Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a little report from the first day of the Santa Barbara Film Festival. Last night was the opening night and they held the US Premiere of MELINDA AND MELINDA, Woody Allen's newest flick from Fox Searchlight starring Radha Mitchell as the titular Melinda and a supporting cast that includes Brooke Smith (SERIES 7 and the girl in the well in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS), Steve "I pooped a squirrel" Carell and Will Ferrell!
To start off, I heard this film was the best Woody Allen movie in recent memory and while I agree that it FEELS more Woody Allen than any in recent memory, I have to say that I enjoyed ANYTHING ELSE and HOLLYWOOD ENDINGS more. I do admit that I don't share the common opinion of those two films and that they are pretty forgettable, but they seem to be reviled by Woody Allen fans and non-fans alike. I don't understand why, but just like the Coen Bros last few (INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and THE LADYKILLERS) I seem to really enjoy them while most think they're embarrassments to the filmmakers.
But my opinion on Woody Allen's films has always been a little off from the norm. My favorite Allen movie is THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO and the performance of his I enjoy the most is in PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM. MANHATTAN is on another level, one of those rare films that just capture effortless magic.
So, now you know where I stand with Woody Allen.
The fest organizers made the opening night film a big deal. Red carpet was rolled out, local celebrities wandered about, photographers snapped pictures of anyone that walked down the red carpet (including my ugly mug was captured on film when I was escorted down the red carpet to get into the theater) and there was a really cool show put on to keep us all entertained. The theater was a big place, with a stage under the screen and a big balcony to add more seats. On the stage was a group of STOMP like kids called BOOM CHAKA bangin' on metal and plastic trash cans creating some really complex percussion rhythms. They were all between the ages of 12 and 14 and kept the room's attention while the theater slowly filled up.
Once again local Santa Barbara celebs were in attendance. It's so surreal to be sitting 15 feet away from The Dude and 20 feet away from Doc Brown.
Soon they trotted out Radha Mitchell and Brooke Smith, pretty much just "Hey, we have celebrities here." I thought they were going to do a Q & A after the screening, but everybody just rushed out to the opening night party afterwards.
The movie might not be as enjoyable to me as ANYTHING ELSE, but it's a bit more memorable. The device of the film, if you haven't heard about it yet, is it's the same story told through two different perspectives: Dramatic Tragedy and Comedy. There's a meeting between friends, two of which are playwrights, one known for his comedy plays, the other known for his dramatic work. They are given the basic story of an out of luck girl who crashes a dinner party. We don't hear the rest of the story, but whenever the writers hear the full story, they both look at it from their perspectives and tell how they would make that story into a play. What's nice about it is they don't tell the story outright, then tell it again, but you'll see about 10 minutes of drama, then the characters will switch out and the next bit will be comedy, with a few strategically placed overlaps, but it's always moving forward.
The film very much sounds like a play, the dialogue and acting is very theatrical. Allen's stuff has always been borderline plays anyway, but this time it really feels as if we're sitting a theater watching a production of this story. Some may find that great, others not so great.
Anyway, the only connecting actor in the drama and comedy versions of the story is Radha Mitchell as Melanie. In the drama take on things, Chloe Sevigny and Jonny Lee Miller are married and are the ones throwing the party that Melinda crashes. He's an alcoholic out of work actor... dark, brooding... sleeping around. She's yearning for more and is just kind of treading water in life.
In the comedy version (as told by Wallace Shawn... "Inconceivable!!") has Will Ferrell as the out of work actor husband who is super nice, very smartassy, but full of good humor... You remember CELEBRITY and how in that film Kenneth Branagh was essentially playing Woody Allen the whole time? Now we get to see Will Ferrell play Woody Allen. He's damn good at it, though. His wife is an indie director wanting to make a feminist film. She's more and more distant, doesn't really give a shit about her husband anymore. Their sex life is non-existent. She doesn't hate him, but the flame is out and you can tell.
Once Melinda steps in to things the lives of both the comedic and dramatic characters are turned upside down. She's had a tragic life (in both versions), but is about to give it one more go, hoping it doesn't go balls up again.
That's the kick-off of the plot. While the dramatic tragedy story was more dark and edgy, I found I much preferred the comedy take on things. Will Ferrell's at the top of his game now and is easy to like immediately. Steve Carell is in this movie for about 4 minutes playing a friend of Will Ferrell's character, but if you're expecting Brick then you'll be disappointed. He's a pretty straight character. Now Dreamworks just has to put a BRICK: THE MOVIE spin-off flick into production and we'll be happy.
Anyway, the dramatic segment is really tragic and involving, but the comedy segment is what I gravitated towards and it, unfortunately, has less time onscreen as comedy is more about the timing of the moment and the drama needs a lot more character development.
It's not a bad movie or a dull movie by any means. It's a good movie with a great premise and some fun characters. Nothing life changing, nothing I felt I could get very enthusiastic about. It's good and worth catching at a matinee, especially if you like Woody Allen. It comes out in March, I believe.
Anyway, I have to start getting ready... there's a panel with Charlie Kaufman, Brad Bird, John Logan, Zach Braff, Julie Delpy and many other amazing screenwriters that starts in a couple hours. Keep an eye out for my opinion on THE DOWNFALL, my second viewing and first full review of KUNG FU HUSTLE, CRONICAS, the DAVE BARRY movie, Joe Berlinger's new documentary about Nazi experiments called GRAY MATTER and other flicks I catch at the festival. 'Til then, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
