resigned to even in drafting the script; after losing a part in a play, Lee (Jonny Lee Miller), an alcoholic actor, says, "Life has a malicious way of dealing with great potential." With that single line, Allen has written his own review.
