Search - Role of a Lifetime on DVD

Kendra M. (KendraM) from NASHVILLE, TN
Reviewed on 2/23/2008...

I like Scott Bakula, but this movie wasn't very good. It was obviously a made-for-tv movie, and seemed so-- subpar script and acting.

The plot was actually pretty good, but it was also very predictable. An actor thought dead (only for a few weeks, not too long) realizes his only chance at a comeback will be if he pretends to be someone else. Pretending to be someone else who has an uncanny resemblance to him will enable him to get a major acting role playing himself. Get it? It's really not so difficult to understand-- I hope I explained it well enough.

The problem is that it's just not so funny. I really did like Scott Bakula on Quantum Leap, but here he just overacts-- even when his character is SUPPOSED to be overacting, he overacts too much. It's so not believable, he completely lacks charm, and the subplot, involving an Indian he meets at the busstop, is very predictable-- even to its sad ending.

Really, a little movie like this doesn't warrant such a long review, but I wanted to like this one. I like Scott Bakula. I like mistaken-identity stories. This sounded pretty good.

But, it wasn't done well, unfortunately.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Melanie A W. (novelwriter) from NEWINGTON, CT
Reviewed on 11/20/2007...

This movies stars my favorite actor. It is an extremely funny movie.

0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

This movie is good

Dreamer2008 | 08/20/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Once it got going, you could see Scott Bakula the way we're used to seeing him in his Quantum Leap role...full of emotion, a character that you grow to love, etc. I really loved the way he connected with the man at the bus stop, the story line between those two characters, and how that part of the movie shows what a big impact one person (no matter how "great" or "small") can make on other people's lives. Something else it really makes you think about is..."What will people say about YOU when you're gone?"
"

A Chance to Shine in the "Role of a Lifetime"

Mary Beth Magee | Chicagoland, IL, USA | 05/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Scott Bakula turns in a bravura performance in "Role of a Lifetime." The range of characters he demonstrates is reminiscent of his days in "Quantum Leap" - the man is amazing. Bakula plays an over-the-hill actor who is presumed dead. He returns, unrecognized, to test for the role he was born to play: himself! The biopic is being written and directed by his ex-wife. Along the way, he begins to see himself as others had seen him. Lessons will be learned all around. Fans of Bakula will thoroughly enjoy this film."

Excellent

S. H. Jolly | retired in Florida | 12/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Scott Bakula is quite possibly the most underrated actor of our time. His performance in this movie (as in all his roles) is wonderful. He has the ability to actually change his appearance to resemble the character he is playing, something which he displayed many times in the series Quantum Leap, where he played a different character every week (sometimes a woman, a young man, even a chimpanzee. Don't miss the chance to see him in anything!"