- Chances Are (film)
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Chances Are 
original film posterDirected by Emile Ardolino Produced by Mike Lobell Written by Perry Howze
Randy HowzeStarring Robert Downey, Jr.
Cybill Shepherd
Ryan O'Neal
Mary Stuart MastersonMusic by Maurice Jarre Cinematography William A. Fraker Editing by Harry Keramidas Distributed by TriStar Pictures Release date(s) March 10, 1989 Running time 108 min. Box office $16,278,590 Chances Are is a 1989 romantic comedy film written by Perry & Randy Howze and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Cybill Shepherd, Robert Downey, Jr., Ryan O'Neal, and Mary Stuart Masterson. The original music score was composed by Maurice Jarre.[1]
Contents
Plot
Young D.A. Louie Jeffries is hit by a car and dies in 1964 but manages to slip by the pearly gates and is instantly reborn. Twenty-three years later, his widow Corinne still misses him, ignoring the frustrated devotion of his best friend Phillip Train, who has pretty much raised his only daughter Miranda (Mary Stuart Masterson) as his own. When Phillip brings Yale graduate Alex Finch to meet the Jeffries family, Alex (Robert Downey, Jr.) quickly realizes he is in fact Corinne's dead husband reborn.
His memories of his life as Louie return just as Alex begins a romantic involvement with Louie's (his) daughter Miranda. Instead, Louie then spurns his daughter's advances and begins romancing his widow Corinne (Cybill Shepherd), frustrating Phillip's attempts to court Corrine, and resulting in a number of comic mixups.
Soon, however, Alex/Louie realizes Phillip and Corinne should be together and arranges things so they can realize their love and he can get out of their way.
With Phillip and Corinne together at last, a bump on the head causes Alex to be admitted to hospital. While unconscious, Alex is administered a special injecton he should have received at the pearly gates 23 years previous, to make him forget his past life as Louie. When he wakes, he tells Miranda that the last thing he remembers is them kissing in the corner of the refrigerator. He happily resumes romantic interest in Miranda, which she gladly accepts, having never been informed of his other identity by anyone. Oddly this relationship continues with Phillip and Corinne's full knowledge and approval, although neither of them has forgotten "Louie" lives on in Alex.
Locations
Many scenes were filmed in Georgetown, Washington, D.C..
Soundtrack
The movie soundtrack included the Billboard's Top 10 single hit song "After All" (composed by Tom Snow and lyrics by Dean Pitchford) performed by Cher and Peter Cetera. The song peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1989 and was nominated for Academy Awards Best Original Song. Another is the song of the same title sung by Johnny Mathis.
Main cast
Actor Role Cybill Shepherd Corrine Jeffries Robert Downey, Jr. Alex Finch Ryan O'Neal Phillip Train Mary Stuart Masterson Miranda Jeffries Christopher McDonald Louie Jeffries Josef Sommer Judge Fenwick Joe Grifasi Omar Henderson Forsythe Ben Bradlee Fran Ryan Mavis Talmadge Susan Ruttan Woman in bookstore References
- ^ 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], ISBN 0195160169
External links
- Chances Are at the Internet Movie Database
- Chances Are at AllRovi
- Chances Are at Rotten Tomatoes
Films directed by Emile Ardolino He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' (1983) · Dirty Dancing (1987) · Chances Are (1989) · Three Men and a Little Lady (1990) · Sister Act (1992) · Gypsy (1993)Categories:- 1989 films
- 1980s romantic comedy films
- American films
- English-language films
- Fantasy-comedy films
- Films about reincarnation
- Films directed by Emile Ardolino
- Films shot in Maryland
- Films shot in Washington, D.C.
- Romantic fantasy films
- TriStar Pictures films
- 1980s comedy film stubs
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