After a heart attack, Abbie Polin (Crystal), a New York doctor, goes to Los Angeles to see his father, Abe (King), who works in Hollywood as the "king of the extras." Their relationship has been strained for several years. This was the first movie directed by Henry Winkler, and much of it was filmed inside the MGM Studios in Culver City, California, only a few miles from Hollywood. Lisa, the romantic interest in Abbie's life, also comes for a visit and bonds with Abe, who gets along famously with everyone but his son. Abe begins having memory loss and eventually is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He and his son grow closer in time and, before it's too late, Abbie tries to get Abe a speaking role in a film.
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I kind of feel that Billy Crystal did this film in part to get closure with his father (who died when Billy was 15). It's an amazingly good film and shows off the depth of acting Billy Crystal and Alan King can do. They played very well off of each other in this movie.It's always nice to see JoBeth Williams on the screen, who I've always thought was scrumptious. A number of the extras who work with Alan King are extras who you've seen in films forever. **SPOILER** Whenever I tell people about this, I tell them about the recurring question Billy Crystal asks his father: "Don't you feel like a putz?" The final punchline of the joke is a classic. (If you haven't seen the film, I'm not going to reveal that much--it's very moving and has even made me think of something similar.)Go see it. You'll sniffle and laugh throughout.
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!!
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 meand 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.
My father was from NYC and my mother was raised in LA. I have seen every film I ever wanted to and this one has the most meaning. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a loving heart. It is the finest thing I have ever seen on the screen.
