62
Metascore
19 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThe movie itself is surprisingly affecting, perhaps because Shepherd never goes for easy laughs but plays her character seriously.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumDespite the sudsy, overlit look of William A. Fraker's cinematography and Downey's varying success with sight gags, this is still a lot of fun. An additional kicker is provided by the picture's crazed doublethink morality, which implies that incest is OK as long as you've got amnesia.
- 60EmpireWilliam ThomasEmpireWilliam ThomasThe only romantic comedy out there which spans two lifetimes, Chances Are you'll wind up wishing it didn't.
- 60Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonO'Neal's performance, on the other hand, could incite angels to throw tomatoes from heaven. As the meek-and-noble reporter (who never seems to find time to file stories), he seems to be a confused Barry Lyndon, inexplicably whisked into this century and given a Georgetown lease, a ridiculous movie role and a byline. You get the feeling that, like this movie, his news stories need editing.
- 60Los Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonLos Angeles TimesMichael WilmingtonThe talk and plot twists both have a flavorless, perfunctory quality.
- 60Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyAs love interests go, Shepherd and Downey are about as hot as Ike and Mamie Eisenhower, though the apoplectic Downey does have his comedic moments. Always a standout, Masterson is pensively provocative as Miranda, something of a teen-age Kim Novak.
- 50The DissolveNathan RabinThe DissolveNathan RabinAs a featherweight trifle rooted in young death, an endless mourning process, and quasi-incestuous stirrings, the film suffers from jarring tonal shifts on a continual basis.
- 50TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAn enjoyable, light-hearted romantic comedy with some cute incestuous undertones, CHANCES ARE is among the best of the body-switch films that cluttered movie screens in the late 1980s.
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinRomantic comedies, of which Chances Are is nominally one, are better off making their characters appear glamorous and attractive than making them look like ineffectual, long-suffering nincompoops, which is the case here.