A recent Woody Allen film, Melinda and Melinda is about 75% enjoyable, 25% close but not cigarette. In the style of the film, I’ll alternate the bad with the good. First, the bad: Pretty much every Woody Allen film as of late has an expected “Woody Allen” role, usually played by Allen himself, but even in films he doesn’t appear in, the persona exists. In Bullets Over Broadway the “Allen role” was played by John Cusak. Hobie (Will Ferrel) is the Woody surrogate in Melinda and Melinda, and unfortunately falls into the trap of doing a Woody Allen impersonation, complete with nebbish whining, neurotic fretting, and hand gestures.

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Match Point is the Woody Allen film I’d been waiting years for. Not his best since Annie Hall, but since Crimes and Misdemeanors his films have consisted largely of screwball romantic comedies and crime capers (Mighty Aphrodite, Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Manhattan Murder Mystery) that while decent on their own, are ultimately replaceable and muddled with one another, peopled by interchangeable characters, situations, and dialogue. Allen’s career has been a long struggle between comedy and tragedy - he’s fascinated by both many of his films alternate between the two (Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Melinda and Melinda), almost self-consciously afraid that a too-somber film will scare people away, and a too-funny one will bring the wrong people back for more. So with Match Point, it’s refreshing to see Allen that do away with much of the comedic meandering and give drama to us straight.

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As a fan of Woody Allen’s older films who was really impressed by Match Point, I’m sad to say I really hated Scoop - despite featuring Scarlett Johansen and England, as did Match Point. Therefore, more blame is reserved for Allen.

Melinda and Melinda was two films in one: a comedy and a thriller, each starring the same actress (Radha Mitchell) where much of the fun was the cutting back and forth between the two. Match Point and Scoop could be seen as separate explorations of these two halves, both starring Scarlett Johansen.

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