''Melvin Goes to Dinner'' is a 2003

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

film adaptation of Michael Blieden's stage play ''Phyro-Giants!'', directed by

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker best known for his role as Saul Goodman on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). For the latter, he has re ...

. Blieden wrote the screenplay from his stage play, and he also stars in the film (as he did in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

stage production), along with Stephanie Courtney, Matt Price and

Annabelle Gurwitch Annabelle Gurwitch (born November 4, 1961) is an American author, comedic actress, television host most recognizable from her stint as hostess on ''Dinner and a Movie on TBS','' and activist associated with environmental issues and secular huma ...

. The film premiered at the 2003

Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...

Plot

Former medical student Melvin has dropped out and now works (after a fashion) in a planning office of an unnamed city. The office supervisor is his big sister, who "mothers" him instead of making him perform well. Melvin accidentally makes telephone contact with an old friend, and they decide to meet for dinner that evening. The friend arrives early for drinks with a lady friend; by the appointed time, four people are involved, each connected somehow to at least one of the others. The evening passes in a leisurely dinner with much conversation, sometimes intimate; the connections among the parties are revealed throughout the evening. The movie includes several flashbacks, which are not immediately explained but become understandable by the end.

Cast

Several notable people appeared as extras in the film, including

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...

Bill Odenkirk William Leonard Odenkirk (born October 13, 1965) is an American comedy writer. Biography Odenkirk was born in Naperville, Illinois. He is the younger brother of American actor and comedian Bob Odenkirk, and worked as a writer, producer and ac ...

Daisy Gardner Daisy Gardner (born September 24, 1976) is an American television writer and comedian who is best known for her work as a writer on the NBC series ''30 Rock'', Showtime's ''Californication'', and Comedy Central's ''South Park''. She also app ...

Allan Havey Allan Havey (born September 19, 1954) is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. Overview Havey made his national debut in 1986 on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and made many ap ...

, Nathan Odenkirk (son of Bob and Naomi Odenkirk),

Scott Adsit Robert Scott Adsit (born November 26, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Adsit joined the mainstage cast of Chicago's The Second City in 1994 after attending Columbia College Chicago. He app ...

Wendy Rae Fowler Wendy Rae Fowler is an American singer and half of the experimental English rock band We Fell to Earth. Career In fall of 1998, Fowler joined Earthlings? as second bassist. Immediately following, Earthlings? supported Queens of the Stone Age ...

Tucker Smallwood Tucker Smallwood (born February 22, 1944) is an American actor, author, and vocalist. Early life From 1967 to 1970, Smallwood served in the United States Army Airborne Infantry. Commanding a Mobile Advisory Team during the Vietnam War, he was n ...

B. J. Porter B. J. Porter (born May 12, 1970, in Dallas, Texas) is an actor, writer and comedian. Porter began his career writing and performing on the HBO sketch comedy program, '' Mr. Show.'' Porter, along with the rest of the ''Mr. Show'' writing staff, was ...

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a director ...

, and

Marc Evan Jackson Marc Evan Jackson (born August 21, 1970) is an American comedian and actor. Some of his roles include Sparks Nevada in the ''Thrilling Adventure Hour'', Kevin Cozner in ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' (he also hosts a podcast based on the sitcom, titled ' ...

Production

Michael Penn Michael Daniel Penn (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer and composer. He is noted for the 1989 single " No Myth", a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries. Early life Penn was born in the Greenwich Vi ...

wrote the music for the film. The film won the Audience Award at the 2003

South by Southwest Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

and the Best Picture and Best Ensemble Awards at the

Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films and their creators. Started in 2000, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The festival is a showcase for feature and short films from all over the wo ...

. The movie uses many actors who are mainliners in other television productions, such as Odenkirk's former Mr. Show co-star

David Cross David Cross (born April 4, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and writer known for his stand-up performances, the HBO sketch comedy series ''Mr. Show'' (1995–1998), and his role as Tobias Fünke in the Fox/Netflix sitcom ...

as a self-help seminar leader. However, the main characters are all played by the stage actors who performed in the Los Angeles stage production on which the screenplay is based. Odenkirk also directed a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

that was included on the ''Melvin Goes to Dinner'' DVD release, ''The Frank International Film Festival''. It portrayed the screening of ''Melvin Goes to Dinner'' at a (fictional) film festival organized by a cinephile named Frank (

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series ''Portlandia''. He ...

) who hosts the festival at the home he shares with his mother.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Melvin Goes to Dinner'' has an approval rating of 100% based on 12 reviews. Marjorie Baumgarten of ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' wrote Odenkirk "shows real skill with the gradual manner in which he allows this story to evolve", and that the "movie should inspire viewers to call up old friends, order a bottle of wine, and talk the night away."

References

External links

Official site
* * *
Interview with Michael Blieden and Bob Odenkirk from ''Gannett Journal News''
(2003) {{Bob Odenkirk 2003 films 2003 comedy films American films based on plays American independent films 2003 independent films Films directed by Bob Odenkirk Films scored by Michael Penn Films set in restaurants Films about conversations 2003 directorial debut films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films