Cast: Rachel Griffiths, David Roberts, Sandy Winton, Yael Stone, Shaun Loseby, Trent Sullivan
Director: Pip Karmel
Producer: Fabien Liron
Screenplay: Pip Karmel
Cinematography: Graeme Lind
U.S. Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
One of the most popular questions that we as human beings ask ourselves is "What if?" Because of our endless fascination with the vagaries of chance and fate, movies that explore these issues are becoming increasingly popular. (Maybe it has something to do with the advent of the new millennium.) In Sliding Doors, the audience is presented with two alternative realities that stem from one woman's missing a subway train. In Run Lola Run, we are given a multiple choice of three possibilities depending upon the outcome of a stairway encounter between the title character and a dog. Now, along comes Me Myself I, a less ambitious project with a similar goal - to show how one woman's life would be different if she had accepted a proposal from her "one true love" from 13 years ago. However, instead of going back in time to re-live that moment, she is given the opportunity to switch places with an alternate reality counterpart in the present. Each will inherit (for an unspecified amount of time) the other's life, with all of its pluses and minuses, as it exists today.
This is a fascinating premise, but Me Myself I doesn't do much with it. Instead of offering us a meaty dish full of complex philosophical issues and alternate reality conundrums, we're confronted with a bare bones plot structure that doesn't accomplish anything more ambitious than to explore the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" ideal. Of course, single people (especially those past the full bloom of youth) always wonder if things might be better if they get married. And married people ponder how much more freedom they would have if they hadn't made the trip to the altar. If a movie is going to really examine such commonplace issues, the script has to be a little more insightful than the one offered by director Pip Karmel.
Rachel Griffiths (Hilary and Jackie) turns in another fine performance as Pam Drury, a thirty-something journalist whose biological clock is ticking. Despite being successful and well-respected, Pam is not happy. Single and living alone, she's feeling the absence of a husband and children, and, with each passing day and dead-end date, she recalls with regret a marriage proposal she turned down 13 years ago. Every morning, Pam recites a mantra of trite phrases: "I love and approve of myself", "I deserve the best and I accept the best", and "I am in the rhythm and flow of ever-changing life." It doesn't help. Finally, in a moment of despair, Pam decides to kill herself, but, as she's about to drop a hairdryer into the bathtub, the power goes out. The next day, as she's crossing a street, she's hit by a car. When the driver gets out to check her, Pam comes face-to-face with... herself.
This other Pam is the woman who accepted the marriage proposal. She has been wedded to Robert Dixon (David Roberts) for 13 years and has three children. By unspoken agreement, the two Pams elect to change places and see what they missed. The film continues to follow "our" Pam as she meets her kids, becomes acquainted with her husband, and learns about the pitfalls of married bliss: a partner who snores, the blandness of routine, and the unpleasantness of toilet training a child. Sex is also an issue. Pam is interested, but Robert isn't, and it takes a valiant effort on her part to get a rise out of him.
Looking beyond Griffiths, who develops Pam into a well balanced and credible individual with real feelings and a vibrant personality, the rest of the cast is no better or worse than adequate. There are certainly no standouts among the supporting performers. David Roberts is solid as Robert, a preoccupied workaholic who is beginning to re-discover the importance of his marriage. Sandy Winton plays Ben Monroe, a potential lover for Pam in both realities.
The transition scenes - those in which the two Pams meet and talk to each other - are handled a little awkwardly. Karmel almost seems to want to offer some kind of explanation for what's going on, but fantasy elements like this are best left completely ambiguous. The more said, the less credible the situation, because viewers begin to think about the lack of logic inherent in the circumstances. Both Sliding Doors and Run Lola Run allowed the multiple scenarios to develop through the use of a few audio and visual cues.
The ultimate point of Me Myself I is that we should learn to be content with what we have rather than pining for what might have been. That's not an original message, and it's delivered with too little subtlety. Because Karmel wants to keep the tone light, she steers clear of any somber or cumbersome questions. As a result, the narrative has a straightforward, uncomplicated trajectory. There's no tension about whether Pam will get her old life back, and no concern that she'll be able to make it in these new circumstances. Her husband is so oblivious that he hardly realizes there's any difference, and Pam slides surprisingly well into the role of mother and wife. Me Myself I is interesting only because of our natural attraction to the subject matter. The specifics of the plot are the staples of generic self-discovery motion pictures.
© 1999 James Berardinelli