Two alternating stories about the attempts of Melinda (Radha Mitchell) to straighten out her life.
Was Will Ferrell doing a Woody Allen impression? I think he was. I enjoyed that Allen (who wrote and directed) decided that if he was not going to have himself starring, he would have actors who could imitate his mannerisms and speech (even when not looking anything at all like him).
I do like the concept here of how a story could be told either as a comedy or a tragedy. That is a nice idea, and one that is well-executed. And I also like that Allen keeps to his philosophical themes and makes a point or two about Stravinsky. But the genius of this film was either lacking or went over my head, because it is not among his best work in my mind.
While there remain many Allen films for me to see, I would have to say his best of the post-2000 era is "Match Point". This one is, at best, a distant second.
Was Will Ferrell doing a Woody Allen impression? I think he was. I enjoyed that Allen (who wrote and directed) decided that if he was not going to have himself starring, he would have actors who could imitate his mannerisms and speech (even when not looking anything at all like him).
I do like the concept here of how a story could be told either as a comedy or a tragedy. That is a nice idea, and one that is well-executed. And I also like that Allen keeps to his philosophical themes and makes a point or two about Stravinsky. But the genius of this film was either lacking or went over my head, because it is not among his best work in my mind.
While there remain many Allen films for me to see, I would have to say his best of the post-2000 era is "Match Point". This one is, at best, a distant second.