Melvin Goes to Dinner [VHS]

Melvin Goes to Dinner [VHS]

Melvin Goes to Dinner [VHS]
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VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: David Cross (II), Feridoon Asiani, Fred Armisen, Michael Blieden, Stephanie Courtney
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 83 minutes
Release Date: 2003-12-16
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Publisher: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment
Studio: Sundance Channel Home Entertainment

VHS Movie Reviews of Melvin Goes to Dinner [VHS]

Movie Review: Ok film
Summary: 3 Stars

On the down side is the fact that the 2003 film Melvin Goes To Dinner, directed by first timer Bob Odenkirk, is a watered down yuppy version of the great 1981 Louis Malle film My Dinner With Andre. On the up side is that if you are going to imitate something, at least choose something great, for the imitation, while not great, is likely to be good, which My Dinner With Melvin is. It was written by actor/playwright Michael Blieden, adapted from his play Phyro-Giants, and had a no name cast, as opposed to 2001's similarly themed HBO film Dinner With Friends, which starred Dennis Quaid, Toni Collette, Andie McDowell, and Greg Kinnear.... the film really does chicken out of putting its characters in emotional deep water. Yes, admissions of fetishes and infidelities can titillate, but given that this was filmed only a year and a half after 9/11 you'd think there might be a touch of political dischord thrown in. They argue a bit over religion, but no character seems willing to really stand up for anything. They are all, in that sense, preening wimps.
Still, I only wish there were deeper characters. Whereas Shawn and Gregory discourse on life and determinism, the four yuppies talk of things like ghosts with all the depth that a post-Angels In America America can muster, and then are amazed at each others' supposed depth, and how stimulating their conversation is. And when I reference Angels In America it's not a mere throwaway diss. There's a reason for the connection. Call it Post-Intellectualism. Call it, `Show, don't tell.' Call it a nice try that settles for copouts. There are too many synchronicities and pallid contrivances that line up to get these four people together in the first place, and then reveal so much about themselves. Yet, it succeeds just enough that I can recommend this noble attempt, especially since the film's start and end are strong- and I mean literally the first and last few seconds of each. You may not wish you were able to join in the conversation, as you did with My Dinner With Andre, but it's still a few notches above anything you'll overhear in a real restaurant. For that, I recommend this DVD.
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Summary of Melvin Goes to Dinner [VHS]

Melvin goes to dinner with three almost complete strangers. The frequency funny, bit also heartfelt conversation goes from dating to sex, top religion, to fetishes, to ghosts and everything else in between. The film is written and co-stars Michael Blieden, who adapted his stage play "Phyro-Giants!" The feature-film marks the directorial debut of Bob Odenkirk, co-host of "Mr. Show" and the Emmy-award winning writer for "Saturday Night Live," "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," and "The Ben Stiller Show."
A brisk, funny talkfest. Accidental meetings result in four people sharing dinner in a bistro, an encounter that becomes a bluntly honest discussion of sex, religion, and sex. Cutaways to other aspects of their lives bring visual variety (and afford opportunities for cameos by Jack Black and David Cross), but the meat of the meal is in how four people talk to, at, and against each other. The quartet is sharp and comic: screenwriter Michael Blieden and Matt Price play friends who haven't seen each other in a while, and Annabelle Gurwitch and Stephanie Courtney are the women they bump into. Their patter contains a couple of neat surprises, and ranges over a long menu of relationship issues. It's directed by comedian Bob Odenkirk (of Mr. Show fame), and he has two distinct directorial gifts: getting actors into a strong, naturalistic flow, and knowing where the jokes are. --Robert Horton

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