The
simple yet touching story of an estranged father/son relationship, New York
based surgeon Abbie Polin (Billy Crystal) suffers a heart attack and upon
medical leave reveals to his fiancée/doctor Lisa (JoBeth Williams) his long
thought-to-be-dead father Abe (Alan King) is in fact still alive in Los
Angeles. A character actor dubbed in
Hollywood as ‘King of the Extras’, Abe gets by in the film business and is
loved by many yet has virtually nothing in common with his son whom he barely
acknowledged in his youth. Soon Lisa
joins her fiancée’s shaky, tense reunion with his father who senses the
dysfunctional dynamo may have more in common than either realizes.
Co-written
by Billy Crystal and soon-to-be Forrest
Gump screenwriter Eric Roth, Memories
of Me is an ageless father-son tale of bonding coupled with long gestating
familial strife we’ve been told numerous times over the years yet the onscreen
personalities of Crystal and King somehow manage to keep things fresh and
engaging. This could have very easily
been another Hallmark Entertainment slice of schmaltz, yet both actors as well
as JoBeth Williams imbue the picture with genuine emotion and heart. You can tell this is Crystal’s baby as his
personality is all over the proceedings with Roth’s own tendency towards moving
human dramas also present in the film’s plot and tonality.
By
this point I thought I had seen everything Billy Crystal had to offer onscreen
from his still-memorable comic turns in Throw
Momma from the Train, The Princess
Bride and among his most well-known pictures, When Harry Met Sally. And
yet this quiet yet deeply personal little number only proved just how wrong I
was, it also exemplified Crystal’s uncharted dramatic chops finally used in the
right part. Amid the clever gags and
sarcastic quips Crystal throws out there, he also leaves ample room for various
dramatic weathers, signifying his understanding of drama’s connection to
comedy.
For
Crystal and King’s onscreen chemistry, you get the impression based on their
experiences in showbusiness and from their own mutual upbringings that much of
what’s onscreen, however cliched, seems to emanate from a real place. King is (no pun intended) the ‘king of the
one-liners’ in this and much like screenwriter Roth’s later Oscar winning
efforts, King’s performance like Crystal’s is bittersweet, hiding buried
anxiety and depression just under the surface of his ebullient smiles.
Yes
the film (at times) does veer on old fashioned melodrama and Winkler’s
cinematic vision of character actors struggling in Hollywood does tend to paint
a celebratory picture of Tinseltown ala La
La Land. However, Crystal and King
have such electricity onscreen together with the script under Winkler’s
direction so well rendered that viewers aren’t likely to mind the film’s more
saccharine qualities. Moreover, it’s a
chance to witness the two legendary comedians as they’ve rarely (if ever)
allowed themselves to seen in a movie that’s equal parts charmingly funny,
tearjerkingly sad and above all, tender and sweet.
Score:
- Andrew Kotwicki
Score:
