Customer Reviews

Melvin Goes to Dinner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of those little gems that falls between the cracks of the crappy studio blockbusters. Great writing, direction, and acting, all so naturalistic you'd believe it. Odenkirk must know everybody in the business, because just the cast includes such a bunch of great actors.

i can't believe that first review. this movie is genius. did Bob write the play? it's so clever. and of course he should stick to writing comedy. this is a comedy. i loved this movie.

Being a huge fan of Bob Odenkirk I must admit I was terribly dissapointed with this film. I bought this without even seeing it. Big mistake. I should know better than to buy into some shmuck who's using his cult status to rake in cash from loyal fans. I really think Bob Odenkirk should stick to writing comedy. He is a terrible director. Apperently there are these things called tripods. They're wonderful inventions you see. They keep the camera stable. But to hell with those things. I think I'll go out and buy a CANON XL1, run around and pretend I'm a director too. Oh wait! Maybe he was trying to get the feel of a documentary but it's actually a movie with actors. Oh! I see. Sorta something like Steven Soderburgs "Full Frontal." What a coincidence cause that movie sucked too. Watch Bruce McDonalds "HARD CORE LOGO" or Rob Reiners "SPINAL TAP" to find out how thats done properly. Unlike this film "SPINAL TAP" is funny.

Besides the poor directing the story is just not clever at all. Without even looking into it I'm sure it's been done 1000 times before. The only scene I found a bit clever was a scene involving Jack Black. I hate Jack Black. David Cross is in the movie for like 30 seconds. Just enough to put his name on the on the backside of the DVD. Also just enought to trick a moron like me into buying this peice of poo poo. I expect way way more from Bob. To be honest with you it has the feel of a reality show but not the feel of reality. Who is that open about themselves? To make it even more un-realistic the dialogue in this film is delivered so poorly.

Keep pushing that Miller Beer BOB!! Your gonna need the cash if you keep directing crap like Melvin Goes To Dinner.

I give this two stars for the "Frank Festival" skit in the special features section. I give the movie 0 stars.

I wish I put my 25 bucks towards a Criterion Collection Film. Anyone of those I buy I'll never be dissapointed with.

This is a smart movie. A very well written story. If you don't like it Amazon will be happy to refund your money I am sure.

The DVD extras are very good too. Bob Odenkirk is a genius.

Directed by Bob Odenkirk (native of Naperville, IL, right around the corner from me) of HBO's Mr. Show (1995) and based off a play written by Michael Blieden, Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003) is a movie...well, as George Constanza from TV's Senfield might put it, about nothing. Really...nothing happens...four people come together for dinner and different topics of discussion arise, religion, marriage, infidelity, sex, ghosts, among other things. The movie forms around what is supposed to be spontaneous conversation, and has various flashbacks intertwined to help develop the characters. The film succeeded, but main problem I had was with the characters in that I just didn't like them very much. They really weren't people I'd be interested in knowing or spending time with, but I continued to watch, and even managed to enjoy myself. One thing I noticed which rang true to me was how easy it can be at times for people to relate really personal information about themselves with absolute strangers, while having difficulty doing the same with people they have closer relationships, like spouses or siblings.

There were some great cameos by David Cross (as a motivational speaker) and Jack Black, who really made me laugh as a lunatic in a hospital talking about how he was 'the Creatrix' and the jealous god knocked him off his pterodactyl and turned him into a nid (a human being). Maura Tierney and Laura Kightlinger also appear. I really thought the movie would have more humor than it did, as the conversation meandered from subject to subject. It was kinda odd when the supporting cast is more well known that the starring players with the exception of the attractive Annabelle Gurtwitch, who played the character of Sarah. She used to be on that television show 'Dinner & a Movie' as a co-host and has been in quite a few movies.

Special features include a featurette about how the makers of this film accepted an invitation to the exclusive Frank International Film Festival, only to learn that the festival was run by one guy named Frank, and their film was the only movie showcased, and pretty much the whole festival took place in this Frank's mother's house, with the filmmaker's having to share a funky room with Frank's brother. There are two different commentaries available, one with the writer and the cast, and another with people involved in the production and also a copy of the script available in a PDF format. There are also like ten trailers for various Sundance Channel releases. I really wish I could give this film 3  stars rather than three, but the current system doesn't allow for that (foolish system)...

