June 21, 2003

Australian Identity Crisis

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For her inaugual NetFlix DVD viewing, PCC chose the little-known, but charming Australian comedy Me Myself I, starring one of PCC's favorite actresses at the moment, Rachel Griffiths. The plot is nothing new: successful career woman wonders if she made the right choices in life, i.e. deciding not to become a wife and mum, and then gets to experience how life might have been. What saves the audience from boredom and the face-scrunching puzzlement of 'haven't I seen this before?' is Griffiths' dual performance as Pamela the successful career woman and Pamela, mother of three and wife to Mr. Right. She mixes just the right amount of confusion and resourcefulness for her portrayal of Career Pam who suddenly finds herself being called mum. This is especially apparent in an early scene when, forced to drive her son Douglas to rugby practice, she goes the completely opposite way, but manages to cover up her mistake by asking Doug which way his father usually goes. Hilarious.
PCC was pleased that the film didn't take a stance on which life was 'better'. Over the course of the narrative, we find that Career Pam and Mum Pam are both missing something in their lives. Instead of sending the message that a driven career woman and a mother of three are mutually exclusive, the two Pamelas discover that the two lives can co-exist. All in all, a very sweet, funny film. Another success for the immensely talented Ms. Griffiths. [And with an all-Australian cast, PCC's love of accents was fulfilled!]

Posted by jordan at June 21, 2003 6:59 PM