| All of Me | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Carl Reiner |
| Produced by | Stephen J. Friedman |
| Screenplay by | Phil Alden Robinson Henry Olek |
| Based on | Me Two by Edwin Davis |
| Starring | Steve Martin Lily Tomlin Victoria Tennant Madolyn Smith Richard Libertini |
| Music by | Patrick Williams |
| Cinematography | Richard H. Kline |
| Editing by | Bud Molin |
| Studio | Kings Road Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 21, 1984 |
| Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $36,403,064 |
All of Me is a 1984 fantasy comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. This film is based on the novel Me Two by Edwin Davis.[1]
Contents |
Martin plays an attorney named Roger Cobb. He is dating his boss' daughter and is also an aspiring jazz guitarist. Lily Tomlin is a difficult, eccentric, spoiled rotten, but oxygen-dependent millionairess named Edwina Cutwater. Discovering that she is dying, Cutwater wants to make some unusual final arrangements.
Roger is sent in to arrange her will, in which she wants to leave her vast fortune to Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant), her stablekeeper's daughter, with the idea that a culture-shocked holy man can use a mystical bowl to allow Miss Hoskins' soul to leave and Edwina's soul to enter her body, giving her the chance of a life in a less crippled body. Roger, unsurprisingly, believes the whole plan is "bananas".
However, the plans go awry and Roger himself ends up with Edwina's soul having control over the right side of his body and him the left, causing constant friction and problems between the two — amongst them, the loss of Roger's girlfriend and job. Besides listening to each other's thoughts, Roger talks to Edwina's image that appears in mirrors and other reflective surfaces to him and no one else. Whilst their relationship does warm during the course of the film, things are further complicated by the revelation that Terry is a scheming opportunist who plans to take advantage of Edwina's last will and testament and have her former employer's fortune for herself, having never actually believed that the soul-transference would work.
The movie ends with Terry's plot being foiled by Roger and Edwina. Rather than face life in jail, Terry at last consents to having her soul placed into the body of her stablehand father's horse. Edwina takes up residence in Terry's body as originally planned, so that she and Roger can live a happy, carefree life with her fortune. The final shot has Roger and Terry dancing, but in the mirror the audience sees that it is really Roger and Edwina dancing.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Steve Martin | Roger Cobb |
| Lily Tomlin | Edwina Cutwater |
| Victoria Tennant | Terry Hoskins |
| Madolyn Smith Osborne | Peggy Schuyler |
| Richard Libertini | Prahka Lasa |
| Dana Elcar | Burton Schuyler |
| Jason Bernard | Tyrone Wattell |
| Selma Diamond | Margo |
| Eric Christmas | Fred Hoskins |
| Gailard Sartain | Fulton Norris |
| Neva Patterson | Gretchen |
| Michael Ensign | Mr. Mifflin |
| Peggy Feury | Dr. Betty Ahrens |
In an interview, Martin described his sense of his character Roger Cobb: "This man is not an idiot. He is a contemporary person with some brains, [...] he's not naive or a victim of circumstances. He's an intelligent man who happens to get caught in a disaster. That's a big difference between this role and any other part I've played. [...] For the first time I'm in a story with a beginning, middle, and end . It's old-fashioned and solid [...] This movie was like going to school. I learned a lot about structure and character." [2] He stated in Steve Martin: The Magic Years, "My mature film career started with All of Me and ends with L.A. Story."[3]
The film received a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score and generally "rave reviews".[4] [5] On release, The New York Times described the film: "Some things simply have to be seen to be believed, and the sensational teamwork of Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in All of Me is one of them [...] Mr. Martin's astonishing performance is the film's most conspicuous asset, but the entire cast is good." [5]
All of Me belonged to the production company Kings Road Entertainment and was released by the company through various distributors worldwide in 1984. Universal Pictures held theatrical distribution rights in North America, but the studio did not have any participation with the film's home video release. In 1985 British media company EMI under their home video division released the film on VHS and they would continue to hold the rights to the film for a decade. In early 1999 Trimark Home Video purchased full video rights from EMI remastering the film and re-releasing it onto VHS as well as the new DVD formatting. In 2000, Trimark folded and sold their video library to Lions Gate Entertainment. In 2005, Lions Gate put the marketing of the film in their name and reissued another DVD format of the film. Lions Gate owns all rights to the film's home video formats internationally.
Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant met during the making of the film and were married in 1986, staying together till 1994. They worked together again in 1991 on the film L.A. Story.[3] [6] Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin both starred in the 2009 comedy The Pink Panther 2.
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