Main Cast: Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey, Jr., Ryan O'Neal, Mary Stuart Masterson, Christopher McDonald
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 108 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Handsome young Washington attorney Louie Jeffries (Chris McDonald) has it all: a promising career, a beautiful wife, and a baby on the way. But after discovering a local judge is in cahoots with the Mob, Louie bites it in a car crash and finds himself in Heaven. Unsatisfied with the customer service he's receiving, Louie jumps the gun and gets himself reincarnated -- before being administered the magic injection that will remove his memories of his former life. For the next quarter-century, Louie's museum curator wife, Corinne (Cybill Shepherd), remains true to her husband's memory, ignoring the frustrated devotion of Louie's best friend, Philip Train (Ryan O'Neal). Meanwhile, Louie's soul grows up in the body of Alex Finch (Robert Downey Jr.), an aspiring journalist. Alex's memories of his life as Louie return after he becomes romantically involved with Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) -- the daughter he never got to meet. Soon, Alex/Louie is romancing his wife, spurning his daughter's advances, and frustrating Philip's attempts finally to woo Corinne. Written by Mystic Pizza scribes Perry and Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino of Dirty Dancing fame, Chances Are didn't score as well at the box office as those earlier comedies. Its soundtrack, however, generated the hit Peter Cetera and Cher ballad "After All." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
This bubbly update of afterlife fantasies such as Death Takes a Holiday, Carousel, and especially Heaven Can Wait finds the ideal stars in Cybill Shepherd and Robert Downey Jr. With the razor-sharp comic timing she honed on TV's Moonlighting and the wacky zeal he exhibits in basically all of his roles, Downey and Shepherd invest Chances Are with just enough tongue-in-cheek self-consciousness to sell the material to modern audiences. The screenplay, by Perry and Randy Howze, has lots of fun adding a bit of bawdy sex appeal to this traditionally prim and proper genre, while Dirty Dancing director Emile Ardolino keeps things moving quickly enough that the seams don't show. Forced to play it straight, Mary Stuart Masterson and Ryan O'Neal don't get to have as much fun as the leads, but a fine supporting cast -- including L.A.Law veteran Susan Ruttan and old pro Fran Ryan -- generates plenty of chuckles. A sweet fable about honoring love's memory while getting on with one's life, Chances Are didn't earn the box-office returns that its stars and director might have expected. Still, it's dated much better than many '80s comedies and remains a charming rental or cable choice. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Josef Sommer - Judge Fenwick; Joe Grifasi - Omar; Susan Ruttan - Woman in Bookstore; Fran Ryan - Mavis Talmadge; James Noble - Dr. Bailey; Nat Benchley - Marshal; Channing Chase - Aide at Smithsonian; Franchelle Dorn - Receptionist; Jacquelyn Drake - Bradlee's Secretary; Henderson Forsythe - Ben Bradlee; Kathleen Freeman - Mrs. Handy; Martin Garner - Mr. Zellerbach; Mimi Kennedy - Sally; Lester Lanin - Conductor; Marc McClure - Richard; Cliff McMullen - Marshal; Dennis Patrick - Archibald Blair; Andrew Reilly - Limbodrome Staff; Don Richards - Bonino's Defense Attorney; Gianni Russo - Anthony Bonino; June Thorne - Clerk of the Court; Ricardo de Angelis - Hot Dog Vendor; Carey Hauser - Paramedic; Dennis Mancini - Minister; Laura Lee Stetzel - Paramedic; Max Trumpower - Minister
Credit
Leslie Benziger - Associate Producer, Jules Strasser - Boom Operator, Judy Taylor - Casting, Mike Fenton - Casting, Miranda Garrison - Choreography, Lester Lanin - Conductor, Albert Wolsky - Costume Designer, Yudi Bennett - First Assistant Director, Aldric La'Auli Porter - First Assistant Director, Emile Ardolino - Director, Jack Priestley - Second Unit Director, Duane Hartzell - Editor, Harry Keramidas - Editor, Andrew Bergman - Executive Producer, Neil Machlis - Executive Producer, Danny Ondrejko - Hair Styles, Romaine Greene - Hair Styles, Susan Kalinowski - Hair Styles, Lynda Gurasich - Hair Styles, Larry Lennert - Hair Styles, Mario Iscovich - Location Manager, Robbie Goldstein - Location