All of Me
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All of Me
Plot
On her deathbed, mean-spirited millionairess Lily Tomlin has her will amended so that her soul will pass into the body of young, healthy Victoria Tennant. Thanks to a mix-up in transmutation, Tomlin winds up instead trapped in the body of upright (and uptight) attorney Steve Martin. The plot involves the fragility of male-female relationships, the importance of making commitments, and the antics of goofy guru Richard Libertini. As ridiculous as it sounds, All of Me is completely credible, thanks to Steve Martin's remarkable "body language" when conveying the notion that he's two different people with two different sets of emotions and gestures. Though the circumstances of the plot won't allow Martin to connect with the lovely Tennant, in real life things were different: the two costars were married shortly after filming wrapped. Phil Alden Robinson and Henry Olek adapted the script from Ed Davis' novel Me Too. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
Steve Martin was honored with several critic's awards for his portrayal of a lawyer with the soul of a jazz musician who gets inhabited by the soul of a dead millionaire (Lily Tomlin) after a botched spiritual transference. Martin has a lot of fun with the slapstick built into the script, which frequently involves his body convulsing in different directions, with the right side controlled by Tomlin's character and constantly at odds with the left. It's a deft performance, and it lays the groundwork for some of the future work of physical comedians like Jim Carrey. But All of Me also sometimes feels like a one-joke movie, and in pursuit of that one joke, the details of the plot get shortchanged. Among the noticeable gaffes is that a memorial service is held for Tomlin's character only hours after she dies -- no wonder nobody shows up. Tomlin is a little flat, rare for one of film's most gifted comics, and Martin indulges too often in the sort of cheap sentiment that's been known to afflict his work. He goes from despising the woman who possesses his body one minute, to dewy-eyed compassion the very next. Still, the movie's gut-busting moments earn it a high recommendation, and it contains astute observations about the differences between the sexes that were funny in groundbreaking ways in 1984. The fourth consecutive (and, so far, last) collaboration between Martin and director Carl Reiner, All of Me keeps the hit streak going. ~ Derek Armstrong, RoviCast
- Steve Martin - Roger Cobb
- Lily Tomlin - Edwina Cutwater
- Victoria Tennant - Terry Hoskins
- Madolyn Smith - Peggy Schuyler
- Richard Libertini - Prahka Lasa
Credit
Jerry Wunderlich - Art Director, Ray Summers - Costume Designer, Albert M. Shapiro - First Assistant Director, Carl Reiner - Director, Bud Molin - Editor, Patrick Williams - Composer (Music Score), Edward C. Carfagno - Production Designer, Richard H. Kline - Cinematographer, Stephen Friedman - Producer, Phil Alden Robinson - Producer, Jerry Wunderlich - Set Designer, R. Bruce Steinheimer - Special Effects, Marv Ystrom - Special Effects, Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer, Henry Olek - Screenwriter, Carl Reiner - Screenwriter, Phil Alden Robinson - Screenwriter, Kay Rose - Supervising Sound Editor, Ed Davis - Book Author| All of Me (1934 Film), All of It (1999 Film) | |
| All of Me (2008 Film), All of Me (1991 Film) |
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All of Me (1984 film)
| All of Me | |
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.jpg) Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Carl Reiner |
| Produced by | Stephen J. Friedman |
| Screenplay by | Phil Alden Robinson Henry Olek |
| Based on | Me Two by Edwin Davis |
| Starring | Steve Martin Lily Tomlin Victoria Tennant Madolyn Smith Richard Libertini |
| Music by | Patrick Williams |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Editing by | Bud Molin |
| Studio | Kings Road Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 21, 1984 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $36,403,064 |
All of Me is a 1984 fantasy comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. This film is based on the novel Me Two by Edwin Davis.[1]
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Contents
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Plot
Martin plays an attorney named Roger Cobb. He is dating his boss' daughter and is also an aspiring jazz guitarist. Lily Tomlin is a difficult, eccentric, spoiled rotten, but terminally ill millionairess named Edwina Cutwater, who has been bedridden since childhood. Cutwater hires Roger to make some unusual final arrangements to her will.
Having discovered she is dying, Edwina has enlisted the aid of a culture-shocked mystic who has mastered the secret of transferring human souls. She has made an arrangement with Terry Hoskins, (Victoria Tennant) a beautiful young mystic who wishes to complete her spiritual journey by leaving her body forever and become one with the universe. Edwina wants her own soul placed in Terry's vacated body so that she can finally experience youth and health. Roger is to change Edwina's will so that Terry, her future self, is her sole beneficiary. Roger, unsurprisingly, believes the whole plan is "bananas".
