Melinda?

Woody Allen's new film, 'Melinda and Melinda,' deeply explores the meanings behind comedy and tragedy. He shows what makes them different, but more importantly, what makes them the same. I have been a diehard Woody Allen fan since I was about 14, but this was only the second time I have seen one of his movies in the theaters (the first being last year's "Anything Else"). I can say, however, that no matter how far I must drive to see one of his movies, he never lets me down.

"Melinda and Melinda" is currently playing at Loew's Theater on the Waterfront in Pittsburgh. It's the only theater, aside from on in Bridgeville, that is playing the limited release feature. But if you are at all interested in exploring the aspects of the basic two theater genres, I highly recommend this enlightening film.

The film starts quite simply: four people sitting in a cafe in New York. Two of these people are playwrights, one a dramatic writer and the other a comedic writer. They are discussing why each playwright enjoys their genre. Another man sitting at the table offers them a challenge: he will tell them a story and they must decide whether it would make a good comedy or a good drama. And thus, the real movie begins.

Throughout the film, two stories progress. They tell basically the same premise: a woman, unannounced, barges into a dinner party and eventually becomes wrapped up in the lives of the hosts. However the stories take such twists and turns within their own genres that they seem as if they are totally unrelated. The stories switch back and forth, with the occasional narration from the folks at the cafe. But often times the two overlap or intertwine, making references to each other or characters from each story saying the same lines. A particularly memorable example of this is when Will Farrell (who is, of course, in the comedic story) stares in the mirror and talks to himself about lying to his wife. In the dramatic story, the "dramatic" wife does the same thing, only this time her thoughts remain in her head. It's all very subtle, but at the same time making sense in Woody's grand thesis: that comedy and tragedy go together.

At the end of the film, we return to the playwrights in the cafe. They have finished telling their tales and at first see each other with polarized viewpoints. But upon closer examination they discover that comedy is merely extreme tragedy, and that even the most tragic moments can sometimes cause us to laugh (they use a funeral as a prime example). One cannot exist without the other, and someone can always find one within the other. And as Wallace Shawn states you go through life with both of them, and you enjoy it while it lasts. Because life is short and when it's over it's over. And it's over just like that. And the credits roll...

Certainly this is one of Woody's better films over the past 5 years or so. By far his best since "Small Time Crooks." He had sort of hit a slump during his time with Dreamworks (although I still liked the films, they weren't as good as past efforts) including "Hollywood Ending" and "Curse of the Jade Scorpion." But Allen plugs on, and he makes movies the same way he has since "Take the Money and Run." And thankfully he still has more left to go!