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Rachel Griffiths and David Roberts
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Slapstick comedy gets a Cosmo makeover courtesy of a diaphragm and Pamela Drury (Rachel Griffiths), a thirtyish career woman who isn't sure how to insert it. Pamela's legs flail in the air. She flips like some acrobatic clown on the bathroom tile. It's only a matter of time before the rubber cylinder goes flying across the room.
Griffiths' quirky personality makes the scene more than some clichéd Jim Carrey moment. She's an engaging talent, a down-to-earth actress who comes off more like a cashier at the local supermarket than a dazzling starlet. Whenever she shakes her brunette bob of hair and purses her thin lips, you feel as if you just passed her on the street.
Griffiths' bubbly honesty is the saving grace of first-time filmmaker Pip Karmel's what-if melodrama Me Myself I. Without her, the film would be a clumsy fantasy about a woman's hindsight brought to life.
A photo of an old boyfriend named Robert Dickson (David Roberts) has Pamela hearing the tick-tick-tick of her biological clock with new ferocity. She's beginning to believe that she should have accepted Dickson's marriage proposal 13 years ago.
"I think I missed the boat," Pamela tells a girlfriend. "I'm thinking about having a baby, by myself if I have to."
Her friend isn't very supportive. "I thought you didn't like babies," the girlfriend replies.
But Pamela is undeterred. "What's that got to do with it?" she asks.
A magical collision with a passing car sets up the comic dilemma in Me Myself I. The star journalist finds herself trapped in an alternative world as housewife and mother of Dickson's three children. It's a hands-on answer to all her what-if questions.
Karmel (editor of the 1996 hit Shine) follows in the footsteps of other "alternative life" fantasies: Sliding Doors, The Double Life of Veronique and Heaven Can Wait. The result is a quasi-feminist version of It's a Wonderful Life.
The idea of a female workaholic wanting something more than money, a successful career and prestige is nothing new. Me Myself I makes up for its lack of originality and threadbare social politics with plenty of comic hijinks. It's inevitable that Pamela will be overwhelmed by her newfound domestic challenges: grocery shopping, potty training and fixing after-school snacks. Just trying to open a juice box becomes a Herculean task.
It's unfortunate that Karmel describes Pamela's make-believe family life in such trite fashion. Three young children keep the house sloppy. The TV is loud. Her absentee husband offers little help with the chores. Pamela's mommy moments are intentionally clumsy.
But there's no denying Griffiths' enthusiasm for the role. Lying in bed, peeking from behind a copy of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, Pamela catches her husband off-guard with aggressive, sweaty and acrobatic sex. It's Karmel's way of combining a working woman's independent streak with the domestic stability of marriage. Happiness, says Me Myself I, is a devoted wife who's also a wild lover.
Griffiths' shot at a starring role was inevitable. The only disappointment is that it took so long. The Australian actress has earned a cult following through a series of dynamic supporting roles. The fact that most of the films are of the art-house variety -- Muriel's Wedding, My Son the Fanatic, Jude and Children of the Revolution -- has kept her profile low. Some of Griffiths' films never even made it into Cincinnati theaters: Cosi, Among Giants and Welcome to Woop Woop.
A small role in the Julia Roberts comedy My Best Friend's Wedding helped introduce Griffiths to mainstream audiences. Considering the miniscule size of her part, it's astounding how much spark she brought to that film.
Her role as Jacqueline du Pre's eclipsed older sister in Hilary and Jackie earned Griffiths a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. It also brought her a much-deserved stint in the spotlight.
Armed with a face that bends into a million expressions, Griffiths' unique beauty and emotional honesty ultimately triumph over Me Myself I's sloppy comedy. Griffith actually makes the film's Patty Duke moments, the scenes when Pamela is talking to her alternate self, seem somewhat credible.
It's Griffiths' sheer personality that allows Me Myself I to reach its moral climax about life, love and the pursuit of happiness in a somewhat compelling fashion. On anyone else's lips, lessons about the grass not always being greener on the other side of the fence sound foolish.
CityBeat: grade B.
