Housesitter

It's back to wacky mode for Hawn after her dismal adventures in Deceived. She plays waitress Gwen, whose modest means fail to support her grand ambitions. But that's before she meets stuffy architect Newton Davis (Martin): during their one-night stand, she learns of the custom-made dream house rejected by his long-term love (Delany). Gwen secretly traces his empty property to a New England town. She moves in, and proceeds to regale the locals with stories of her marriage to a dashing, professionally successful Newton. For a romantic comedy, there's little in the way of romance, but the film's strength lies in the escalating lies concocted by Gwen as she struggles to maintain a toehold on her new life. Although it doesn't add up to a whole, and screenwriter Mark Stein fudges the issue of Gwen's motivation, he does provide some very funny, cheerfully contrived scams.