To Roger's surprise, the soul-transfer works, but during the ceremony, Roger himself ends up with Edwina's soul sharing his body. She has control over the right side of his body and him the left, forcing them to work together while causing constant friction and problems between the two — amongst them, the loss of Roger's girlfriend and job. Besides listening to each other's thoughts, Roger talks to Edwina's image that appears in mirrors and other reflective surfaces to him and no one else. Their relationships warms during the course of the film, but both of them want Edwina back in her own body. Terry, meanwhile, is shocked to learn that the soul-transference really works, as she only agreed to the transfer to take control of Edwina's fortune. She become determined to prevent Roger from reaching the holy man to complete the transference.
The movie ends with Terry's plot being foiled by Roger and Edwina. It emerges that Terry has an extensive criminal record and, rather than face life in jail for her latest criminal acts, she at last consents to having her soul placed into the body of her favorite horse. Edwina takes up residence in Terry's body as originally planned. The final shot shows Roger and Terry dancing together. The camera pans to a mirror, where Roger can be seen dancing with Edwina.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Steve Martin | Roger Cobb |
| Lily Tomlin | Edwina Cutwater |
| Victoria Tennant | Terry Hoskins |
| Madolyn Smith Osborne | Peggy Schuyler |
| Richard Libertini | Prahka Lasa |
| Dana Elcar | Burton Schuyler |
| Jason Bernard | Tyrone Wattell |
| Selma Diamond | Margo |
| Eric Christmas | Fred Hoskins |
| Gailard Sartain | Fulton Norris |
| Neva Patterson | Gretchen |
| Michael Ensign | Mr. Mifflin |
| Peggy Feury | Dr. Betty Ahrens |
In an interview, Martin described his sense of his character Roger Cobb: "This man is not an idiot. He is a contemporary person with some brains, [...] he's not naive or a victim of circumstances. He's an intelligent man who happens to get caught in a disaster. That's a big difference between this role and any other part I've played. [...] For the first time I'm in a story with a beginning, middle, and end . It's old-fashioned and solid [...] This movie was like going to school. I learned a lot about structure and character." [2] He stated in Steve Martin: The Magic Years, "My mature film career started with All of Me and ends with L.A. Story."[3]
Reception
The film received a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score and generally "rave reviews".[4] [5] On release, The New York Times described the film: "Some things simply have to be seen to be believed, and the sensational teamwork of Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in All of Me is one of them [...] Mr. Martin's astonishing performance is the film's most conspicuous asset, but the entire cast is good." [5]
Video and DVD distribution
All of Me belonged to the production company Kings Road Entertainment and was released by the company through various distributors worldwide in 1984. Universal Pictures held theatrical distribution rights in North America, but the studio did not have any participation with the film's home video release. In 1985 British media company EMI under their home video division released the film on VHS and they would continue to hold the rights to the film for a decade. In early 1999 Trimark Home Video purchased full video rights from EMI remastering the film and re-releasing it onto VHS as well as the new DVD formatting. In 2000, Trimark folded and sold their video library to Lions Gate Entertainment. In 2005, Lions Gate put the marketing of the film in their name and reissued another DVD format of the film. Lions Gate owns all rights to the film's home video formats internationally.
Following the film
Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant met during the making of the film and were married in 1986, staying together till 1994. They worked together again in 1991 on the film L.A. Story.[3] [6] Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin both starred in the 2009 comedy The Pink Panther 2.
References
- ^ All of Me at TCM.com
- ^ Sterritt, David (2005) Guiltless pleasures: a David Sterritt film reader. University Press of Mississippi p41 ISBN 1-57806-818-5
- ^ a b Walker, Morris Wayne (1999) Steve Martin: The Magic Years. SPI Books p52 ISBN 1-56171-980-3
- ^ All of Me at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ a b All of Me. New York Times film review. September 21, 1984. Accessed 2010-08-12
- ^ Movieline interview with Steve Martin 1991-01-02 But Seriously Folks. Accessed 2010-08-12
External links
- All of Me at the Internet Movie Database
- All of Me at AllRovi
- All of Me at Box Office Mojo
- All of Me' at Rotten Tomatoes
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