I believe that those who are most vocally panning "Mrs. Winterbourne" are doing so because they simply don't like the genre of light-hearted romantic comedy. As a comedy, not a drama, and especially as a mistaken identity plot bordering on farce, it isn't *supposed* to resemble a true-to-life documentary, OK? I don't understand those who say Ricki Lake shouldn't have been cast in the female lead role. Why? Because she isn't some A-list skeletal blonde? She played Connie/Patricia admirably, and says that this is the role that made her the proudest to play. It was the first role, she said, where her weight didn't factor into the casting. Should she be sorry she's too "average looking" for some people's Hottiewood tastes? I don't think so. Who says ordinary women don't deserve love and romance too?
We'll get the obvious out of the way first. Of COURSE Shirley MacLaine shines as Grace Winterbourne. That lady could play a seashell and be absolutely spellbinding. Of COURSE Brendan Fraser has women swooning over his Hugh/Bill Winterbourne. That's what Brendan Fraser does. It's the smaller roles that make the movie wonderful: Loren Dean is altogether tops as Steven DeCunzo, the abusive womanizing lowlife who fathers Connie's baby and then abandons her to the streets, ultimately getting what he richly deserves. Convincing? Hey, I wanted to smack him myself. Nesbitt Blaisdell stole the scene as the homeless man who befriends a very pregnant Connie. "They pray at you," he warns her about a particular shelter, "but the food's good." Miguel Sandoval is truly enjoyable as Paco, the butler. The only small problem here is that Paco's homosexuality is a trait I gathered only from script, not from character development. In other words, I just never would have guessed Paco was gay without it being said outright. For all I know Sandoval himself could be homosexual (I have no idea) and my saying that he doesn't believably portray one could be hilarious in its irony, but it just doesn't seem that way to me. What do I want, a stereotype? Probably. Farces are usually full of them. Farce is all about exaggeration, and exaggeration relies heavily on stereotype.
My favorite scene in the movie has got to be the aftermath of the "Sunny Side of the Street" fiasco. Streetwise teenager tells catty blonde débutantes to "f--- off," leaving them flabbergasted with shock. That's funny enough, but then smooth, cultured, filthy rich family matriarch comes along behind her with, "You heard her. F--- off," which was one hundred percent hysterical.
There's the scene at the train station where Paco delivers the line, "You are as much a Winterbourne as I am," putting a lump in my throat.
I do have trouble with the wedding scene at the end. Connie stops the proceedings (and nearly stops the priest's pulse as well) by unexpectedly saying no. She, Patricia Winterbourne, does *not* take Bill Winterbourne to be her husband. "I, Constance Helen Doyle, do all that." And everything's back on again. My problem is that the marriage license would have read Patricia Winterbourne. They wouldn't have had time to correct it. Which, of course, would invalidate the ceremony, making Grandma Grace Winterbourne's closing line to baby Hughie--"They're married"--a false statement. Oh, no they're not. Also, I am forced to agree that Ricki Lake does NOT look like a character who just turned 18 years old. But hey, if I'm going to be consistent and say that farce isn't supposed to be completely believable, then we can suspend reality for those things too.
To summarize, so what if Mrs. Winterbourne is a chick flick? Chicks are half the world's population, guys. Get used to it.
We'll get the obvious out of the way first. Of COURSE Shirley MacLaine shines as Grace Winterbourne. That lady could play a seashell and be absolutely spellbinding. Of COURSE Brendan Fraser has women swooning over his Hugh/Bill Winterbourne. That's what Brendan Fraser does. It's the smaller roles that make the movie wonderful: Loren Dean is altogether tops as Steven DeCunzo, the abusive womanizing lowlife who fathers Connie's baby and then abandons her to the streets, ultimately getting what he richly deserves. Convincing? Hey, I wanted to smack him myself. Nesbitt Blaisdell stole the scene as the homeless man who befriends a very pregnant Connie. "They pray at you," he warns her about a particular shelter, "but the food's good." Miguel Sandoval is truly enjoyable as Paco, the butler. The only small problem here is that Paco's homosexuality is a trait I gathered only from script, not from character development. In other words, I just never would have guessed Paco was gay without it being said outright. For all I know Sandoval himself could be homosexual (I have no idea) and my saying that he doesn't believably portray one could be hilarious in its irony, but it just doesn't seem that way to me. What do I want, a stereotype? Probably. Farces are usually full of them. Farce is all about exaggeration, and exaggeration relies heavily on stereotype.
My favorite scene in the movie has got to be the aftermath of the "Sunny Side of the Street" fiasco. Streetwise teenager tells catty blonde débutantes to "f--- off," leaving them flabbergasted with shock. That's funny enough, but then smooth, cultured, filthy rich family matriarch comes along behind her with, "You heard her. F--- off," which was one hundred percent hysterical.
There's the scene at the train station where Paco delivers the line, "You are as much a Winterbourne as I am," putting a lump in my throat.
I do have trouble with the wedding scene at the end. Connie stops the proceedings (and nearly stops the priest's pulse as well) by unexpectedly saying no. She, Patricia Winterbourne, does *not* take Bill Winterbourne to be her husband. "I, Constance Helen Doyle, do all that." And everything's back on again. My problem is that the marriage license would have read Patricia Winterbourne. They wouldn't have had time to correct it. Which, of course, would invalidate the ceremony, making Grandma Grace Winterbourne's closing line to baby Hughie--"They're married"--a false statement. Oh, no they're not. Also, I am forced to agree that Ricki Lake does NOT look like a character who just turned 18 years old. But hey, if I'm going to be consistent and say that farce isn't supposed to be completely believable, then we can suspend reality for those things too.
To summarize, so what if Mrs. Winterbourne is a chick flick? Chicks are half the world's population, guys. Get used to it.