Cookieman108

A friend of mine and I sat down to watch this film about four people in a really, really great dinner conversation, and, within five minutes of listening to the characters wax theories on religion and sex, I was saying to her, "Wow, we've had that conversation before."

And from that moment and for that reason, we found MELVIN GOES TO DINNER fascinating. As the film went on, though, and we got to know the characters better, we got wrapped up in the real and imagined ties between the characters. We tried to figure out how they all knew each other, really, and the film surprised us with several plot twists that we didn't see coming.

Adapted from a stage play using essentially the same principal cast, MELVIN GOES TO DINNER is a surprising find, one that I'm going to purchase so that I can watch it over and over. It's watchable for its plot and for its use of quality conversation.

I highly recommend this.

The structure of "Melvin Goes To Dinner" is fairly simple: Four people meet for dinner and talk. The obvious comparison is to Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory's "My Dinner With Andre," in which two people meet for dinner and talk. But the differences between the two movies reveal a lot about how films and their audiences have changed over the past few decades.

"My Dinner With Andre" is a movie that comes right out of the 1970's, (though I believe it was actually made in the mid-'80's). It takes itself very seriously and it expects its audience to sit through this conversation without any bells or whistles to keep them entertained. It's a conversation and nothing more. Those who dislike the movie complain that it's dull, pretentious, and pseudo-intellectual. Although I personally love the movie and find it fascinating, I can certainly see where they're coming from.

"Melvin Goes to Dinner" is a very modern version of the same idea in that the conversation, which is supposed to be very deep and thought-provoking, doesn't aim nearly as high. Whereas Andre and Wallace Shawn discuss the role of destiny and pre-determination in our lives, Melvin and his friends ask each other if they believe in ghosts. Andre and Wallace discuss great directors, books, and philosophy. Melvin and his friends talk about watching porn. And while "My Dinner with Andre" demands a fair bit of patience, "Melvin Goes to Dinner" tries to break up the monotony of their conversation with various "flashback" sequences and moments of pseudo-drama: Someone getting up to leave rather than reveal a personal secret; A "wacky" drunken waitress; A surprise twist at the end; A framing sequence about Melvin having sex with a married (and totally nutso) woman.

"My Dinner with Andre" leaves you with questions to ponder; "Melvin Goes to Dinner" leaves you with a pat sense of resolution.

All of which is not to say that "Melvin Goes to Dinner" is a bad movie; it isn't. After the initial 20 or so minutes, it becomes pretty interesting and there are some nice moments in it. Overall, though, it feels a bit contrived. I got tired of the various characters telling each other -and the audience- how interesting their conversation was. The director shouldn't need to tell me that I'm watching an interesting conversation; I should be able to draw that conclusion on my own.

All in all, "Melvin Goes to Dinner" is an interesting movie with some nice moments, but it's nothing extraordinary.

Watched this three times, and couldn't figure it out. And each time, my knee started itching about ten minutes in -- c'mon folks! What does that tell you?! Since there's no plot
(by design), we have to focus on characters. The acting was excellent and the women are attractive in a hard, black and chrome office for profit way. The reason I got this was that the picture looked like Ken Ober (?), the guy from MTV's Remote Control. Now THAT was fun! The main guy here was like his (Ken's) edgy little brother. And the four main characters seem to come from entitlement (now you know what happened to those folks who said/thought What-EVER about 10-15 years ago) -- neo-yuppies. Not very likable, but pretty darn interesting and real. Cool characters and twists, and unlike anything I'd seen on screen before. Recommended over hyped blockbusters.

Although I have not yet purchased the DVD, I was fortunate enough to see this film recently at the Deep Ellum Film festival in Dallas.
For me, it's a "must see." There are few films of this type which will hold your attention as well. In addition to fine acting, the camera work is extraordinary, and the editing makes you feel as though you were one of the group, able to shift your attention at will.
The characters are interesting and well developed, and the script moves along effortlessly. Before you know it, the 90 minutes have flown by, and you're ready to buy the next bottle of wine. Suddenly you're tempted to take these four characters back to your place for an all-nighter.
If you want to eavesdrop on good conversation that has some interesting twists, sit down at this table. You won't regret it.

After watching this movie I wanted to go out and make more interesting friends. TV producers should take a lesson from this film - I would love to see a series with characters as fun to follow as those in Melvin Goes to Dinner. The extra film on the DVD about their trip to film festivals is so funny I laugh just thinking about it.