I always thought of All of Me as a tragically forgotten classic from the 1980s -- that is until I forgot all about it myself. Now I can't really make a good case for its worth, as I apparently didn't do a good job of keeping conscious of it, but I still have a hard time digesting the fact that in addition to being left behind, it is also about to be made somewhat obsolete. New Line has announced it is remaking the comedy, which starred Steve Martin as a man accidentally forced to share his body with the soul of Lily Tomlin, and that the new version will star Queen Latifah. Though it hasn't been revealed if Latifah will play the body or the soul, I have a good guess she'll be taking on the part originally played by Martin.

The interesting thing is that Adam Shankman is producing (and maybe directing?). In case you aren't familiar with Shankman's work, well, incidentally he made two movies starring Martin, Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and Bringing Down the House, the latter which also starred Latifah. Wait, I think I figured out the idea: the new All of Me will turn the old one on its head by having Martin play the character co-inhabiting Latifah's body. Of course! If there's anything that could be worse than a man having to share his body with the mind of a woman it is an African American diva having to share her body with the mind of a white guy.

In case you have never seen the original All of Me, you should probably check it out before the remake comes around and lowers its value. It came out in 1984 and was the fourth consecutive collaboration between Martin and director Carl Reiner (the first, The Jerk being the best one, of course). It was also the last decent movie made by Reiner as well as Tomlin's last decent starring role in a comedy (sure, I have soft spots in my heart for both Reiner's Summer School and Tomlin in Big Business, but there's no point in defending them). My favorite part of the whole movie, though, involves the great character actor Richard Libertini, a ringing telephone and a toilet bowl.

Martha wished Jerry Lewis a happy birthday last week, while I was out covering SXSW. I'm returning to Vintage Image of the Day postings just in time to wish a happy birthday to another longtime actor-comedian, also a successful film writer-director: Carl Reiner. These days, he might be recognizable to many filmgoers from his role as Saul Bloom in Ocean's Eleven, but Reiner's film career goes back to 1959, and his TV career began nearly a decade earlier.

Carl Reiner has become so well-known later in life that it's difficult to remember him even in his thirties. The above photo is from one of the first films in which Reiner appeared, The Gazebo, released in 1959. He's the guy on the left kissing Debbie Reynolds; the guy on the right is Glenn Ford. Reiner's character is named Harlow Edison, which sounds weirdly like a science-fiction writer if you have a cold. He progressed from playing Gidget's dad in Gidget Goes Hawaiian to comic roles in It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!. Reiner was more successful in TV at that time, writing and directing The Dick Van Dyke Show. And I haven't even mentioned the 2000 Year Old Man routine with Mel Brooks.

Reiner's best decade in film was the 1970s, in which he directed popular comedies like Oh God! and The Jerk. Where's Poppa?, a very dark comedy he wrote and directed in 1970, still has a large cult following. Reiner's directorial efforts in the 1990s were far less memorable (Sibling Rivalry, Fatal Instinct). However, throughout the years he's always been visible onscreen in small, hilarious roles. My favorite is probably his role as Alan Arkin's brother in the 1998 film Slums of Beverly Hills. I hope he's not done yet, and that we'll see him onscreen again soon.