| Mrs. Winterbourne | | Cast : | Shirley MacLaine, Ricki Lake, Brendan Fraser | | Director : | Richard Benjamin | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Full Screen | | Released Date : | April 19, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | March 23, 2004 | | Language : | Unknown (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 23, 2005 | | Summary | Good Movie but Not So Good DVD! | Content
 | I really wish I had read the reviews before I bought this DVD and saw the warning that the new DVD is pan and scan only and that the old DVD which had both widescreen and pan and scan is out of print but when I saw this DVD for Mrs. Winterbourne in a store at a low price of about 6 dollars I bought it thinking that was a bargain and that I was getting one of my favorite romantic comedies in widescreen but when I went to watch the DVD I was disappointed to find out that it was just an edited pan and scan version and there was no widescreen version especially as I had gotten rid of my pan and scan video version in order to update to the widescreen DVD so my question is Why in the world would anyone put out what they call a remastered edition on DVD and than release it in pan and scan and not widescreen? isn't that taking a step backwards? I like this movie and I think Shirley McClaine, Ricki Lake and Brendan Fraiser are all very good and I liked the opposites attract love story between the good looking guy and the average looking girl and I would rate the movie 4 stars but the pan and scan only DVD gets 1 star and I'm stuck with this DVD because the place I bought it from will not take back DVD's that have been opened so my only option is to sell or trade this DVD at a store that sells, buys and trades used DVDs and hope I can find a used copy of the old DVD that included both widescreen and pan and scan! BTW: I wish Ricki Lake would go back to making movies or get into a TV sitcom or something, she was really good when she had her recurring roll as the sister in The King of Queens. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 21, 2005 | | Summary | Brendan Fraser and Shirley McL rock. Rikki Lake stinks. | Content
| I watch this movie periodically just to see how tremendously talented (and still, sadly, UNDERused by Hollywood) Brendan Fraser is.
Basic Story with SPOILERS (remake of old B&W drama, was a novel first, liberally changed in this comedic reinterpretation): Pregnant Protagonist meets pregnant lady and cute hubby on train. Train crashes. Preg. Protagonist is believed to be dead married lady (cause she had tried on wedding ring of lady), whose hubby happens to come from family with beaucoup bucks. She tries to play the part of "Mrs. Winterbourne", falls for brother of dead guy (the twin). Confusion and comedic events ensue. Happy ending. Wedding. Hurrah!
So, now, my take on the weaknesses and strengths:
Here you have a pretty mediocre script, an okay director, and, except for Rikki Lake, a really good lead cast. Rikki sucks. She sucks so bad that I wanted to take the original celluloid and edit it myself so she wasn't in any of the scenes, then edit in someone else. Someone who could, well, you see, maybe, ACT.
If they had simply paired with Brendan someone with real acting chops and comedic timing, this would get 4 stars from me and would qualify as a decent little comedy. It gets one star for Shirley and two for Brendan. He manages to be romantic, funny and a bit sad, and boy, is he totally to die for in the tango scene. Women, prepare to swoon. He's adorably funny and touching in the "making a list of pros and con" scene.
The biggest flaw in this film, hands down, is Rikki Lake. She simply has no onscreen charisma, negligible acting talent, and no comedic timing whatsoever. She can't hold up her end, so the movie doesn't rise. And she's totally painful to watch in some scenes. I mean, CRINGE painful. (That is not figurative. I actually cringed.) What a shame. Brendan is so good, he deserved a better partner. When Miss Lake was heavy, she got cast as a novelty actress. But I've seen her in Hairdo and in this flick, and she simply cannot act. Period. Stick to talk shows, Rikki.
The movie has a "tv film" feel to it. If it weren't for Shirley and Brendan, you'd think you were watching a movie of the week. Well, I still recommend you watch it for the amazing Mr. Fraser. Hollywood needs to put this man in more funny or dramatic films. He's just got "it".
Mir
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| Rating | | | Date | December 30, 2004 | | Summary | Read the original, see how terrible the movie is. | Content
| Who cares about the quality of the DVD with such a piece of mindless drivel. I went out of my way to see this movie in the theatre, knowing it was based on Cornell Woolrich's noir masterpiece "I Married a Dead Man" This movie is the very antithesis of the work it was based on...a vile corruption of the dark, hopeless spiral into despair and miserable life-sucking unhappiness that was the original...(Imagine an Edgar Allen Poe tale recast with the Care Bears) Avoid this movie like the plague, yeccch! yeccch! yecch! -- And besides the acting is terrible. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 01, 2004 | | Summary | Delightful | Content
| This is one of my all-time favourite movies. It is silly, romantic, cute and just fun to watch. Shirley McLaine was fantastic, as was Brendan Fraser. This is definitely one of those films when on a rainy day you can just forget about your problems, you can sit down and enjoy. It reminds us about the power of fate, family and friendship. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 15, 2004 | | Summary | Beware--New DVD is pan & scan only | Content
| Please be aware that Columbia recently "revised" this DVD. The prior DVD had both widescreen and pan & scan on the disc. This new version has only pan & scan. How's that for progress! Thanks Columbia! Amazon's technical details still show widescreen, which they had told me they would correct after shipping me two copies to try and get me the widescreen version they were supposedly selling. It's a great thing that Amazon is understanding about these things. |
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