Linus and David Larrabee are the two sons of a very wealthy family. Linus is all work – busily running the family corporate empire, he has no time for a wife and family. David is all play – technically he is employed by the family business, but never shows up for work, spends all his time entertaining, and has been married and divorced three times. Meanwhile, Sabrina Fairchild is the young, shy, and awkward daughter of the household chauffeur, who goes away to Paris for two years, and returns to capture David's attention, while falling in love with Linus.
It is a story as light as a feather and as old as yesterday's news, as transparent as a society column item and as smug as a foreign-made car. But Mr. Wilder...has made it into a commentary as crisp as a screed in a smart magazine.
– Bosley Crowther,
New York Times,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
Hampered by an unimaginative script ... nevertheless manages to be a thoroughly charming, delightfully romantic variation of the Cinderella story.
– James Berardinelli,
ReelViews,
1 Jan 2000
fresh:
It's a Cinderella story that gets turned on its head, a satire about breaking down class and emotional barriers, and a confrontation between New World callousness and Old World humanity.
– Derek Adams,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Wilder's tastelessness now seems his major artistic strength.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
15 Aug 2007
fresh:
Script is long on glibly quipping dialog, dropped with a seemingly casual air, and broadly played situations. The splendid trouping delivers them style. Leavening the chuckles are tugs at the heart.