Charlie Lang is a simple, kindhearted New York City cop. When he realizes he has no money to tip waitress Yvonne Biasi, Lang offers her half the winnings of his lottery ticket. Amazingly, the ticket happens to be a winner, in the sum of $4 million. True to his word, Lang proceeds to share the prize money with Biasi, which infuriates his greedy wife, Muriel. Not content with the arrangement, Muriel begins scheming to take all the money.
Bergman never goes for heavy-handed schmaltz, and the whole movie has the same lighthearted big city spirit as the New York Post headlines that follow the story.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Simply and without pandering or insults to your intelligence, the movie delivers more of the old-style pleasures of moviegoing than any other picture in a long while.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Sweetness is fine as far as it goes, but this oddball romance could have used a twist of lemon.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
12 May 2001
rotten:
Perez has a field day as Muriel, injecting a welcome note of good old-fashioned greed into what is otherwise a relentlessly edifying story.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Bergman...really brings home the homage to Capra with the pic's warm, bordering-on-irresistible finale.