Cathy Palmer (JoBeth Williams) is a stay-at-home mom with two kids. Her husband patronizes her when she wins a writing contest for the popular Rebecca Ryan novels. She wins a week in Paris for two but ends up going alone. She gets hit by a car as she chases her purse snatchers. She wakes up with the false personality of Rebecca Ryan. Through a series of contrivances, Cathy gets a wardrobe makeover and mistakes the series' actual writer Alan McMann (Tom Conti) as her fictional sidekick. Soon, the duo is entangled with dangerous realworld intrigue.
I've always connected this with 'Romancing the Stone' which came out in the same year. Also JoBeth Williams has the similar older sexy lady vibe and both movies start with a closed-off reserved American woman. There is a switch where JoBeth becomes the dashing character while Tom Conti plays the scared reserved character. This one is not nearly as fun or exciting. The story relies on convenient turns and doesn't necessarily make sense. Tom Conti is a fine actor but nowhere near as charming. The slapstick humor is fine. For me, this will always play second fiddle to RtS. On the other hand, JoBeth Williams really excels. She can play both the housewife but a sassy flamboyant character. She makes this work.
I've always connected this with 'Romancing the Stone' which came out in the same year. Also JoBeth Williams has the similar older sexy lady vibe and both movies start with a closed-off reserved American woman. There is a switch where JoBeth becomes the dashing character while Tom Conti plays the scared reserved character. This one is not nearly as fun or exciting. The story relies on convenient turns and doesn't necessarily make sense. Tom Conti is a fine actor but nowhere near as charming. The slapstick humor is fine. For me, this will always play second fiddle to RtS. On the other hand, JoBeth Williams really excels. She can play both the housewife but a sassy flamboyant character. She makes this work.