Leslie Greif directs this adaptation of
Ray Cooney's hit British play, a throwback farce about mistaken identity.
Chevy Chase plays Henry Perkins, a listless late-middle-aged executive in a wax fruit company; his wife, Carol (
Penelope Ann Miller), is similarly bored, a struggling sculptor and housewife in Hoboken, NJ. On his way home from work to a surprise birthday party Carol is throwing, he accidentally switches briefcases with a Russian mobster. He opens the suitcase at a local bar and discovers five million dollars inside. He rushes home and tries to arrange a flight to Barcelona for Carol and him so they can take the money and run. Detective Sergeant Genero (
Armand Assante) shows up later; he saw Henry at the bar and is suspicious of his actions. The Perkins, along with their friends Vic and Gina Johnson (
Christopher McDonald and
Alex Meneses), concoct an elaborate plan to fool the detective, which is only complicated by Carol getting sloppy drunk, the arrival of a homicide detective (
Kevin Sussman), a famous gallery owner (
Rebecca Wisocky), Henry's boss (
Robert Loggia), a frustrated standup comic cabbie (
Guy Torry), two more identical briefcases, and the party guests. The comic action reaches a climax in a standoff with Mafia kingpin Mr. Big (
Zoltan Butuc). Starz Home Entertainment brings this comedy home with an anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen picture and mutliple featurettes on the production that include bits on the location as well as how the film was marketed. ~ Michael Buening, All Movie Guide