Alan J. Jacobs This was a great TiVo pickup. I liked the title, got it off IFC. Although Melvin is the title role, I loved Matt Price as Joey. And it does seem to center more around Joey (at least until the "revelation"), and the revelation was a real surprise, one that makes you go back to the beginning and watch all over again.It all about what can happen at a loosely arranged dinner between 2 friends, that expands into a dinner among friends and strangers, where people drink too much wine and start revealing things about themselves, and then it's about coincidences and fate and life-after-death, and everything else that can go on at a casual dinner.But it's not just talk, and the flashbacks and flashforwards make the movie move. And the waitress, Kathleen Roll, with a voice like Lily Tomlin, steals her scenes.

Dale Haufrect "Melvin Goes to Dinner" is an amateur film of adolescent love. It is done in a rapid fire sequence of TV quality cinema. The acting is real only in the fact that it gives the appearance of a running camera. some of the comedy is cute. However, there are very few moments that can save this movie and make it worth ones time. Believability is lacking. Stunning cinematography is lacking. A real coherent story is lacking. There must be a reason to have made this film, but it is close to the bottom of the barrel. It is not as weak as "Killer Tomatoes", but it is in a close race. If one has nothing better to do, worse DVD's could be rented. However, a purchase of this film is a serious error.

Cipher-J Four people, two guys and two gals, at different places in their lives, chance to meet at a restaurant for dinner one day, and end up revealing themselves and discovering each other in ways none of them could have predicted. For the most part, they are bright, young, upwardly mobile professionals, comfortable discussing themselves, and hence even without a psychologist to act as moderator, they interact in a manner reminiscent of group therapy. That is, they take turns admitting their secret thoughts and obsessions, take issue with each other on some points, and try to benefit from each other's experiences and perspectives. One of them even has some background in a field related to psychiatry, but of course with minimal insight.The point of the film seems to be that, thanks to their group discussion, they all develop a wider perspective on life, but especially Melvin, whose life had been spiraling out of control. In some regards he seems the brighter of the four, yet the least insightful. All of the characters become more aware of themselves through their interactions over dinner, but it is Melvin who benefits the most. How he grows, and what he learns from that encounter, are what makes this film worth viewing. Thanks to his opportunity, Melvin doesn't just go out to dinner, but learns to take control of his life. It is a very subtle story, but worthy of critical attention.

chuckwee What can I say? I loved it! Maybe its a guilty pleasure! At the beginning of the movie, I found the characters to be self-important, pseudo-intellectual jerks. I was surprised that Bob Odenkirk had anything to do with this movie about a bunch of hipsters pretentiously going on and on about their lives. How boring! But then all the sudden I was enjoying it! I wanted to know what happened to everyone! I think the genius of this movie is it takes unlikeable characters and makes us interested in them. I would go so far as to say I liked them! And I was happy to see that there was a resolution for our hero, Melvin, at the end. I was also impressed with how they handled a script with probably very little action. They just let the camera move at every possible chance! This could have been a really boring flick, but it just seems to hop along at a great brisk pace thanks to the editing, directing and camera movement. I can't wait to watch this movie again!