Manager, Stuart Neumann - Location Manager, Maurice Jarre - Composer (Music Score), Tom Snow - Composer (Music Score), Norman T. Leavitt - Makeup, Cheri Minns - Makeup, Peter Garofalo - Makeup, Kaori Turner - Makeup, William Steiner Jr. - Camera Operator, David E. Diano - Camera Operator, Dennis Washington - Production Designer, William A. Fraker - Cinematographer, Jack Priestley - Cinematographer, Michael Lobell - Producer, Robert R. Benton - Set Designer, Perry Gray - Set Designer, Richard McKenzie - Set Designer, Stan Parks - Special Effects, Jeff Bushelman - Sound Editor, Louis L. Edemann - Sound Editor, Paul Timothy Carden - Sound Editor, Donald J. Malouf - Sound Editor, Nils C. Jensen - Sound Editor, Larry Carow - Sound Editor, Chuck Neely - Sound Editor, John Hock - Stunts, Jerry Summers - Stunts, Corey Michael Eubanks - Stunts, Phil Fravel - Stunts, John Moio - Stunts, Spike Silver - Stunts, G.A. Aguilar - Stunts, Sean Kelly - Stunts, John Moio - Stunts Coordinator, Neil Machlis - Unit Production Manager, Perry Howze - Screenwriter, Randy Howze - Screenwriter, Kim Magnusson - Production Assistant, Jane Urbanczyk - Production Assistant, Pam Kuri - Production Assistant, Maggie Murphy - Production Assistant, James Vatis - Production Assistant, Mark Zachary - Production Assistant, Shelley Kirkwood - Unit Publicist, Sandy Brooke - First Assistant Camera, Marc Margulies - First Assistant Camera, Gerald H. Boatright - Gaffer, John Powers - Grip, Michael Steciuk - Grip, Edmond Wright - Grip, Al Laverde - Key Grip, Kathy Durning - Music Editor, Katharine Ann Curtiss - Production Coordinator, Frank L. Brown - Properties, C.J. Maguire - Properties Master, David J. Hudson - Re-Recording Mixer, Mel Metcalfe - Re-Recording Mixer, Terry Porter - Re-Recording Mixer, Cynnie Troup - Script Supervisor, Donald J. Lee, Jr. - Second Assistant Director, Tena Psyche Yatroussis - Second Assistant Director, Gemma La Mana - Still Photographer, Charles L. Campbell - Supervising Sound Editor, Richard C. Franklin - Supervising Sound Editor, Richard Mahoney - Costume/Wardrobe, Alan Nineberg - ADR Editor, Doc Kane - ADR Mixer, George Potts - Assistant Costumer Designer, Michele Imperato - Assistant Production Coordinator, Pamela G. Kimber - Assistant Sound Editor, Don Yamasaki - Best Boy Electric, Ty Suehiro - Best Boy Grip, Bruce Wineinger - Construction Coordinator, Lori Stilson - Costumes Assistant, Ruby K. Manis - Costumes Supervisor, Bruce Ericksen - Costumes Supervisor, Clay H. Wilson - Dolly Grip, Norman Lang - Electrician, Greg Langham - Electrician, Jeffrey Pentek - Electrician, Mike Van Woert - Electrician, Barbara Gutman - First Assistant Accountant, Carolyn Mock - First Assistant Accountant, Alexandra Leviloff - First Assistant Editor, Janet Fiona Mason - First Assistant Editor, Alicia Stevenson - Foley Artist, Gary A. Hecker - Foley Artist, William Wright - Leadman, Jennifer Neiman - Production Accountant, Chris Moseley - Second Assistant Camera, Stuart Stein - Second Assistant Camera, Greg Walters - Second Assistant Camera, Martin Nelson - Second Assistant Editor, Sharon Gerhard - Second Second Assistant Director, Mike Higelmire - Set Dresser, Gary Kudroff - Set Dresser, Greg Lynch - Set Dresser, Kenneth Searle - Transportation Captain, Gilbert Young - Transportation Captain, Joel Marrow - Transportation Coordinator, Paul Timothy Carden - ADR Supervisor, Mychal Smith - Cable Person, Dean Drabin - Foley Mixer, Darin Knight - Production Sound Mixer, Bill Nelson - Production Sound Mixer, Larry Singer - Supervising ADR Editor, Rod Rogers - Assistant ADR Editor
Young D.A. Louie Jeffries is killed in a car crash in 1964 but manages to slip by the pearly gates and is instantly reborn. 23 years later, his widow Corinne still misses him, and ignores the frustrated devotion of his best friend Phillip Train. When Phillip brings home the college graduate Alex Finch, Alex suddenly realizes he is in fact Corinne's dead husband reborn. His memories of his life as Louie return after he becomes romantically involved with Louie's (his) daughter Miranda. Soon, Louie starts romancing his widow, spurning his daughter's advances, and frustrating Phillip's attempts to court Corrine.
^Doniger, Wendy (2005), "Chapter 6: Reincarnation", The woman who pretended to be who she was: myths of self-imitation, Oxford University Press, pp. 112-136 [128-31 & 135], ISBN0195160169
