Customer Reviews

Me Myself I

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ME MYSELF I is a wonderfully uplifting and inspiring movie by a bunch of Australian filmmakers -- sort of an adult-themed FREAKY FRIDAY.

Rachel Griffiths stars as Pamela Dickson, a thirtysomething journalist yearning with a passion to connect emotionally with another person. She lives in the past, clinging psychologically to the scenario of "What if I had accepted that marriage proposal from the man of my dreams?" long ago.

Little does she know that SHE DID, but that Pamela Dickson is wondering, "What if I had said no?"

Through a twist of fate, the two Pams meet and magically change places, each learning valuable lessons about why they made the choices that they did ... and why they're infinitely better human beings for having done so.

The film is delivered with an adult wit (some relatively strong sexual themes pervade a significant portion of the film), and the acting by Ms. Griffiths -- as well as all of the principals -- is right on. While the filmmakers could've taken a wrong turn to make this romantic comedy into a tragedy of mid-life angst, they stepped clear of it and, instead, delivered a compact story that deals with one woman's reaction to life's unexpected foibles.

In short, ME MYSELF I is a wonderful story with only a single flaw: alas, it could never happen.

This movie showcases the wonderful talents of Rachel Griffiths in a dual role. Through the wonders of film, we meet Pam (Griffiths) originally as the girl wonder, a sought-after but insecure writer with a busy single life. To give herslf confidence, she chants self-help slogans which she also has posted all over her apartment.

In an odd turn of fate (and the fantasy wrought by film), Pam is able to see what would have happened if she had instead married her childhood sweetheart and had three children. After being hit by a car (driven by herself), Pam is transported into an alternate universe and is able to compare her two "lives".

A delightful, intelligent movie, one I would highly recommend for its humor and its thought-provoking plot.

Honestly, the only thing about this film that would even make me *think* to give it less than five stars is the somewhat-cheesy and obvious speech given by Pamela Dickson at the end, when the two Pamelas reunite. Other than that, I think this is a charming, funny, and extremely uplifting film trying to address the age old question--"what if...?"

As other reviewers have, I see the obvious smackings of *Sliding Doors,* *It's a Wonderful Life,* *The Family Man* and other films. Despite its similarites to movies that touch on similar questions though, something about *Me Myself I* is fresh--standing out from all the others.

Griffiths portrays the Pamelas with great talent, perfectly capturing the wealth of emotions experienced by the main character, Pamela Drury, as she tries to manage in the shoes of her alternate self, Pamela Dickson. She isn't simply a caricature of a young, confident urban woman. She's keenly aware of (and, in some ways, initially longing for) the different paths that her life could have taken and she's touched by the experiences she could have had (and ends up having, briefly) in this alternate life.

Yes, I suppose there could have been flashier effects when the two Pamelas meet and reunite, but the film seems to try to tackle the subject realistically, instead of fantastically--opting for more down-to-earth scenes. There were also questions raised that were never really addressed in the film. However, the nature of the movie suggests that all this is natural. One can't simply walk into someone else's life and then walk out again, understanding it completely and having all the loose ends tied neatly up at the conclusion. Neither of these are faults. They are choices, which I personally believe to have been well-made ones.

This film *definitely* ranks up there as one of my favorites for its charm, wit, and inspirational outlook. If anyone else out there appreciates these qualities, I *highly* recommend it.

Rachel Griffiths shines in this very entertaining/interesting Australian film about a woman trying to decide if she'd rather be Bridget Jones (a struggling Singleton with a great career, but no steady relationship/home-life), or a happily (?) married mother of two.

In this film, the single and depressed heroine comes face-to-face with herself as a married mother of two. The man "she" has married is her ex from 13 years before, who she had always regretted breaking up with. A second man, who is another possible life-mate, is introduced to both of the women, with mysterious implications. The film goes on to explore the dimensions of each woman's life, the one, a single woman with a solid career in journalism who is independent but miserable and lonely, the other a mother who at times feels under-appreciated and as if her work at a woman's magazine is considered secondary to her role as wife and mother, and who at other times is ecstatic in the fulfillment and love that her family life gives her. The film is genuinely interesting/intriguing in its exploration of possibilities and second chances. Griffith's acting, especially after she "becomes," in an instant, a wife and mother after many sad years on her own, is very real and engaging. You identify with her right away, and think, "my god, how hard that would be, figuring everything out on the turn of a dime." It also makes you appreciate the sacrifices women make in their lives to be good wives and mothers, and at the same time, the amazing paybacks in love, intimacy and growth that these choices allow for. The movie is really about the incredible capacity of love to create self-renewal and allow us to live life more fully. It is about finding happiness with others, but shines a light primarily on the importance of finding happiness/contentment within ourselves, and how this can help to create the very relationships we seek to create and maintain. It gives you a lot to think about, but also makes you feel hopeful about life, in a real sense.

