"He's in conference with Miss Cutwater, also with her doctor, her nurse, Mr Mifflin, an English girl with no bra and a Hindu holding a bedpan on a stick. I don't think you should go in there." And with that little speech from receptionist Selma Diamond, All of Me finally gets going. The plot, somewhat reminiscent of I Married a Witch, sees friendless, dying millionairess Lily Tomlin enlisting a Swami with a poor grasp of English to transfer her soul to a sparky young blonde (Victoria Tennant). As you might imagine, the plan gets botched, and Tomlin's griping newly-dead becomes housed in the body of unhappy lawyer Steve Martin - whose soul is in there as well.The first 20 minutes are pretty dry, but once Diamond starts drolly lecturing, Dana Elcar begins two-facedly badmouthing his wealthiest client and Martin takes to bickering with 'himself', it settles into a fun - if unexceptional - groove. There's one absolute gem of a sequence in a courtroom, which is set-up with panache and expert timing and builds to a dizzyingly absurd climax. The rest of the film skirts by on the talents of Martin - very good and indulging his fondness for outlandish physical comedy - and Tomlin, with her Kate Hepburn-ish delivery. I rather like Tennant as a romantic lead, too, and her line: "I love it when you talk like a beer commercial."

Unlikely, patchy but oddly dense comic-romantic fantasy: Lily Tomlin is a dying millionaires who appoints a shaman to transfer her soul into the body of a younger woman (Victoria Tennant); Steve Martin (who would eventually marry Tennant in real life) is the lawyer put in charge by his firm of Tomlin's estate. The two do not see eye to eye, however, and are then appropriately horrified to discover that, by mistake, Martin's body is made the ultimate vessel of the woman's soul!; this turn-of-events (much abused over the years) essentially constitutes the film's comedy element, with Martin having a hard time controlling the feminine instincts within him (most embarrassing when manifesting themselves inside a court-room during an all-important case). That said, the real coup here is the unexpected tenderness displayed in the blossoming 'relationship' between Martin and Tomlin – as each gradually comes to learn of the other's true decent nature; the happy solution to this dilemma, then, is made possible by having Tennant revealed as a schemer…so that our heroes contrive to have the deceased's soul inhabit her body forever! All in all, an underrated film which is justly regarded by connoisseurs among Martin's best-ever showcases.

The spirit of uptight dying rich spinster Edwina Cutwaters (superbly played by Lily Tomlin) gets accidentally transferred into the body of swinging bachelor lawyer Roger Cobb (Steve Martin in fine and inspired form). The two radically opposite personalities are forced to share the same body until they can get wacky swami Prahka Lasa (a delightfully kooky Richard Libertini) to put Edwina's soul into the body of shameless and conniving slut Terry Hoskins (a deliciously naughty portrayal by the lovely Victoria Tennant). Director Rob Reiner and screenwriter Phil Alden Robinson devise an ideal showcase for the major comic talents of both Martin and Tomlin: The original wild and crazy Steve performs plenty of frantic physical humor with amazing skill and agility while Tomlin brings a genuinely moving pathos to the initially unappealing character of the sad and repressed Edwina. Better still, there's a good deal of genuine heart and warmth amid all the zany slapstick, with the two main characters becoming more endearing and sympathetic as the story unfolds. Roger Cobb in particular is a likable eccentric who talks to his beloved dog and aspires to be a jazz musician. Martin and Tomlin do sterling work in the lead roles; they receive sound support from Tennant, Libertini, Jason Bernard as Roger's loyal, laid-back blind saxophone player pal Tyrone Wattell, Dana Elcar as amorous law firm head Burton Schuyler, Michael Ensign as prissy lawyer Mr. Mifflin, Madolyn Smith as Roger's fiery fiancé Peggy, Eric Christmas as Terry's cranky stableman dad Fred, and Selma Diamond as Roger's sunny secretary Margo. It's a real treat watching Martin and Tomlin bounce off each other; sidesplitting highlights include Roger getting Edwina to help him go to the bathroom (priceless line: "How dare you say penis to a dead person"), Edwina spoiling Roger's attempt at making love to Terry, and the wonderfully exuberant final scene. A total hoot.

While based on a ridiculous premise (from Edwin Davis' novel), "All of Me" is still a very funny film thanks to some genuinely funny comedy and clever performances.Steve Martin is a frustrated lawyer who is at the end of his tether when the unthinkable happens, he is forced to share his body with the soul of a late, rich and obnoxious client (Lily Tomlin). Martin's manic performance is hilarious, and along with a good supporting cast, they all put on a very likable show. There's not much more to this Carl Reiner film (one of a few he teamed up with Steve Martin to do), but the laughs should certainly be enough. Also starred Victoria Tennant.Tuesday, January 5, 1993 - Video