"Chances Are" is another retread of a theme cherished by cinema ever since the Golden Age from "Heaven Knows Mr. Allison" to "Here Comes Mister Jordan", "A Matter of Life and Death" or perhaps its closest counterpart "Heaven Can Wait". You know them, stories of untimely deaths, bureaucratic heavens and obligatory 'unfinished' businesses. But as Ebert and Siskel pointed it out, just because a formula is old doesn't mean one can't do something fresh about it, and Emile Ardolino's film, from a script written by the two sisters Perry and Randy Howze, is a clear demonstration that when you got the right story with the right tone and the right actors, even a tired formula can't get wrong.
The film has that blissful lighthearted touch totally assuming its status as a delicate romantic comedy meant to make you smile rather than scratch your head, in the vein of Lubitch or Capra's classics. It opens with a glamorous marriage between Louie (Christopher McDonald) and Corinne (Cybill Shepherd), they're young, they're rich, they're in love, why should any cynical eye dismiss that as schmaltz... without giving it the benefit of the doubt? There's a third wheel in the bicycle, his name is Phillip (Ryan O'Neal), he's Louie's best friend and best man and when Corinne makes her entrance in that glowing white dress, he confesses to Louie "I'm in love with her", a line that could pass as corny and unrealistic but when Louie responds "I know", there's a level of sincerity that makes the following interactions more acceptable.
And that these three are all friends elevates the role of Philip to a sort of outsider/insider who'd settle to celibacy if the price is to stay forever in Corinne's friend zone. Ryan O'Neal didn't have a great break in his career but watching his puppy-eyed dazed eyes toward the beautiful Corinne, I could see the eyes of Oliver in "Love Story". Later, they announce him that "we're having a baby", Philip says "it's time to tell Louie" and all are laughing, and only one with a true insight on life knows that humor is a great loophole for hidden truths. Alas the fairy tale story is cut short when Louie dies in a car accident and finds himself in the afterlife, surrounded by old folks who look less distraught and more resigned than him. Louie urges the 'man in the counter' (Joe Grifasi) -dressed in white of course -to get him back to the vicinity of his previous life.
If only he hadn't forgotten the 'amnesia' shot!
Well, that's called reincarnation and the second part of the film centers on Alex Finch (Robert Downey Jr.) an ambitious journalist whose path crosses Philip's life and the liking is mutual, Alex's invited to have dinner to Corinne's house (and given how well-established Philip's friendship was, it's not surprising at all that they remained good friends). Now that Alex had already caught the eye of Corrine's daughter (Miranda) could pass an implausible contrivance but in a film where life and death co-exist with a divine great scheme, we accept it. Besides, there's such a sense of gentleness floating in the air, Miranda is a sweet girl in played by Mary Stuart Masterson, she's in love with Alex, Corinne is still insecure about her feelings, following a therapy, to overcome the loss of Louie, Philip is Philip, there's vulnerability in that trio whose point of convergence is Louie or Alex, which technically means both.
And so the plot picks up when Alex has brief flashes of memory when he enters the house and it doesn't take long before he understands he's Louie trapped in the body of Alex and weirdness ensues, Corinne becomes his wife and worse, Miranda his daughter. Now, any lesser movie would have ruined the film bu turning its premise into a cheap gimmick, I recently reviewed a French film that had a terrific concept, a far more original one, and yet it sabotaged everything by making the main character go all hysterical. Downey's acting is the hit-or-miss, he acts crazy enough in the first moments to make you laugh a little but knows how to get back to normality. At that moment, the film could also fail by being a succession of quid pro quo, one can imagine what lousy uninspired situations you can get from a man whose daughter (or the woman his former self sees as his daughter) is in love with but the film chooses another angle, it offers us a nice romantic interlude between Alex and Corinne where they live their romance to the fullest, and show Philip and Miranda sharing their insecurities.
Miranda is perhaps the most thankless role since the three all characters are all prevented from happiness with the one they truly love because of an attachment to the past, some can't forget Louie, and one is supposed to be his reincarnation. Everything would get back to normal if Alex didn't remember who he was, and it's all in the way we get to that situation, with a little subplot involving a corrupt judge and an overdue epiphany Corinne regarding her feelings for Philip. This is a recipe we all know but the treatment is charming, delightful and oddly engaging because before putting these people into crazy situation, it took time to establish them, and to make us care for them and root for their desire to love someone and maybe more, to be loved by someone else.
"Chances Are" is one of these little gems of the 80s/90s, one I saw and enjoyed almost thirty years ago on a Saturday night and the charm wasn't lost at all... watch "Chances Are" and chances are that you might enjoy it, you won't laugh hard, you won't cry much, but you will smile and be moved several times.
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