All of Me

The first decade of Steve Martin's film career was really up and down until he struck gold with this distinctive spin on the old body-swap premise. His first major film, The Jerk (1979), was a smash, grossing around $100M off its $4M budget. It was his first teaming with the legendary funnyman and director Carl Reiner. Not wanting to repeat himself, Martin followed it up with the beautifully melancholy depression-era musical Pennies from Heaven (1981), which was a huge box office bomb. He then reteamed with Reiner for the inspired film noir parody Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982). But as brilliant as Dead Men is, it was only a modest success. He and Reiner went back to something a little closer to The Jerk with their next outing, The Man with Two Brains (1983), another hilariously wacky comedy that faired poorly at the box office. Martin followed Two Brains with another attempt to do something with a little more depth, The Lonely Guy, which turned out to be The Jerk on Prozac. That dismal comedy was an even bigger flop when it was released in January of 1984. But Martin came roaring back just eight months later with his final collaboration with Reiner, All of Me, which was not only a hit, it scored the comedian the best film reviews of his career to date. From this picture on, Martin was a bonafide movie star whose films were almost always critic-proof hits—¡Three Amigos!, Roxanne, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Parenthood, L.A. Story, Father of the Bride, Housesitter, and on and on.

Based on an unpublished novel by Edwin Davis called Me Two, All of Me tells the story of a disgruntled lawyer named Roger Cobb (Martin) who becomes accidentally possessed by the spirit of an entitled, eccentric millionairess named Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin). When Edwina's attempt to transfer her soul into the body of a young, vibrant, beautiful woman (Victoria Tennant) goes awry, she and Roger end up having dual control over Roger's body, which leads to the type of physical comedy Martin was famous for. In fact, All of Me is every bit a showcase for Martin's signature shtick as any of his previous movie outings; it's just that none of it feels like shtick here.

All of Me is an old-fashioned screwball comedy right out of the 1930s or '40s, though the trappings of the film feel very '80s in mostly good ways. It's as outlandish a premise as all the Martin/Reiner movies, but it's made in a classy, controlled manner rather than a zany style. Martin talks to his dog, fights with himself, makes sarcastic comments, plays broad scenes with one of Richard Libertini's funniest goofball ethnic characters, and even says, "Excuuuuus me!" But tonally, this is far less a Wild and Crazy Guy in a Wild and Crazy World and more a pure work of magical realism. Everything is grounded in the real world except for the one fantastical element the story is built around. Like the best magical realist comedies, the picture establishes its few simple rules, then never deviates from them or springs a new one on us when it's convenient, and uses everything it's established to resolve the plot. This is how magical realism is supposed to work and why it can be such a more satisfying genre than fantasy when it's done well.

A big part of the film's success is due to Tomlin, whose '70s and early '80s movie career was as up and down as Martin's. Though she has the less prominent role, her antagonistic rapport with Martin is wonderful and makes the picture feel equally balanced between the two stars. In addition to Libertini and Tennant, the supporting cast is a dream team—Jason Bernard, as Roger's blind jazz musician best friend, Tyrone, steals every scene he's in; Dana Elcar, as Roger's philandering boss, constantly surprises in a part that could have been just the generic blustering boss trope; Madolyn Smith scores big laughs as Roger's girlfriend, Peggy, another role that could be one-note in lesser hands; and the always welcome Selma Diamond as Roger's phased-by-nothing secretary, Margo. This is one of those comedies that makes you smile all the way through, but there are also many BIG laughs. I also think it might be the greatest example of a film using an old song for its title and perfectly integrating that song into the body of the picture. It's a real gem!