Synopsis
Louie Jeffries is happily married to Corinne. On their first anniversary, Louie is killed crossing the road. Louie is reincarnated as Alex Finch, and twenty years later, fate brings Alex and Louie's daughter, Miranda, together. It's not until Alex is invited to Louie's home that he begins to remember his former life, wife and best friend. Of course, there's also the problem that he's attracted to Louie's/his own daughter.
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Cast
- Cybill ShepherdCorinne Jeffries
- Robert Downey Jr.Alex Finch
- Ryan O'NealPhilip Train
- Mary Stuart MastersonMiranda Jeffries
- Christopher McDonaldLouie Jeffries
- Josef SommerJudge Fenwick
- Joe GrifasiOmar
- Henderson ForsytheBen Bradlee
- Susan RuttanWoman in the Bookstore
- Lester LaninConductor
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie itself is surprisingly affecting, perhaps because Shepherd never goes for easy laughs but plays her character seriously. - 80
Chicago Reader
Despite the sudsy, overlit look of William A. Fraker's cinematography and Downey's varying success with sight gags, this is still a lot of fun. An additional kicker is provided by the picture's crazed doublethink morality, which implies that incest is OK as long as you've got amnesia. - 60
Empire
The only romantic comedy out there which spans two lifetimes, Chances Are you'll wind up wishing it didn't. - 60
Washington Post
O'Neal's performance, on the other hand, could incite angels to throw tomatoes from heaven. As the meek-and-noble reporter (who never seems to find time to file stories), he seems to be a confused Barry Lyndon, inexplicably whisked into this century and given a Georgetown lease, a ridiculous movie role and a byline. You get the feeling that, like this movie, his news stories need editing. - 60
Los Angeles Times
The talk and plot twists both have a flavorless, perfunctory quality. - 60
Washington Post
As love interests go, Shepherd and Downey are about as hot as Ike and Mamie Eisenhower, though the apoplectic Downey does have his comedic moments. Always a standout, Masterson is pensively provocative as Miranda, something of a teen-age Kim Novak. - 50
The Dissolve
As a featherweight trifle rooted in young death, an endless mourning process, and quasi-incestuous stirrings, the film suffers from jarring tonal shifts on a continual basis. - 50
TV Guide Magazine
An enjoyable, light-hearted romantic comedy with some cute incestuous undertones, CHANCES ARE is among the best of the body-switch films that cluttered movie screens in the late 1980s.
