The plight of a troubled woman is told through two parallel stories with different outcomes, one comic and the other tragic. In one version, she is pursued by the upstairs neighbour, a married jobless actor, while in the other her husband's removal of her children after her affair with a photographer sends her into a suicidal depression. Comedy drama, written and directed by Woody Allen, with Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell and Jonny Lee Miller.

While dining out with friends, Sy suggests the difficulty of separating comedy from tragedy. To illustrate his point, he tells his guests two parallel stories about Melinda ; both versions have the same basic elements, but one take on her state of affairs leans toward levity, while the other is full of anguish. Each story involves Melinda coping with a recent divorce through substance abuse while beginning a romantic relationship with a close friend's husband.