Rating: Summary: Not the Jim Carrey Movie! Better! Review: 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."
Rating: Summary: Virtuoso Performance by Rachel Griffiths Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: not for every taste Review: 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!
Rating: Summary: not for every taste Review: 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!
Rating: Summary: What If? -- Is Answered With Humor Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: What If ... With Mature Themes? Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: This movie asks "What If?" But Ends on an Up Note Review: 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. )
Rating: Summary: have I seen this before? Review: The film is cute. Smacks of "It's a Wonderful Life" with Rachel Griffiths in her usual uplifting and inspiring role. Definitely something for us single ladies to curl up on the couch with and feel better about ourselves afterwards.
Rating: Summary: Embarrased this was made in Australia Review: The idea was,although not original,a good one.A single woman enters an alternative reality in which she is married with 2 kids.However,I'm ashamed to say that like many Aussie movies the movie-makers are too obsessed with sex to concentrate on a great storyline.We could have seen more interaction with the sheila's kids..even though she doesn't remember giving birth to them,is she starting to feel bonded to them?We know she wipes her little boys asse but thats it.Does she decide to read him bedtime stories?,talk to him about school??We don't know,and the reason we don't know is because the movie people are too interested in filling up the film with her sex life.This takes away precious time for telling an interesting story.This movie was really [bad
Rating: Summary: Choices of the Heart Review: 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.
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