42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great romantic flick!, July 29, 2002
Connie, broke and pregnant, accidently ends up on a train heading toward Boston without a ticket. When a stranger, Hugh Winterbourne, helps her out by pretending that his wife's ticket is Connie's, and then takes her to join him and his wife in their cabin, the chaos begins. After the train crashes and Hugh and his wife die, Connie is mistaken for Hugh's pregnant wife. Since the Winterbourne's had not yet met Hugh's wife, Connie finds herself pretending to be Hugh's widow so she can care for her child, but feels guilt ridden over her deception-- especially when she falls in love with Hugh's brother, Bill, and the rest of the Winterbourne family. And who's sending her notes asking who she "really" is?
On its own, this movie is a great romantic comedy-- showing how one instance can drag a person into a situation he or she never intended. Lake, Fraser, McClaine, and the actor who plays "Paco" do a fabulous job at making the viewer fall in love with all the characters. I have watched this movie many times, and intend to watch it many more.
This story is based on "I Married a Deadman" by Cornell Woolrich, which is a much darker story than the movie. I'm glad they changed the title when they made this into a movie because there are many differences between the original story and the movie; therefore, no one who read the book will mistakenly watch the movie and expect a faithful adaptation. While both are good, they should be taken indenpendantly of each other.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Nice Surprise, April 5, 1999
Being a movie buff, I was surprised I had never seen this movie or heard much of it when it was shown on a bus from Massachusetts to New York. Since I knew nothing about it, I had very low expectations (my guess is it didn't do too well at the box office), and was surprised to see the wonderful Shirley MacLaine and the consistently good Brendan Fraser. On the other hand, I did not recognize Ricki Lake at all, even though I have seen some J. Waters movie she was in. I had to wait until the credits to find out who it was. Brendan Fraser has turned out to be one of the best actors of his generation, if not for his choice of movies. Hopefully Gods and Monsters will open some doors for more serious roles. However, he shows a very good comedic timing in Mrs. Winterbourne, and did very well against Ms. MacLaine. Overall this is a very funny and entertaining movie.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Screwball Romance, January 7, 2000
By A Customer
I want to be adopted by Shirley MacLaine and her butler Paco. Based on a case of mistaken identity following a train wreck; a young, homeless woman has a baby and is taken in by a wealthy family who believe her to be their daughter-in-law. She meets her putative brother-in-law, who suspects she is not who she claims to be and they fall in love. Although he discovers her real identity, he pretends to believe her story in an effort to be sure that she doesn't leave. The movie is fun to watch, very romantic...there is a tango scene which Brendan Fraser fans run over and over again. He plays a snobbish, bright and ironic young man who has ended up holding the bag as the responsible member of his rich family. Shirley MacLaine is brilliant as the mother, and Ricki Lake does a reasonably good job as a Cinderella candidate. The film could have benefited from a few extra scenes to clarify Bill's attraction to Patricia, but is a fun romance/comedy with a happy ending.
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