All My Life: Movie Review
Movie Info
RATING:
PG-13 (brief language)
GENRE:
Drama, Romance
RELEASE:
December 4, 2020
STARRING:
Jessica Rothe, Harry Shum Jr.,Marielle Scott, Ever Carradine, Jay Pharoah, Josh Brener, Kyle Allen, Chrissie Fit
DIRECTOR:
Marc Meyers
STUDIO:
Universal Pictures/Comcast
ALL MY LIFE is a sweet movie about an engaged couple who faces a medical crisis and must decide how to proceed with their lives. ALL MY LIFE is a compelling, heartrending movie with a strong moral worldview about supporting other people during a major crisis, but the movie has some foul language and scenes of cohabitation before the couple in the story marries.
The movie begins with a voiceover from a young woman named Jen, who talks about the curves in life, both good and bad. Cut to a scene in a sports bar. Jen and her pals are celebrating a promotion when they meet Sol and his two silly friends. Sol’s friends and Jen’s friends try to spark a romance between Sol and Jen. Sol and Jen end up going on a run, and Jen kisses him afterwards. The pair begin dating, and it seems like the pair have it all.
Sol works for a marketing agency but is unhappy with his job. Jen encourages him to take the next step and quit to pursue what he’s really good at, which is being a chef. Eventually, he does so and is happy. However, one night after moving in with Jen and proposing to her, Sol collapses on the bathroom floor only to go to the hospital to hear some bad news – he has a tumor in his liver.
Thankfully, the doctors remove the tumor along with a third of his liver, and it’s smooth sailing, or so Jen and Sol think.
Doctors inform Sol he needs chemotherapy because his cancer is progressing rapidly. Jen and Sol start to put their fairytale wedding on hold, until their community of friends start a fundraiser to make it come to pass.
Reluctantly, Jen and Sol take their friends up on their generous act and go through with a fantastic wedding. However, their newlywed journey continues to intersect with medical hardships. Will they persevere in both sickness and in health?
ALL MY LIFE is a sweet movie with compelling, heartrending real-life drama. Since the movie is based on a true story, its ending will touch the hearts of many viewers in some form or fashion. Comical moments in the script help offset some of the harder medical moments. Jessica Rothe as Jennifer Carter and Harry Shum, Jr. as Sol make an endearing couple onscreen. The only thing that could’ve made the movie better, is a conversation about the stakes after one’s life, but it’s possible the filmmakers didn’t know or want to touch that component of the real-life couple’s views.
ALL MY LIFE has a strong moral worldview about supporting other people during a major crisis. The movie includes some Romantic elements, but these elements ultimately take a back seat to the reality of the couple’s hard-life circumstances. On another positive level, Sol and Jen’s friends support the couple both emotionally and monetarily through the hard times. Due to some foul language, alcohol use and scenes of cohabitation before the couple in the story marries, MOVIEGUIDE® urges strong caution for older children, including younger teenagers.