Chances Are

The lawyer Louie (Christopher McDonald) and the museum curator Corinne (Cybill Shepherd) are in love with each other. Corinne is pregnant and Louis schedules to have dinner in a restaurant with his beloved wife. However, a car hits him and he dies. He awakes in heaven and asks to reincarnate a.s.a.p. to be with Corinne. However the angel forgets to erase his memory when he returns to Earth. Twenty-three years later, Corinne has not forgotten Louis; she has a daughter, Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) that is in law school; and Louis´ best friend Philip (Ryan O'Neal) is close to the family. One day, Alex (Robert Downey Jr), who is Louis´ reincarnation, stumbles upon Miranda and fells attracted for her. She invites him to meet her family and he sees Corinne, bringing recollection and the feelings of his previous life. What will Alex do?

"Chances Are" is a delightful romantic comedy from the 80´s. It is impressive how creative were the writers and screenwriters in this decade. Even thirty and something years later, these comedies are still cult. "Chances Are" is no exception and it is a tremendous family entertainment in the present days. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Céu se Enganou" ("The Heaven Has Mistaken")

A married couple (Cybill Shepherd, Christopher McDonald) remain extremely faithful to one another throughout their marriage but their happiness is cut short by McDonald's accidental death. Shepherd is devastated and her husband's best friend (Ryan O'Neal) serves as her only other male companion. O'Neal has strong romantic feelings for Shepherd and would like to fill in her empty nest but he only wants to pursue it if he's sure that Shepherd is ready for it as well. One night, Shepherd's teenaged daughter (Mary Stuart Masterson) invites a friend (Robert Downey Jr.) over for dinner. A heavenly mix up causes McDonald's spirit to be inside Downey's body and he and Shepherd are brought back together by fate much to O'Neal's chagrin. A fairly amusing romantic fantasy comedy that works in spite of its sometimes hokey plot.

I was always a big fan of this movie, first of all have you seen the cast, the acting is superb and help make this movie move along very well. Cybill Shepherd was given great reviews for her role, and they were well deserved. The beginning of this movie starts in the past when Corinne Jeffries (Cybill) whose picture-perfect marriage comes to a shattering halt when her husband Louie dies unexpectedly. Fortunately, Louse gets a second shot at life when he agrees to be "recycled" back to earth as the newborn Alex Finch (Robert Downey, JR). Alex goes on to live his new life forgetting his past life while Corinne tries to get on with hers. But fate crosses Alexs path 23 years later when he meets Corinne's daughter Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) and is suddenly flooded with a wealth of unwanted memories (this is where the fun begins, and embarrassing situations occur.) The music is great and the scenes are heart felt and very cute. You wont be disappointed if you give it a chance, Chances Are you'll like it. Very funny and sweet!

A charming romantic comedy. The plot is a little too complicated--I tried to summarize it three times and I can't. Suffice to say it's worth seeing. The movie is funny, beautiful--the plot is totally unrealistic but it works. Everybody in the movie is so nice and everything looks so great--it creates a sweet, romantic feel through the entire film.

The acting is great--Robert Downey Jr. and Cybill Shepherd are in top form and enjoying every second of it. Ryan O'Neal and Mary Stuart Masterson are just OK but fine. If you're a sucker for good, sweet sentimental films (like me), catch this one. Also Downey looks great in his underwear!

Extra bonuses--the title song sung by Johnny Mathis and another great song "After All" sung by Cher and Peter Cetera.

Nay Sayers of this film are likely bitter from some seriously unrequited love. This is a great film for anyone capable of understanding Johnny Mathis's song, or any song from that era: Bobby Darin's, Beyond the Sea... or Stan Getz's, The Girl From Ipanema, et al...

I measure films by how many times I have to watch them before I'm satisfied... Chances Are had me back a few good times.

I also watch the synergy between the cast... I thought they worked well together.

Open your heart, and let the comedic magic of film transport you.

'Alan