Melvin Goes to Dinner - Region 1

This is an extraordinarilly original and brave piece of movie making. It is brave in that it relies almost soley on the strength of the writing and on faith in the actors, without any tricks, gimmicks, or false sense of style thrown in. And because the script is in fact very good, and the actors all give such amazingly natural, real, and authentic-feeling performances, Melvin Goes to Dinner improb... read more

Description: 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
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

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 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."

... (more) (less)