DVD Review: Melvin Goes To Dinner (B+)

Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003)
Directed by Bob Odenkirk
Starring Michael Blieden, Matt Price, Stephanie Courtney, Annabelle Gurwitch, Kathleen Roll, Maura Tierney and Jack Black
MPAA: R
Grade: B+

Review by Scott Standish

Bob Odenkirk is one of those cult comedians that's been successful for years (he was on the classic Ben Stiller show) but is best known to mainstream audiences for the cult HBO comedy program Mr. Show. Odenkirk helmed Melvin Goes To Dinner, a "talking heads" comedy/drama and the results are surprisingly witty.

The film plays out like the classic My Dinner With Andre, so if you have little tolerance for "dinner table movies" this might not work for you. Melvin (Michael Blieden) meets up with his old friend Joey for dinner. Joey's also invites Alex, a girl he used to hang out with in college. Alex runs into her friend Stepanie on the way to dinner, and she invites her to joining them. The four of them discuss life, love, sex, careers and well, more sex. The witty banter and natural way in which the movie is filmed make Melvin Goes To Dinner feel so real, it almost seems like a documentary. The intimacy that one feels toward these characters make the movie irresistible.

Based on the play "Phyro-Giants", this is a very good independent film, one that examines relationships and how people really feel about the opposite sex.

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