This Is My Life (1992)

This Is My Life is a 1992 film that marked the directorial debut of screenwriter Nora Ephron. The screenplay, written by Ephron and her sister, Delia Ephron, is based on the book, This Is Your Life, by Meg Wolitzer.

The film tells the story of Dottie Ingels (Julie Kavner), who works at a cosmetics counter but aspires to be a stand-up comedian. Ingels' Aunt Harriet dies and leaves the family her home in Queens which Ingels then sells to move to an apartment in Manhattan. Ingels' comedy career starts to take off with the help her agent, Arnold Moss (Dan Aykroyd) and Moss's assistant, Claudia Curtis (Carrie Fisher). Ingels' children, Erica (Samantha Mathis) and Opal (Gaby Hoffmann) get angry at Dottie because they hardly ever see her. Erica and Opal then run away to find their father in upstate Albany, whom Opal doesn't even remember, only being 1 or 2 years old when he left them.

The character portrayed by Aykroyd, Arnold Moss, is based on the famous New York talent agent Sam Cohn, and has some of the eccentricities for which Cohn was known, such as a habit of eating paper.

The film's soundtrack was performed by Carly Simon and released on Qwest Records. Although the album failed to chart, the single "Love of My Life" reached #16 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.

20th Century Fox released the film on DVD-R in 2012 as part of its Fox Cinema Archives line.

Synopsis

Dottie Ingels vend des parfums dans un grand magasin. Son travail ne la passionne guère. Elle rêve de devenir une star du comique. Un beau jour, précisément celui de la mort de sa tante Harriet, qui lui laisse sa maison en héritage, Dottie décide de tout plaquer. Elle vend sa demeure et part à Manhattan avec ses deux filles, Erica et Opal. Elle rencontre bientôt Claudia Curtis, qui devient son agent et organise pour elle des tournées sur mesure. Le succès se présente rapidement. Mais la passion de la mère s'assouvit au détriment du bonheur des deux fillettes, qui lui font sentir leur amertume...

Actors