Michael Keaton is Bob Jones, a $250,000-a-year West Coast public relations agent who has inoperable kidney cancer that is rapidly spreading to his lungs. His wife Gail (Nicole Kidman) is pregnant. Convinced that he doesn't have long to live, he begins a series of videotapes for his unborn child.
This project of explaining himself to his son forces Bob to embark on a journey of self-discovery. As a workaholic, he has not taken time to examine his life. He doesn't know much about himself, and his loving and supportive wife knows even less.
On his first trip to Mr. Ho (Haing S. Ngor), an Asian healer, Bob is turned off by the observation that he holds too much anger inside. But upon further introspection, Bob realizes that he still resents his father, a scrap metal dealer, for not spending enough time with him when he was a child. Then there's his disappointment over his younger brother's choice to stay in Detroit and work with his father. And deep in his soul, Bob has never forgiven the universe for not answering a childhood wish to bring a circus to his backyard. He's still a dreamer, but he finds it hard to trust.
Returning to the Midwest for his brother's wedding, Bob tries to reconcile himself with his family but fails. Back home, Mr. Ho tells him "You're really not a very good student. Life is teaching you but you don't listen." Bob finally wakes up and realizes after the birth of his son what he must do to achieve a finely finished death.
My Life marks the directorial debut of Bruce Joel Rubin who wrote the screenplays for Ghost and Jacob's Ladder. In this heart-affecting drama, he explores the spiritual journey of a man who has been sleepwalking through his days. Bob Jones has a choice between a death that gives life or a death that kills. Thanks to the insights and challenges offered by Mr. Ho, he is able to forgive and accept the forgiveness of his parents. This enables his legacy of love to shine as brightly as the light which in the end takes him to a new adventure beyond this world.
The DVD contains filmographies of Bruce Joel Rubin, Producer Jerry Zuker, Michael Keaton, Nicole Kidman, and Queen Latifah.