Steve Martin became famous for his crazy comedy routines. He moved on to making some comedy movies, some of which were rather silly, though still very entertaining. I’ve seen and enjoyed many of his movies. I continue to see his new movies, like The Pink Panther. I recently watched All of Me again, one of her earlier movies.

Roger Cobb was a lawyer who was happiest when he was playing music. His boss, Burton Schuyler, was trying to get Edwina Cutwater, a very wealthy sick woman. Edwina was dying even though she wasn’t very old and she had some very unique plans. With the help of Prahka Lasa, Edwina was going to have her soul removed from her body and put in the body of Terry Hoskins, the young daughter of one of her employees. Terry’s soul would leave her body and Edwina was changing her will to leave her fortune to Terry. Roger thought Edwina’s plans were crazy and didn’t keep that opinion to himself. Roger then had to apologize to her and try to keep her from going to another law firm. When the time came to perform the transfer of Edwina’s soul, things went wrong and it ended up inside Roger’s body. Obviously he wasn’t happy about that. Roger and Edwina had to learn how to share the same body while trying to arrange for Edwina’s soul to be transferred to Terry’s body. Things were made more complicated because Burton was going through a divorce and wanted Roger to be his lawyer and work miracles. Roger had been dating Peggy, Burton’s daughter. Everything that was going on caused several problems in their relationship.

I have seen All of Me several times over the year and I still enjoy it when I watch it. The plot was unique and kept my interest. The movie was silly in places, so it isn’t for everyone. People should keep that in mind when deciding if they want to see the movie or not. This is a good movie to watch when in the mood for something fun and light hearted. I do think that people need to have an open mind and suspend their disbelief to really enjoy this movie. What was going on with Edwina’s soul added some supernatural elements to the movie. Edwina’s plans were a bit out there and some people could have trouble buying into that aspect of the movie. I think it worked fine even though it was rather silly. I just discovered that the movie was based on a book by Edwin Davis. Since I haven’t read the book, I have no idea how close the movie stayed to the book.

All of Me was a very funny movie. Even before Roger ended up sharing his body with Edwina’s soul, he did some things that added some humor to the movie. He wasn’t a typical lawyer and even took his dog into the office with him. The humor did increase after the failed soul transfer. One of the funniest scenes happened right after Edwina’s soul entered Roger’s body. He didn’t know what was going on or why he couldn’t control half of his body at first. The part when he and Edwina were having a tug of war over control of his body was hilarious. That part cracks me up every time I watch the movie. Most of the humor came from Roger and Edwina adjusting to sharing a body. Some of the scenes were silly, but they worked for the movie.

Roger was involved with Peggy when All of Me started. They weren’t shown in an actual sex scene but it was made clear that they did have a sexual relationship. Both were shown undressing when they were preparing to have sex. They weren’t shown naked. Other sexual situations popped up when Roger spent more time with Terry and was feeling attracted to her. Roger and Edwina did have a few discussions about some sexual matters. They also had a very funny discussion in the men’s room. I didn’t think the discussions were too graphic, though some viewers may feel differently. Parents probably wouldn’t want younger children to hear some of the things that were said even though the movie was rated PG. There was a little bit of swearing in the movie. The word that rhymes with luck was never used.

Roger and Edwina were the main characters in All of Me. For most of the movie, Edwina was only a soul inside Roger so she didn’t have much to do. Her voice was heard when she talked to Roger and she would only be seen when Roger looked in a mirror. She had been sick her entire life so she saw having her soul put in Terry’s body as her second chance. Edwina was use to being surrounded by servants and being waited on around the clock. She had been very pampered. I thought that Lily Tomlin was great in the part. She was very funny throughout the movie and believable in the part. I also really enjoyed her in 9 to 5.

Roger really wanted to be a jazz musician even though he was a lawyer. There really wasn’t any excitement or passion to his life before he had to share his body with Edwina’s soul. He had thought the whole moving of Edwina’s soul was a bunch of hooey until it ended up in his body. That changed his thinking in a hurry. Steve Martin was wonderful in the part. He was funny throughout the movie. He got to show off his talent for physical talent several times. I think this was one of his funniest performances.

Terry’s father had worked for Edwina for years, which played into her agreeing to Edwina’s bizarre plan. Terry had a few other reasons as well. She seemed to be very sweet and not too bright. She was smarter and more devious than she seemed at first. Victoria Tennant was fine in the part. I don’t think I’ve seen her in any other movies. Terry’s father was only in a few scenes, so he didn’t have a lot to do. Burton Schuyler popped up in a few scenes. He was sucking up to Edwina a lot in an attempt to keep her happy so she wouldn’t go to a different law firm. He was also worried about the divorce he was going through. Dana Elcar is probably best known for playing Pete on MacGyver. Peggy was around only briefly in a few scenes. Madolyn Smith-Osborne really didn’t have much to do. Selma Diamond, who was on the television show Night Court, had a small part as Roger’s secretary. Prahka Lasa was some sort of religious man from another country that was going to perform the ceremony to transfer Edwina’s soul. He didn’t speak much English and didn’t always understand what was going on.

Main Cast

Selma Diamond - Margo
Dana Elcar - Burton Schuyler
Richard Libertini - Prahka Lasa
Steve Martin - Roger Cobb
Madolyn Smith-Osborne - Peggy Schuyler
Victoria Tennant - Terry Hoskins
Lily Tomlin - Edwina Cutwater

Carl Reiner - Director

All of Me is available on DVD. The disc had very good picture and sound quality. There really weren’t any special features on the disc. I found my copy for only $5.50, so the movie can be found reasonably priced.

All of Me was a very funny, entertaining movie. It was silly in places, which might bother some viewers. People that enjoy silly, funny movies should give this one a chance. Fans of Steve Martin or Lily Tomlin should definitely see this one.

This review is part of elvisdo’s Canadian Write-off. Selma Diamond is from Quebec Canada.

Steve Martin Movie Reviews
Bowfinger ~ Bringing Down the House ~ Cheaper by the Dozen ~ Cheaper by the Dozen 2 ~ Housesitter ~ Looney Tunes: Back in Action ~ The Muppet Movie ~ Novocaine ~ The Pink Panther ~



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD