All of Me (1984)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Carl Reiner

Cast: Steve Martin, Lily Tomlin, Victoria Tennant

Running time: 112 minutes

Roger Cobb is nearing the age of 40 and he is finally deciding to give up his aspirations as a jazz musician to concentrate on his career as a lawyer. He is sent by his boss to the house of dying millionaire Edwina Cutwater, who is preparing to have her soul transferred into the body of a young woman, who will in turn inherit all of Edwina’s fortune. Roger does not believe in the sanity of this plan, but, when the process goes awry, Edwina’s soul ends up in his body. Those two very different people will have to live closely together until the problem can be fixed.

In itself, the premise of this fantasy comedy is more than a little silly. But, with Carl Reiner’s direction, and with the chemistry between Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, it works. The two experienced comedic actors worked so well off – or into, actually – each other that what could have easily become a total slapstick mess was made quite good.

All of Me is a fun comedy meant to entertain. One has to suspend disbelief and go on for the ride. If you can manage to do that, you will enjoy yourself very much.

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