Alexandra Daddario

When you're trying to sustain a high level of intensity and panic, sometimes it actually helps to have something happen that makes you really afraid because even if in real life it wouldn't make you that scared, to take that little bit of fear and be melodramatic about it, I guess, and convince yourself that it's worse, can be effective.

American Actress

Ali Wong

My dad was obviously a really quirky, unconventional Asian man who didn't care about what other people thought. When he would fight with my mom, he would be really dramatic. He would be like, 'Devil, get away, for I am God's property.' He would say crazy things that were so melodramatic but so theatrical and funny.

Jeff Nichols

I've kind of always had this balance between genre and personal dramas. It almost feels like the two help each other. If I was just to make a genre film, maybe it would be hollow and soulless. If I was just to make a personal drama, maybe it would be melodramatic and nobody would ever go see it.

American Director

Saffron Aldridge

My view is that life is too short. I'm not being melodramatic or anything, but when your mother dies in your arms - just you and her, and it's one o'clock in the morning, and you're waiting for her to exhale - you just think, life's too bloody short to argue about the little things.

English Model

Steven Bochco

Cop shows are by definition melodramatic; they're larger than life. They create very stark contrasts and conflicts emotionally. They're provocative, assuming they grapple with - to the extent that cop shows are mirrors of the culture.

American Producer

Rodman Philbrick

I assumed 'Freak the Mighty' was probably too weird and melodramatic to find a publisher. I certainly never expected the book to have a profound influence on my career as a writer, but indeed it has.

American Writer

Vincent Cassel

Female influence came from my grandmother and my aunt. They would sing Corsican love songs while cleaning the house and dress all in black and say melodramatic things like: 'I want to die.

French Actor

Montaigne

I understand that all the songs I write are quite melodramatic and are quite extreme from my perspective, but that's how life feels to everyone at some point.

Australian Musician

P. J. O'Rourke

The whole melodrama of the Middle East would be improved if amnesia were as common here as it is in melodramatic plots.

American Comedian

Romesh Ranganathan

I tend to be melodramatic and super self-involved.

British Comedian

Use 'melodramatic' to describe someone who reacts too strongly to minor problems.

Excessive Emotion

It can be critical, suggesting the behavior is unnecessary or inappropriate.

Critique Behavior

Often used hyperbolically to emphasize how someone is overacting.

Not Literal

Refers to a dramatic, exaggerated writing or performing style often used in theater.

Literary Style

Most common in discussions about drama and literature genres, can signal a particular type of story.

Genre-Specific

Aims to provoke strong emotional responses, like pity or fear, from the audience.

Emotional Appeal

 you know the stories and the characters can be exaggerated, larger than life, and if you're a fan, you find that exaggeration fun, and if you're not, maybe you find them melodramatic or unsophisticated. Maybe you think watching soap operas is a waste of time,

4 larger-than-life...

 I set up higher in the seat and without getting a melodramatic the air actually tasted their friendly

Melodramatic