ME MYSELF I
A film review by Christopher Null
Copyright 2001 filmcritic.com
filmcritic.com
What is it about foreigners and alternate reality comedy/dramas? On the heels of Sliding Doors, Twice Upon a Yesterday, and who knows what other indies comes Me Myself I, starring Rachel Griffiths in the dual role of a harried Australian woman and, well, herself.
On her birthday, Pamela (Griffiths) wakes up to realize that her life is a mess. She's not thrilled with her job and eats cereal for dinner, but more importantly, she doesn't have a man. In fact, she turned down a proposal some dozen years earlier, a move she now regrets. Surprise! when one day she is hit by a car that is driven by none other than herself -- an unexplained alternate universe dweller/magical leprechaun-type-of-person who accepted the aforementioned proposal to Robert (David Roberts), and with whom she is happily married.
Or not so happily, as it turns out. Single-Pamela soons discovers numerous infidelities and three rotten kids, because Married-Pamela quickly abandons her with her erstwhile family in a bid to swap lives. Single-Pamela learns the joys of dinner parties, grocery shopping for a family of five, and potty training.
I'm told the plot is virtually identical to The Family Man, only with a chick instead of a dude. You can take that for what you will, but I for one and getting a bit tired of gimmicky stories like this. Griffiths is as capable as can be expected in her role, but the comedy of Me Myself I is a bit flat, with only a few moments of ingenious amusement to take your eyes off the advancing counter on the VCR.
That said, the film also suffers from a horrendous sound mix, which has its frequent musical numbers (including an atrocious title song) blaring at four to five times the volume of the rest of the film. I actually had to get up and turn the volume down repeatedly, only to turn it back up when people started talking again. Not exactly what you want from a romantic comedy when you're snuggling with your honey on the couch.
RATING: ***
|------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
|------------------------------|
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Pip Karmel Producer: Fabien Liron Writer: Pip Karmel Starring: Rachel Griffiths, David Roberts, Sandy Winton, Yael Stone, Shaun Loseby
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