My first bit of confusion was over exactly where this movie wanted to go. I imagined it as a romantic comedy of sorts, and yet from the very beginning it was really quite heavy, dealing as it did with young Connie (Rikki Lake) being homeless, then meeting up with a sleazebag and then being tossed out by him when he gets her pregnant. I really wasn't feeling much fun at that point in the movie. Then mistaken identity turns into deliberate deceit on Connie's part (although I understand it wasn't malicious.) Once she gets taken in by the Winterbourne's after the train wreck that kills their son and his wife (whom the family has never met, and whom Connie is mistaken for) the only character who really made sense to me was Bill (Brendan Fraser), who seemed appropriately suspicious of her given the circumstances. True, he was ridiculously obnoxious, but his suspicion was bang on, except that he then, for no obvious reason that I saw, fell head over heels in love with her, letting go of all his suspicions and deciding to marry her! Where did that come from?
There are some moments of fun in this. Shirley MacLaine (as the matriarch of the Winterbourne clan) was probably the best part of the movie and provided much of the comedy, and the closing scenes (as everyone tries to protect Connie/Patricia) was quite touching, as was the point that the Winterbournes became the family she never had. There was a nice feel to that, especially because we know that Connie isn't out for the family's money, but just wants the sense of family for herself and even more for her son.
There was one huge inconsistency here that just made everything else implausible, though. Bill finally figures out what's going on because he sees "Patricia" sign "Connie Doyle" on a check, and investigates who Connie Doyle is. He gets back a report that Connie and her unborn baby were killed in the train wreck (it was, of course, the real Patricia and her unborn baby who were killed.) How would he get that report? Connie wasn't supposed to be on that train. She got swept into it by a huge crowd of people, she had no ticket, and since it wasn't really Connie there would be no way of identifying the body as Connie. How then would anyone come to the conclusion that the dead body was Connie when no one knew Connie was on that train - and, in fact, no one on that train even knew Connie?
This isn't an unenjoyable movie. It's quite touching, really - but it does have a lot of flaws! 5/10
There are some moments of fun in this. Shirley MacLaine (as the matriarch of the Winterbourne clan) was probably the best part of the movie and provided much of the comedy, and the closing scenes (as everyone tries to protect Connie/Patricia) was quite touching, as was the point that the Winterbournes became the family she never had. There was a nice feel to that, especially because we know that Connie isn't out for the family's money, but just wants the sense of family for herself and even more for her son.
There was one huge inconsistency here that just made everything else implausible, though. Bill finally figures out what's going on because he sees "Patricia" sign "Connie Doyle" on a check, and investigates who Connie Doyle is. He gets back a report that Connie and her unborn baby were killed in the train wreck (it was, of course, the real Patricia and her unborn baby who were killed.) How would he get that report? Connie wasn't supposed to be on that train. She got swept into it by a huge crowd of people, she had no ticket, and since it wasn't really Connie there would be no way of identifying the body as Connie. How then would anyone come to the conclusion that the dead body was Connie when no one knew Connie was on that train - and, in fact, no one on that train even knew Connie?
This isn't an unenjoyable movie. It's quite touching, really - but it does have a lot of flaws! 5/10