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Me Myself I

Me Myself I

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Rachel Griffiths in a rather decent "road not taken" movie
Review: "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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "What might have been..."
Review: ...is something almost everyone wonders at some point in their life. The heroine of this film is able to actually see what her life would have been like had she married her college sweetheart. Great acting and some interesting plot points make this a wonderful romantic comedy, with a few poignant touches thrown in.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A "feel good" movie !!
Review: A really awsome movie, just like her previous movies, Philippa Karmel acheived what I call a sweet movie you can watch a million times without getting sick of it. I left the theatre with a big smile and a very optimistic attitude. What can I say...LOVED IT ! and I'm gonna buy it as soon as it comes out.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Griffiths Shines!
Review: Between the clunky and implausible set-up at the beginning and the mawkish and implausible wrap-up at the end, the moments in between were implausibly charming enough to keep me interested. Or maybe I just have a crush on Rachel Griffiths.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Charming enough film but ultimately forgettable
Review: Between the clunky and implausible set-up at the beginning and the mawkish and implausible wrap-up at the end, the moments in between were implausibly charming enough to keep me interested. Or maybe I just have a crush on Rachel Griffiths.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: Great acting by the main lead Griffiths. It is a very watchable movie. Do not get fooled by the cheesy cover art since it is a great movie. Enjoy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Griffiths Shines!
Review: Great execution of the "What If" where we all spend a great deal of out thoughts trekking through. Rachel Griffiths is terrific.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Lovely, and Hilariously Uplifting "What If..." Film
Review: 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.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "If only I'd done absolutely everything DIFFERENT!"
Review: 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?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "If only I'd done absolutely everything DIFFERENT!"
Review: 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?


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