Bloodless Coup

Primer and Melinda and Melinda

Primer is a dynamite little movie. When I say little I mean that it’s a masterpiece of small-budget filmmaking. It’s the kind of film where in the credits the director thanks his parents for feeding the crew, and afterwards you really want to give the guy a congratulatory hug for pulling things off so well with so little support. But beyond that, it’s a surprisingly effective and taut sci-fi story. I don’t know how much I should say about the plot. Two friends build a machine in one’s garage. The machine appears to offer all sorts of possibilities. But it’s also a catalyst that makes old friends distrustful, and it forces them to confront questions about what to do given a sudden increase in power. But basically I’d just say that if you are interested in actual “independent” films you shouldn’t let these 78 minutes pass you by. Will it change your life or lead you to fall in love with it? Probably not. But it’s a triumph of artistic creation and ingenuity, and it’s great to know that things like this are being made. I mean on the commentaries (which I highly recommend if you are an aspiring director) you hear that he didn't know the first thing about putting music in a movie, but that, like most everything else, is done very successfully.

By comparison, Melinda and Melinda is pretty much a disaster. While the opening couple of minutes evoked some very happy memories for me (they are set in Pastis), if you don’t have a personal tie to any of the locations or the cast and crew involved in this production, I’m hard pressed to think of anything one is likely to like about it. The story is contrived, and it’s pulled off in a way that’s neither entertaining, nor really matches the banal structure it seeks to follow. There are some very fine actors here forced into parts where they have little to do (Johnny Lee Miller and Chloe Sevigny) or are forced into overacting (Rahda Mitchell). And as to what Will Ferrell is doing in this movie, I have no idea. Just how bad is it? I enjoyed The Curse of the Jade Scorpion much more, and I don’t even like Helen Hunt. As that comparison implies, Melinda is a dreadful mess.