Melinda and Melinda

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Melinda and Melinda

PG-13

2005

1h 40m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

52%

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153 Reviews

47%

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10,000+ Ratings

While dining out with friends, Sy (Wallace Shawn) suggests the difficulty of separating comedy from tragedy. To illustrate his point, he tells his guests two parallel stories about Melinda (Radha Mitchell) ; both versions have the same basic elements, but one take on her state of affairs leans toward levity, while the other is full of anguish. Each story involves Melinda coping with a recent divorce through substance abuse while beginning a romantic relationship with a close friend's husband.

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Critics 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.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Great premise, but talky dramedy doesn't deliver.

Rated: 2/5

Dec 26, 2010

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Ken Tucker

New York Magazine/Vulture

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 audience to be moved.

May 12, 2006

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Ian Freer

Empire Magazine

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.

Rated: 4/5

Apr 1, 2006

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David Walsh

World Socialist Web Site

Melinda and Melinda simply sits there on screen, inert, flat, unmoving (in both senses of the word).

Feb 15, 2021

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Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

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.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 29, 2009

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Urban Cinefile Critics

Urban Cinefile

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.

Oct 18, 2008

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thiago s

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, o elenco é mais ou menos, e ninguém ajudou a melhorar o filme, a história é fraca, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e mais relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/17/25

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Brad S. R

I didn't think it was possible to make Will Ferrell this unfunny, but this film is first-rate proof that different styles of humor sometimes really don't mix.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/05/25

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Rosana B

A ideia era boa, a execução horrível, como a protagonista Melinda, em duas histórias idênticas, porem com vertentes distintas, uma trágica e outra cômica, as histórias se misturam de forma muito homogenia, quase impossível diferenciá-las, exceto por algumas nuances na comicidade na dramaticidade, e a interferência externa dos narradores subaproveitada, mas um filme Woody Allen que desgosto, assim como sinto ojeriza por sua pessoa... Bobinho, chatinho, lentinho, entendiante, esquecível...

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/25

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Elvis D

Es difícil decir esto sin que suene tan duro, pero esta es una de las peores películas que existen. Lo único que puedo rescatar es algunos miembros del elenco y alguna que otra situación graciosa, pero el resto de la película es muy aleatorio y no tiene consistencia. Es todo una mezcla de situaciones al punto en que no se entiende que está sucediendo. Ni siquiera es graciosa, es bastante aburrida. No es una película romántica de esas cursis que al menos se puede disfrutar en pareja. Esta es una película que carece de sentido y coherencia lo cual la hace muy poco disfrutable y por eso la califico con un 3/10.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/10/23

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Audience Member

I found it great. Lots of tricky subjects. Discussing the "different views". I love the general experience and the overall theme.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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steve d

I have found many war dramas funnier than this.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Woody Allen

Director

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Synopsis

While dining out with friends, Sy (Wallace Shawn) suggests the difficulty of separating comedy from tragedy. To illustrate his point, he tells his guests two parallel stories about Melinda (Radha Mitchell) ; both versions have the same basic elements, but one take on her state of affairs leans toward levity, while the other is full of anguish. Each story involves Melinda coping with a recent divorce through substance abuse while beginning a romantic relationship with a close friend's husband.

Director: Woody Allen
Producer: Letty Aronson
Screenwriter: Woody Allen
Distributor: Fox
Production Co: Perido Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Sexuality|Adult Situations|Some Substance Material)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.8M
Runtime: 1h 40m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.37:1)

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