All My Life is a romantic-comedy movie directed by Marc Meyers, written by Todd Rosenberg and stars Jessica Rothe, Harry Shum Jr., and Kyle Allen, alongside other cast members. The movie has a runtime of 91 minutes.
Netflix’s description of the movie reads:
An engaged couple looks forward to a long and happy life together, but the sudden diagnosis of a terminal illness throws their future in limbo.
– All My Life Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
For all the reasons romantic comedies are desirable to watch, All My Life checks those boxes. However, if you’re not looking for a weekend flick where you don’t have to use your brain, this movie will not cut it. Inspired by true events, the movie follows the protagonists Solomon Chau, an aspiring chef and Jennifer Carter, a student pursuing a master’s in psychology, who meet at a bar and fall in love with each other after a normal meet cute at a bar. They soon start spending all their time together, leading to a swift courtship and a first date that didn’t feel like a first date.
It is in the beginning only when we see their chemistry crackle on the screen; they have an ease with each other. An aspect which becomes clear when they engage in physical intimacy like kissing or laying in bed together. Their relationship has been pretty wholesome at this point; they go to the farmers market for their dates, they move in together after he realises he hates his job and wants to be a chef, they host Thanksgiving dinner for their friends and families, and he proposes to her with a song they heard on their first date; things are going pretty well.
As expected, a screeching halt shocks the characters; Sol (Solomon) has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. This scare, however, passes by smoothly and conveniently in a matter of minutes. Soon enough, we see him thriving in the kitchen, doing well enough to surpass the chef at the restaurant. Meanwhile, we have not seen a single moment where Jenn is either studying or working. The only time we see her doing something remotely professional is when she is in class and opens her laptop to see pictures of her and Solomon.
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This disparity in character presentation is a recurrent theme in All My Life. Jenn’s friends Amanda and Megan both exist as characters in service only to the protagonist. Perhaps the only reason this doesn’t seem problematic is that none of the supporting characters identifies as queer.
When Sol faces danger once again, his friends run circles around him and give him air time. A terminal illness in the group affects everyone; in this effect, a character named Kyle, who was barely present in the second half, had more depth than anyone else on the screen.
Apart from these, there are some scenes in All My Life that exemplify how dramatic the writing is. With redundant cliches that are recycled over and over again, the writer of the movie misses the point of finding something specific to the characters and instead relies on the acting prowess of the two actors in the scene.
Harry Shum Jr and Jessica Rothe both use the limiting script to bring their chemistry. Apart from their presence, the only thing that makes the movie slightly better is the callbacks, which are intelligently placed and brought back at just the right time. While the writing may have been messy, the structure is brilliantly organised and flows smoothly even as it shifts in acts.
The genre of having a loved one die or be diagnosed with a terminal illness is a popular trope in the romantic comedy movie world; examples include The Fault in Our Stars, Midnight Sun, All the Bright Places, Me Before You and many others. However, All My Life is most reminiscent of the show starring Zoë Saldaña called From Scratch.
While they had time available and a bigger project that allowed the plot to breathe, All My Life loses out on a chance to make the movie better.
All My Life is streaming on Netflix.
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