reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (09/30/84)
It's taken Carl Reiner an awfully long time to figure out
how to make Steve Martin's comic talents work on screen, but he's
finally succeeded. What a unlikely secret it turned out to be:
he needed to give Martin a vehicle with a good story. Sometimes
it takes a while for people to learn what should have been
obvious, but at least Reiner finally picked up on it. "All of
Me" is a really good comedy, easily the best film Reiner has ever
directed and the funniest Steve Martin has been since his classic
appearances on "Saturday Night Live".
Martin plays a frustrated lawyer who is really a frustrated
musician. He doesn't have the confidence to quit his law firm
for music, his real love, and he is being given only
insignificant cases by the head of the firm, who is, not
coincidentally, the father of Martin's girlfriend. Martin can't
seem to make it in either world. Finally, he gets a break: he's
assigned to handle the will and estate of a fabulously wealthy
woman (Lily Tomlin) who is about to die. Unfortunately, she has
some rather odd ideas about how things are going to work out.
She expects that, on her death, an Indian swami will catch her
soul in a brass bowl and transfer it to the body of her
stablemaster's daughter, Victoria Tennant, while Tennant's soul
will become one with the universe. Since the will is to leave
all of Tomlin's money to Tennant, this will leave the dying woman
with a beautiful, healthy body and a ton of money.
Well, this is all too weird for Martin (if you can imagine
that), so he walks out on Tomlin. An unexpected set of
circumstances cause her little experiment in the metaphysical to
go awry, though, and, instead of a transfer to Tennant's body,
Tomlin finds herself in Martin's body, and he's still there, too.
Martin controls the left half of his body, Tomlin the right.
Their instant hate for each other leads to hilarious
complications, as does their attempts to sort the situation out.
Not only is this a fairly good story, but it is exactly
suited to Steve Martin's talents. While Martin can tell a
joke as well as the next comedian, his real comic talents are
physical, not verbal. Martin is one of the few modern comics who
could probably make a go of it in silent movies. "All of Me"
gives him ample opportunity to use his abilities, as he lurches
around, half of him a snooty upperclass lady, half a slightly
strange man. His walk is priceless, as is a scene in which the
coinhabitants of his body visit a public men's room.
Tomlin, on the other hand, is more adept with speech than
with movements, which is just as well, since, after the first
twenty minutes, we hear a lot of her voice, but only see her in
mirrors. She does get an awful lot done with voice, alone,
though, and we never forget that she is the film's other star,
despite her lack of screentime. She is absolutely perfect for
her role. Few other actresses could manage to show just how
irritating her character is and still make us feel sympathy for
her. Throw in her comic talents, and she was really the only
choice.
Martin's part suits him very well, too. He's really a
fairly normal guy in "All of Me", rather than playing a dunce or
a crazy or a spoof character, and he works better that way. The
restraint he shows in the early scenes builds the foundation for
the hilarity later on. This is the kind of role which could make
Steve Martin a major movie star.
Carl Reiner has never before given any real indication that
he can direct a film, but he handles this one perfectly. The
pace, the timing, the shot selection are all right on target.
Reiner also has the sense to give several other characters the
chance to shine, rather than focussing exclusively on Martin and
Tomlin. Particularly good is Richard Libertini, as the daft
swami, who repeats the end of any sentence addressed to him, in a
vacantly good-natured way. Dana Elcar, playing Martin's boss and
prospective father-in-law, has some good moments when he selects
Martin to handle his upcoming divorce, explaining how he became
the "comforter" of his dead friends widows.
A special tip of the hat is due to the screenwriter, Phil
Alden Robinson. Unlike most recent comedies, such as
"Ghostbusters", the script is really the heart of "All of Me".
For my money, a comedy with a good script and good comedians will
beat a comedy with a mediocre script and good comedians. I
prefered "All of Me" to "Ghostbusters", and, in fact, I think
it's the best new comedy I've seen in some years. (Sorry, but it
still doesn't measure up to the old classics, such as "His Girl
Friday", which I saw again just last week. But then, what does?)
I highly recommend "All of Me".
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher