RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Melinda and Melinda
Melinda and Melinda

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Melinda and Melinda (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
53 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:150

Fresh:80

Rotten:70

Average Rating:5.8/10

Consensus: Woody Allen's uneven Melinda and Melinda fails to find neither comedy nor pathos in what seems like a rehash of his previous themes.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for adult situations involving sexuality, and some substance material.

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Mar 18, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $3,727,614

Synopsis: Woody Allen mixes the tragic with the comic in MELINDA AND MELINDA, a delightful, intelligent look at two versions of the same story. After hearing a tale about a quirky woman who walks in... Woody Allen mixes the tragic with the comic in MELINDA AND MELINDA, a delightful, intelligent look at two versions of the same story. After hearing a tale about a quirky woman who walks in unexpectedly on a dinner party in an apartment in New York City, Sy (Wallace Shawn) expands it into a romantic comedy, while Max (Larry Pine) turns it into an urban tragedy. Allen intercuts between the two retellings, intermingling cause and effect, love and romance, failure and success, as Melinda creates havoc in both fictional worlds. Each story has its own cast: the comedy features Will Ferrell, Amanda Peet, and Josh Brolin; the tragedy stars Chloe Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Radha Mitchell is the only repeat actor, playing both Melindas, and she does a tremendous job. Interestingly, the comic section is not a straight laughfest, like Allen's SLEEPERS, ANNIE HALL, or BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, and the more serious part is not nearly as dour as INTERIORS or ANOTHER WOMAN. Instead, Allen, who has been criticized by critics and fans alike for not making more funny films, has created two parallel universes that each combines aspects of comedy and tragedy, resulting in a wonderful, insightful drama. [More]

Starring: Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine, Radha Mitchell, Jonny Lee Miller

Starring: Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine, Radha Mitchell, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloë Sevigny, Will Ferrell, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Steve Carell, Shalom Harlow, Vanessa Shaw, Josh Brolin

Director: Woody Allen

Director: Woody Allen
Screenwriter: Andy Borowitz, Woody Allen
Studio: Fox Searchlight Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Melinda and Melinda Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 25, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Melinda and Melinda

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

While the main lure for audiences--Will Ferrell--is basically forgettable, Allen does compose one fascinating and witty look at the human mind and its own ability to depict events through our own sub-conscious preference.

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Reminds us there is little to divide comedy from tragedy, and that neither comes exclusively. After all, the tears of sorrow and the tears of joy both come from the same place, and dampen a tissue with equal intensity.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
10/18/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Mitchell, in her dual role, gives a breakout performance (two of them, in fact).

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

A movie just shouldn't feel like homework. And with the constant shift in stories and repeatedly reinvented characters, unless you're in the mood for taking notes, you're going to feel like you're invited to rehearsals, rather than the finished product.

Full Review Source: Long Island Press | comment Comment
05/28/07
Prairie Miller
Prairie Miller
Long Island Press

full review in Greek

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
10/03/06
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

All the inner workings of "Melinda and Melinda" show that Allen has finally risen above, returned to his position as a fine filmmaker.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
08/29/06
Rory L. Aronsky
Rory L. Aronsky
Film Threat

Neither version of Melinda, despite Mitchell’s game try at making them distinctive beyond their different hairdos, is funny or tragic enough to fully engage us; there’s no opportunity for an audience to be moved.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
05/12/06
Ken Tucker
Ken Tucker
New York Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It has great performances, snappy one-liners and a likeably tricksy structure, all wrapped up in an affirmative antidote to life's daunting complexities. Welcome back, Woody.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine

Allen presents the side-by-side stories as if to compare the comic and tragic views of experience, and it might work but for the fact that the two [playwrights] come up with dissimilar plots featuring different characters played mostly by different actors

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
01/17/06
Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org

One story, two versions, each from Woody Allen, so you know you're in for it.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/18/05
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

The comic side isn’t really that comic.

Full Review Source: 7M Pictures | comment Comment
11/06/05
Kevin Carr
Kevin Carr
7M Pictures

A welcome return to form from a really talented guy who's been churning out cinematic junk for the past few years.

Full Review Source: DVD Clinic | comment Comment
10/27/05
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
DVD Clinic

(...) aburrida, ni lo suficientemente cómica, ni lo suficientemente dramática...

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment Comment
09/17/05
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

finding the plot "gimmick" seems to exhaust all of Allen's creativity

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/07/05
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews

Schizophrenic but mildly diverting, with a revelatory performance by Radha Mitchell in the leads.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
07/21/05
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Happy proof that news of Allen's artistic death has been much exaggerated.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
05/27/05
Sandra Hall
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald

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

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
05/21/05
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Clever, if not cutting-edge, Woody Allen's "Melinda and Melinda" examines whether we interpet life as a comedy or tragedy.

Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | comment Comment
05/15/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

Even though this isn't up to the standards of the best Woody Allen films, it is still worth watching.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
05/02/05
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

It's all about the same old Woody rehashed musings over struggling artistic New Yorkers living in swell brownstone apartments.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
05/01/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for Melinda and Melinda

April 25, 2005: Radha Mitchell to Climb the "Silent Hill" for TriStar Pictures
More...

April 20, 2005: Cusack and Peet Have a Favorite "Martian"
Described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a cross between E.T. and Parenthood" is the upcoming family film "The Martian Child." John Cusack ("High... More...

April 01, 2005: Steve Carell to "Get Smart"?
Andrew Weil of ComingSoon.net had a brief chat with funnyman Steve Carell while visiting the set of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and here's what the actor had to say... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
77% 77% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
82% 82% Paranormal Activity
58% 58% 9
44% 44% Jennifer's Body
58% 58% A Perfect Getaway

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

RT Editors' Picks

RT Editors' Picks

Which films of '09 were staff faves?

Awards Tour

Awards Tour

Stay up on the latest awards and noms!

Sex and The City 2

Sex and The City 2

Friendship, fashion, and fun in one trailer!

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

RT on DVD & Blu-Ray

9 and Paranormal Activity!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
1
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
17
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
108
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin Team Up To Break Records
253
  • RT's Best of the Decade!
172
  • Total Recall: Jude Law's Best Movies
60
  • RT Editors Choose Their Favorite Films of 2009!
48
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
36
  • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
33
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: 9 and Paranormal Activity
17
  • Friday Harvest: Sherlock Holmes, Toy Story 3, and more!
10
  • What We're Watching on Blu-ray from 20th Century Fox!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
72
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Melinda and Melinda at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Melinda and Melinda at IGN
  • Melinda and Melinda at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 50 of 2009
Top 50 of 2009 External Link

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Santa's Naughty List
Santa's Naughty List External Link

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.