My Life

Bob Jones (Michael Keaton) is a promotions manager who is faced with a situation that will force him to look at his life and rethink the relationships he has made. His wife Gail (Nicole Kidman) is pregnant, and that's great... until Bob is told that he has cancer and will die in four months. At this point, (and that's where the movie starts) Bob decides that he is going to videotape himself, allowing him to leave hours of father training for his child after he is gone.

However, Bob's videotape is not the real point of My Life. The real message comes from the way Bob changes and tries to set things in order before his death, especially between himself and his parents. He was not abused as a child, but merely felt ignored as his father left early each morning to go and gather junk. Bob could never face the fact he was the son (and brother) of junk collectors, and always felt his father owed him a better life. He even went so far as changing his name to hide his ethnic origins.

The main concern with My Life is the language. It contains the most popular of sexual expletives in an otherwise tame labour room scene, and a few other unnecessary choice words in the rest of the script.

My Life is full of humour, love, and cliches. But what really makes this movie work is that these people seem ordinary. They have the same concerns most people would have in this situation, allowing viewers to more easily relate to the characters. Best of all, the film drives the viewer to want to change for the better. Don't be surprised if you laugh as hard as you cry. My Life is funny, warm, and thoughtful... just the way life should be.