Me, Myself & I

If Only...
A Review of Me, Myself and I
by Nonia Bidness

Pros: Good cast especially Rachel Griffiths, fun story, thought provoking.
Cons: Might be confused with that Irene one...

A short and pleasing preview for this was shown at our local Film Society theatre (the Nickelodeon) and it attracted my attention. I like a well-done preview that just acts as an appetizer without spoiling the meal!

This is called a comedy, and there certainly is a light side to it and plenty of hearty laughs, but it really makes a lot of points about the choices we make and how we feel about them, the unforeseen consequences that come along with them. I like it when comedies entertain and amuse me while leaving me with good concepts to ponder and that "lessons learned" feeling.

As you should WELL KNOW by now if you read my reviews, I am not going to give you a blow-by-blow account of the movie's plot. Especially when it's a movie that I recommend.

It is interesting to note that the issue of a woman's identity is once again connected to her marital and family (has children or not) status. Perhaps humans, especially American ones, do attach a lot of importance to that. The heroine of the movie has one of those unexplained time phenomena occur - those magic places where there is a disturbance in the force - not an unfamiliar movie theme. We've seen such a thing recently in Frequency, and many past favorites like Groundhog Day, Run Lola Run had a nice way of showing alternate "if only..." realities. Well, that's about all I want to tell you about it, because it is central to the movie (besides the video jacket will probably tell you more than this!). Watching it unfold, wondering about it as it is occurring, was a pleasure for me and I wouldn't want to rob you of it.

Rachel Griffiths is the star, maybe known for roles in Hilary & Jackie or Muriel's Wedding, though she looked new and fresh to me. This is another one of those small films that works more smoothly because the cast is mostly unknown. The acting was good all around, and Rachel seemed especially expressive. I know I missed more than one line due to the accents (generally British), but I liked the dialog.

The pace is fast enough, the characters interesting, the story engaging and with enough twists to keep it moving. A good evening's entertainment for those mature enough to find the themes relevant - what does the Modern Woman want??

Overall Rating: 3 stars
Laughs: Worth a few chuckles
Recommends to friends? Yes

Nonia Bidness July 31, 2000