I highly recommend this film to everyone, but especially women, and among women, especially 20-30 somethings.

I found the first 20 minutes or so of this film somewhat awkward and less "on", but after that, the film/acting was incredibly realized. The second half of the film is better than the first, and Griffith's acting is top-notch. This film will reel you in, and by the end, you'll be completely transfixed and wondering what will happen next. Ends on a good note. 4 1/2 stars.

(PS - This film is similar to Demi Moore's latest, "Passion of Mind," in which Moore plays one woman with two lives, and has to determine which one is real and which one is the dream. That film also delves into possibilities and fate and the choices we make, and the sometimes engimatic nature of indentity and happiness and fulfillment. )

I had to take my nephew to see, "Me, Myself and Irene," the Jim Carrey movie with which this film is frequently confused. Theaters were even putting up signs explaining the differences between the two films since they were theatrically released at the same time. I can put the difference better than they did, however. This is the intelligent, thought-provoking film, which merges seamlessly with the romance genre and come-of-age choices while the other is the stupid movie my nephew made me sit through on a Saturday night with an audience in love with butt humor. How I wish my nephew had confused the two films! I cannot come up with a single criticism of this film. It sets out to show you what it would be like to live your life had you made other choices and then you go back into your original life and see if you can pick up better from there. Rachel Griffiths dominates the entire film and she faces all of the universal problems we women have been facing over the last few decades. The funniest parts are discovering what her life would have been like had she married "the man who got away."

I expected a bland copy of "Sliding Doors" - what I got was a great movie that blew that Gwyneth Paltrow stuff out of the water!

I laughed, a few tears were shed, AND I could relate! Rachel Griffiths was just brilliant as the sassy single woman endeavouring to fit into the life she thinks she wishes for - that of a married mother. Someone who takes comfort in knowing she'll wake up next to another someone every morning.

I was afraid the film would favour one lifestyle over the other, but it was beautifully done, showing that there is good, bad and downright annoying experiences to be dealt with, no matter which path you take. It shows how easy it is to take wonderful things for granted.

The leading lady's eldest son was a cack, simply for being such a little creep, and her little son showed that the smaller you are, the more you notice...

I highly recommend this film to any woman who is single, married, or has ever been single or married! Need I say more?

If you like sophisticated comedy with insightful and psychologically well-informed content, this is a movie for you. The filmmaker could have oversimplified either married life or single life, but didn't. She could have glorified one or the other, but didn't. Neither life is ideal. Neither lifestyle gives Pamela everything she wants and wanted. There are no easy answers and no easy way. Single or married, Pamela will have to work at it and to accept a less-than-ideal life. In the end, she does. And Rachel Griffiths, of course, is priceless!

"Me Myself I" is yet another example of a film where the hero/ine gets a chance to see the road not taken. Although we can trace this particular genre back at least to Dickens "A Christmas Carol," the cinematic epitome remains, of course, "It's a Wonderful Life," where Frank Capra puts Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey through the hell of a world in which he was never born. Sometimes the hero/ine gets a chance to live their life over again from a pivotal point (e.g., "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Mr. Destiny"), and sometimes they find themselves living a different life (e.g., "The Family Man"). "Me Myself I" is an example of the latter.

In "Me Myself I" it is Pamela Drury (Rachel Griffiths) who gets to see what might have been. She has made it to the age of 30 without getting married, writing for a magazine, smoking too much, and repeating glossing over the problems in her life by repeatedly telling herself the big lie, "I deserve the best and I accept the best." But when her happily married best friend has a baby, Pamela rethinks her life. Maybe she could have that too, even though she does not particularly like babies. She even meets a guy (Sandy Winton), but he turns out to be married. Suddenly, Pamela is having second thoughts about what happened all those years ago when she turned down Robert (David Roberts).

