The film "All of Me" is a story about a working-class man who struggles with the question, "what am I doing with my life", and a wealthy dying woman who has all the material possessions one could ever dream of but has never really lived in her lonely lifetime of debilitating frailty. Together... literally, through a mystical fumbling and transmigration of souls, they each get a second chance.
"All of me" is a funny romantic fantasy comedy, but it also borders on being a dark comedy. It is a hilariously enjoyable film if looking at it from the lighter side without taking it too seriously or its doctrine too literally. However, being able to suspend our disbelief and knowledge of reality for the sake of having a few good laughs, and separating ourselves from the fact that somebody is actually passing away in the story, we can momentarily allow our imaginations to levitate so we can appreciate the sidesplitting humor of these cosmic blunders. The whole story surrounds the death of an ailing millionaire woman who believes she can will both her fortune and herself to the body of a healthy beautiful woman. The appointed lawyer handling the living will sees right through it as a scam, totally legal as it may be, on the part of the "soul beneficiary" who claims the desire of escaping her mortal prison to be at one with the cosmos in a ploy to inherit the millions and the estate. She even had her own father fooled, which acted for her in this scheme. Crazy as it sounds, it actually worked but not the way it was supposed to; the "soul recipient" turned out to be the skeptical lawyer who then shared half his body with the deceased woman's misplaced spirit.
Roger Cobb was a man who worked as a lawyer by day and loved playing in a Jazz band at night. As so many do, he felt he had only been going through the motions and wanted to somehow get more out of life. He struggled with the big "M word" in a relationship with his girlfriend, but even she knew they weren't ready to settle down and get "M'-ed", and they really weren't right for each other. It took the cosmic blunder of sharing his body with Edwina Cutwater for him to finally be forced into realizing it. Edwina lived a lonely life with no real friends, and was a bitter, snobby brat. Being in Roger's body she was still a handful at first, but as awkward and difficult as it was, after a while they began to understand each other and fell in love. Lily Tomlin played her part very well. It was buffoonish and seemed unrealistic at times, watching him trying to control one side of his body while she had the other. Listening to her talk in his body, it was like he was throwing his voice and hard to believe that Peggy could think it was not his, but she was convinced enough to use it against him with her father. However, there was a restroom scene where he talked to her in the mirror (conveniently located above the urinals) while Edwina had to help him take a leak, and it was almost taboo but extremely laughable at the same time. One of the most enjoyable characters was the cosmic guru Prahka Lasa. He was totally likable, seemingly harmless and innocent in his good nature, ignorant of much in the civilized world. He learned that when flushing the toilet the phone rang; it intrigued him and he understood that to be the sole purpose of this musical device. When he learned that Edwina's spirit was not lost but ended up safely in Tyrone, he understood as only a guru could fully appreciate and immediately broke out in laughter.
Despite a few unrealistic elements, the film "All of Me" has a lot of entertainment value. Steve Martin had a difficult job of portraying someone half-possessed with Edwina's spirit, but it was done well enough that the audience can clearly understand what is going on with him. It is kind of a "screwball comedy" that will provoke a lot of laughter, and the romantic chemistry that develops between the two who at first couldn't stand each other makes for a good classic movie.
"All of me" is a funny romantic fantasy comedy, but it also borders on being a dark comedy. It is a hilariously enjoyable film if looking at it from the lighter side without taking it too seriously or its doctrine too literally. However, being able to suspend our disbelief and knowledge of reality for the sake of having a few good laughs, and separating ourselves from the fact that somebody is actually passing away in the story, we can momentarily allow our imaginations to levitate so we can appreciate the sidesplitting humor of these cosmic blunders. The whole story surrounds the death of an ailing millionaire woman who believes she can will both her fortune and herself to the body of a healthy beautiful woman. The appointed lawyer handling the living will sees right through it as a scam, totally legal as it may be, on the part of the "soul beneficiary" who claims the desire of escaping her mortal prison to be at one with the cosmos in a ploy to inherit the millions and the estate. She even had her own father fooled, which acted for her in this scheme. Crazy as it sounds, it actually worked but not the way it was supposed to; the "soul recipient" turned out to be the skeptical lawyer who then shared half his body with the deceased woman's misplaced spirit.
Roger Cobb was a man who worked as a lawyer by day and loved playing in a Jazz band at night. As so many do, he felt he had only been going through the motions and wanted to somehow get more out of life. He struggled with the big "M word" in a relationship with his girlfriend, but even she knew they weren't ready to settle down and get "M'-ed", and they really weren't right for each other. It took the cosmic blunder of sharing his body with Edwina Cutwater for him to finally be forced into realizing it. Edwina lived a lonely life with no real friends, and was a bitter, snobby brat. Being in Roger's body she was still a handful at first, but as awkward and difficult as it was, after a while they began to understand each other and fell in love. Lily Tomlin played her part very well. It was buffoonish and seemed unrealistic at times, watching him trying to control one side of his body while she had the other. Listening to her talk in his body, it was like he was throwing his voice and hard to believe that Peggy could think it was not his, but she was convinced enough to use it against him with her father. However, there was a restroom scene where he talked to her in the mirror (conveniently located above the urinals) while Edwina had to help him take a leak, and it was almost taboo but extremely laughable at the same time. One of the most enjoyable characters was the cosmic guru Prahka Lasa. He was totally likable, seemingly harmless and innocent in his good nature, ignorant of much in the civilized world. He learned that when flushing the toilet the phone rang; it intrigued him and he understood that to be the sole purpose of this musical device. When he learned that Edwina's spirit was not lost but ended up safely in Tyrone, he understood as only a guru could fully appreciate and immediately broke out in laughter.
Despite a few unrealistic elements, the film "All of Me" has a lot of entertainment value. Steve Martin had a difficult job of portraying someone half-possessed with Edwina's spirit, but it was done well enough that the audience can clearly understand what is going on with him. It is kind of a "screwball comedy" that will provoke a lot of laughter, and the romantic chemistry that develops between the two who at first couldn't stand each other makes for a good classic movie.