Mrs. Winterbourne: Critic Reviews

The plot remains joyless in its contrivances.

A watered-down star vehicle for chat queen Ricki Lake, the comedy lite has been flicked on none too delicately by director Richard Benjamin.

For a Cinderella story, it's sorely without magic.

Lake Goes From TV Talk to B Movie By Suzanne Tobin Washington Post Staff Writer April 19, 1996 In this case of mistaken identity, Ricki Lake's career takes a dubious step from trashy TV talk show to B movie.

This is more of a movie to see on video, on an empty night when you need something to hurl at the gloom.

The brazen sentimentality at work here -- while effective in the context of what some might call "a chick flick"-- doesn't give the material much weight.

This film mistakes action for energy, ridiculous circumstances for comedy, and a mismatched male/female pairing for romance.

The result is indigestible.

Lake is a rather chilly and distinctly unpersuasive presence.

You'll be saying 'No, Ricki!' instead of 'Go Ricki!'

Cute and relatively inoffensive. At times, even funny.

Completely artificial and charmless

An average Hollywood romantic comedy.

A waste of Fraser and MacLaine, utter failure of tone.

It would take a far defter comedic hand to successfully transform Woolrich's story from bleak and horrifying to warm and fuzzy.

Benjamin should be ashamed of making such a dog.

Predictability is its middle name.

An occasionally funny mistaken identity movie in very poor taste.

Beware the hideous musical number, in which MacLaine and Lake attempt to sing "The Sunny Side of the Street".

Lake, in the central role, seems distracted and only nominally interested in what's going on around her.