The next thing she knows, Pamela is not paying attention to where she is going as she agonizes over her life, and she gets hit by a car. However, the driver of the car turns out to be herself, that is to say, the one who married Robert all those many years ago. This seems a rather natural occurrence given their state of minds, and so Pamela switches places with Pamela. This gives our heroine one big advantage over most of the movie characters who end up in her position. She knows what she is heading into, even if she knows nothing about taking care of kids or what it means to toilet train a toddler. For once, the character enters the situations full of neither hope nor terror, but simply wanting to know if the road not taken lead to a better life.

Despite this twist, most of the scenes in this 1999 film are standard ones given the genre. Pamela has to roll with the punches as she learns about her husband, her children, and the life she never had. One of the nice things about writer-director Pip Karmel's script is that it deals with the realities of a marriage instead of the cutesy way a woman in Pamela's predicament usually has to find out about being a wife and a mom. There are some surprises in store as she finds out that Pamela's life is not perfect. Her look at the life she could have had answers questions, but raises more.

As is almost always the case, the success of this film rests on the performance of the main character. Griffiths has to carry most of the film and while Karmel does not come up with any big moments, the little ones suffice. "Me Myself I" is not as deep as it might be, and you can interpret the lessons any way you want, but it seems to lead to the inevitable if not obvious conclusion that you should never be so busy with your life that you do not bother to live it. Like the double main character in "Sliding Doors," both Pamelas are living their lives at the same time, but we stick with the one we started with through the main part of the film. But I cannot help but wonder what the married Pamela thought about the life she could have lived. Again, there is more to explore here than the film actually explores, which just underscores why this genre continues to persist to this day and beyond.

Making choices in life means that there will always be a "what if?" or two hanging in the air. In this sprightly Australian romantic comedy, the heroine (Griffiths, in a subtle yet appealing performance) gets a chance to find out what would have become of her if, at that big fork in the road, she had headed in the other direction.

Like Sliding Doors (1998), director-writer Pip Karmel's Me Myself I allows its protagonist a do-over. Griffiths is a single, successful magazine writer in her 30s who wonders what would have happened if she had accepted a marriage proposal 13 years earlier from her then-beau, an architect.

After being hit by a car, she gets to find out -- waking up to find herself wed to said overbearing man and serving as stay-at-home mom to three needy children. The point Me Myself I makes, amusingly but at some length, is that while the grass may always seem greener on the other side, once you get there, all you'll want to do is mow it.

If Rachel Griffiths keeps this up, she is going to be a potent force in feature films. She continues to show her versatility in both dramatic and comedic roles. This delightful comedy reinforces the notion that you need to be careful what you wish for. Pamela Drury (Rachel Griffiths) is a successful journalist whois having a mid life crisis as another birthday rolls around. She is afraid that despite all she has accomplished, she might have been happier if she married Robert Dickson and raised a family.

One day, through mechanisms unexplained other than the magic of cinema, she is hit by a car while crossing the street by her twin, Pamela Dickson, whom I can only assume is living in some parallel universe. Drury discovers that Dickson is actually living the life she wondered about, married to Robert with three children. Suddenly Dickson disappears, leaving Drury in her place. Now Pamela begins to discover the multidimensional joys of marriage and family from the front lines. She is so ill equipped for the experience, that it produces a parade of comical situations that range from mildly amusing to absolutely hysterical.

This is a virtuoso performance by Griffiths, who has impressed me in every role I've seen her play. She was outstanding in "Hillary and Jackie" delivering a compelling dramatic performance of a complex character in a supporting role. In this film, she has the lead and she runs with it. At various times she is called upon to be dynamic, sexy, compassionate, affectionate, independent, helpless and despondent and she handles this incredible range fabulously in every case. She is a terrific comedian with excellent timing and a knack for physical comedy.

This is a very funny and enchanting film. "What If" movies seem to be popping up everywhere lately, and this is the best one I've seen. I rated it a 9/10. It is extremely entertaining and I recommend it highly. It is a shame it didn't reach a wider audience.