I've always wanted to see this movie but I have to admit it was disappointing. It's just so completely implausible and without logic that it's difficult to enjoy. Yeah, I know that fluffy romantic comedies aren't supposed to be realistic, but this one just stretches credulity too much. The worst deficiency is Brendan Frasier's chilly WASP suddenly and inexplicably melting into a nice guy. He not only changes his opinion about Ricki Lake but seems to completely change personality as well. One moment he's rudely questioning her every move and investigating her and virtually the next he's romancing her, tangoing her around the room and kissing her, and then proposing marriage! He goes from aloof to gooey in 6 seconds flat. It's just too much to swallow. What was it exactly that caused him to fall in love - her charming use of the words "tits" and "ass" at the dinner table? The haircut? (Actually, I liked her hair better long and curly). Don't get me wrong, I love Ricki Lake, and I don't think she was bad here, she just wasn't given anything to do, and we were never given any reason why Frasier should experience such a dramatic sea-change. If perhaps they'd shown that a few months had passed, or something to explain the abrupt turnaround. Frankly, everyone in this movie goes around like their brains are made of mush. I suppose Maclaine's alcoholic character has an excuse, but really, the extremely simplistic and downright stereotypical characterizations of everyone involved (rich people, poor people, gay latino butlers) were insulting. Maclaine, Frasier and Sandoval are excellent comedic actors, and do the best with what they can here, but the characters are not even close to real people. The only real thing I got out of it was drooling over Brendan Frasier, and frankly there are many other superior movies that can be used for that purpose.
