Memories of Me

source: Memories of Me

I think Memories of Me is one of the most under rated movies of 1988. The first movie to be directed by Henry Winkler, I think it's a completely forgotten gem. Plot In A Paragraph: On his girlfriend's (Jobeth Williams) insistence, following a heart attack, a disgruntled New York doctor (Billy Crystal) tries to make peace with his high- spirited, street-smart and often irritatingly careless father, (Alan King) a failed actor who never quit his dream to be a success, and is called the King Of The Extras. Billy Crustal is superb, as is Jobeth Williams, but the star of the movie is Alan King as Abe who gets along brilliantly with everyone but his son. Sean Connery pops up in an uncredited cameo as Himself, who stops to have a quick chat with "The King Of The Extras" Winkler does a fine job of handling the touching moments as well as the funny moments.

i watched memories of me on TV some time back and i instantly took a liking to it . in fact having also watched ' big fish ' and having liked the movie a lot as well , i felt it had shades of memories of me and forrest gump. where memories of me works for me is its story and the various ironies it hides . also the humor . what also works for me is that it really touched me and it never was sentimental .i liked this movie. and dad with jack lemmon in it came out a year later . they both have similar stories but i liked ' memories of me ' more. straight from the heart , thats what the movie is . my favourite scene is the confrontation between the father and the son where they almost end up holding each other's collars. funny yet touching.

Okay, the movie really isn't that good but it really does make me wail like a newborn. It's the whole father/son relationship thing that works in this film. I'm not a big fan of Billy Crystal but he's okay in this. Alan King is the real star and he shines pretty bright. Give it a chance.

I don't understand the low overall viewer rating here. Maybe it's because some don't appreciate the cadence/style of the dialogue? I adore this hidden gem, which earned "two thumbs up" from Siskel & Ebert. Great performances by Billy Crystal (not doing his usual schtick) and Alan King (in a rare lead dramatic role) and the lovely JoBeth Williams (looking sexier than ever), great direction (by television's Henry Winkler, no less) and a charming score by the great Georges Delarue (Steel Magnolias, A Little Romance, Agnes of God). I discover something new every time I see it. I highly recommend it.

This film follows a quite familiar premise of a father and son discordance through the decades, yet it's warmth and wittiness will keep you engaged throughout. It's of course familiar territory for Billy Crystal, playing the lead role as the charming, mild-mannered yet disgruntled son and medic, who's recently had a heart attack in his mid-thirties. The story deals with him seeking to reconnnect with his estranged and obsentsibly carefree father, while connecting romantically with Jo Beth Williams, who plays off quite nicely in a supporting role as his fellow professional in medicine. The film is a consummate work of comedic writers and actors dealing with a a common theme of familial tension and life choices. I found myself grinning and amused at the leads chemistry/dialogue/physical comedy, and not once did I find myself distracted or disengaged with the film. For 'feel good' comedy dramas, it's up there with the best of its period.

It's a 7, but maybe an 8 if you really like BC. Pretty good. What would we do without Tubi, though? Watch it on DVD? They're the only service that has this movie ATM. Too bad these services don't have a paid plan, allowing them to get all the other hard-to-find streaming titles.

Schmaltzy seriocomedy dealing with doctor Crystal's re-examination of his life, which at the core lies an estranged relationship with his father (King). So it's off to L.A. for in-fighting, pent-up resentments, and your typical barrage of cats-and-dogs-living-together nonsense. Like an old married couple, Crystal and King bicker, find some common ground, make up, then one insults the other and we're back to square one. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. The major problem with the film is that Billy Crystal has never been more unlikable or angry. In a sense, he's the villain of the piece. King is the kid, carefree and footloose, while Crystal is his straight-man, constantly finding fault and prone to rages. Yes, we understand he was a bad father, but King's character --- though a typical curmudgeon --- has so much life and good humor about him, that Crystal's never-can-be-budged attitude is really a disappointment playing against type. A serious Billy Crystal is not an enjoyable one. Crystal's co-written script and Winkler's direction reek of treacly melodrama far too often. The most awkward moment deals with an infuriated Crystal seeking refuge --- after an umpteenth fight with dad --- in the arms of his girlfriend. The violins are cranked up, Crystal disrobes, begins kissing down her stomach, they straddle each other...ick. All that was missing was slow-motion, perhaps. So maybe I should stand corrected; a love scene with Billy Crystal, is not an enjoyable one as well. There are some witty jabs at showbiz, King's standing in the community as "King of the Extras", filmic references, and a touching moment or two that stay out of the aforementioned overly sentimental realm. Plus Crystal and King (both of whom produced) expectedly work well together, considering their backgrounds. Not just with the expected comic moments, but stretching their dramatic bones as well. And Jobeth Williams as their female foil, has never looked better in her life. She adds some much needed light and beauty to the mostly drab circumstances. Don't expect much from this forgotten parental allegory ("Unhappy Memories of Me" would've been more apt), and don't watch it with dad if you guys have always had problems. You'll at least get a couple of quotable barbs to share with others, such as Crystal and King preparing for bed: Crystal: "I'm gonna turn in." King: "To what?" And one of the all-timers at a traffic accident: Cop: "Are you a doctor?" King: "No, he's an electrician, but he's good with his hands!" Both those are few and far between.

Really a good inside look at Hollywood and the movie making machine that it is today. Why do they not show it on TV or any other outlet, I found it well.,.......well just great. Best kept secret flick RussJFK loves it! You just get a good look at this film and the back-door of Hollywood. What the extras go through on a day to day basis on the set. I was one of them many years ago back in 1987 in LAX. Worked on a lot of films, enjoyed sitting on "the set" while we filmed. Every time I looked into the camera, I felt at home. I missed Dallas, Texas at the time and I was all the way in LA. But I found solace when I saw the camera, filming me, I knew that that was a portal back to my home in Texas and other homes across the country. I felt at home in front of the camera? Anyway, I loved this movie and wish I could find it on DVD for my collection, one of those good Saturday afternoon movies!!

It's hard to understand, sometimes, what can go wrong in the relationship between a father and son, when no physical abuse is involved. We know these situations do exist, as it the case presented by this movie that tries hard to presents a situation about the distancing between a son and his father, two people that are much alike. Billy Crystal, working on the screen play with Eric Roth, try to make us like this story. As directed by Henry Winkler, this dramatic comedy doesn't add anything that one hasn't already seen already. In fact, most of it kept reminding us the work of Neil Simon with all its one liners and glibness. "Memories of Me" makes a point to salute those unknown people working behind the stars because Abe, the father of this story is a struggling extra in Hollywood. The movie capitalizes on the star turn by Alan King, who plays the father. Billy Crystal underplays the son. Jobeth Williams also appears. Mr. Winkler has gone for the sentimentality and the result is a film that doesn't go anywhere.