Melinda and Melinda - The Memorable TV DVD Review

WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEN?

The story begins with a group of critics at a dinner party discussing the various merits of stories told as comedy or tragedy. There is a supporter of each form present and when given a brief story outline they each tell it according to their particular preference. We then see the two stories they tell intercut with each other, one a tragedy and the other a comedy and both featuring a central character called Melinda played by Radha Mitchell.

In the tragedy Melinda arrives unexpectedly at an old school friend's house in a distressed state after having had a bad time of it with circumstances of a failed marriage in which her husband was unfaithful - she took drastic action and has spent some time in an institution awaiting trial.

In the comedy Melinda crashes a party in the flat above hers asking for help when she has taken an overdose of sleeping pills and they all soon become friends.

In both stories the supporting characters are trying to help Melinda get a date and help her get her life on an even track.

SO IS IT ANY GOOD?

It's not nearly as good as you think it's going to be. I was expecting something along the lines of "Sliding Doors" with a character starting at the same position but then with her story diverging in differing ways to bring out the comic or tragic elements.

Instead it is actually two completely unrelated stories with different supporting casts in each and a different story set-up. Other than the fact that it is Radha Mitchell in both there's really no connection.

Unfortunately neither story on its own is especially interesting and all the time you find yourself expecting much more from the idea than is delivered. And also the "comedy" is not obviously funny so the basic premise of the film is not really followed anyway since the way the stories are written doesn't come across as particularly different.

Of the two stories the "tragedy" is possibly the better one and seems to be the one given the slightly greater screen time. But either story if unravelled from the film and watched by itself would not be all that special. Joining them together by this "theme" doesn't really make them work any better because there are not any similarities between the two stories that give you any impression that they were written in unison especially with the film's purpose in mind - the impression is more that two unrelated short stories have been craftily combined to make one normal length film.

Overall, a good plot idea on paper, but disappointing in its execution.

ANY SPECIAL FEATURES?

None.