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Remember that night you went out and ran into a friend and had a drink and started talking. You found out a lot about your friend, things you never knew, and you shared some of yourself as well. It’s captured in the film Melvin Goes to Dinner. Transient moments that you remember your whole life.
I read about Melvin Goes to Dinner on the Bob and David site, but hadn’t been able to see it (or really find it in many places). Luckily I was able to finally buy it, unseen, and I was very glad that I did. Usually I’ll know a lot about a film before I see it and will have seen a trailer and read about it. I hadn’t read very much about it and I really enjoyed the film. It’s based on the play, Phyro-Giants! by Michael Blieden and directed by Bob Odenkirk. The writing and acting are amazing. It’s a talky, character-driven film, but after a great conversation you don’t say, “I just spent an hour with someone and all we did was talk!” You’re more likely to say, “is it really that late?” The direction by Bob Oderkirk is interesting as well, with the core of the film being handheld and gorgeously processed digital video, with some neat stills-based sequences outside of the dinner with Melvin, a friend who he accidently goes to dinner with and another couple of friends who are also there. I don’t think that I’ve ever seen a film that has captured a night out with a group of people so well where they, as Bob Odenkirk puts it, “accidently tell each other what is actually going on with their lives.”
