Question: Whose band is shown early in the story playing "I've Got That Old Feeling"? Sounds like Les Elgart.
Question: Matty introduces her friend as Mary Ann, but in the year book, the friend is actually Matty Tyler, and she is actually Mary Ann. Were both girls in on the scam? (00:31:22)
Answer: It appears that the real Matty Tyler was not initially in on the plan. It's confusing, and there're many plot holes, but it seems the fake "Matty" (Kathleen Turner) intended for the real Matty to eventually discover that her identity was being used (by Turner). The real Matty was then apparently blackmailing fake Matty to keep quiet. It appears that fake Matty intended to lure and then murder the real Matty, framing Ned Racine for her murder, as well as Edmund's. The real Matty's body was identified as being Edmond's wife through her dental records. Fake Matty probably intended for Ned to be killed in the explosion.
Question: Maddy pulls up to the house in her dead husband's Cadillac right around the time Ned was supposed to be at the boat house. Why would she be driving his car when at that point in time, she is supposed to be Mary Ann Simpson, her real identity? Ned was supposed to be dead at that point. The boat house could have blown up as she arrived and the fire dept. called by a neighbor would be on its way?
Answer: Maddie (who was the real Mary Ann Simpson) was deliberately being careless, dropping clues, and creating inconsistencies, like leaving Edmund's eyeglasses behind at the house when they moved his body. It was the same with Edmund's car. She was framing Ned as being the sole murderer who killed both (the real) Maddie and Edmund. She had specifically targeted Ned as her accomplice, knowing he was an incompetent lawyer who was careless about details.
Answer: It was all part of the plan to frame Ned, she purposely left clues behind as Ned would become suspicious of her. In the end, the dead body of the real Mary Ann Simpson was already in the houseboat. Thus everyone would think she's was dead when in fact she in sunning on a tropical beach.
Question: If Ned couldn't open the boathouse door and got blown up at the end - how did Kathleen Turner do it and survive the explosion?
Answer: Matty had Teddy tell her how to rig the bomb with a timer. She activated the bomb, escaped in a boat on the water, leaving Ned holding the bag. But, with a good lawyer, he would have easily beat the case. Unfortunately, he confesses to his cop friend, Oscar, in the jailhouse (which might be inadmissible).
Answer: Timer.
If you look at the yearbook, you will see Mary Ann Simpson was a competitive swimmer for 2 years.
Question: Why didn't Edmund or Heather (Edmund's niece) recognize that the girl posing as Matty wasn't actually Matty? More specifically, with regard to the restaurant scene (where Ned runs into fake Matty and Edmund), wouldn't Edmund obviously realise that the girl he's with is NOT actually his wife? Also, during the scene where they meet with Edmund's lawyer and discuss the invalid will - wouldn't Heather (Edmund's niece) have recognized that the person masquerading as Maddy wasn't actually Maddy?
Answer: Neither Edmund or young Heather had ever met the real Maddy. The fake Maddy, who is Mary Ann Simpson (played by Kathleen Turner), had stolen the real Maddy's identity before meeting Edmund. She was specifically looking for a rich man to victimize (and murder) and also for an incompetent lawyer (Ned Racine) to drag into her plot. The real Maddy discovered Mary Ann's scheme and showed up to blackmail her imposter, for which Mary Ann later murdered her. Mary Ann and Maddy attended high school together and had a similar appearance, which is why Mary Ann stole her identity.
Answer: I noticed the problem of the introduction, also. It seemed like a major plot hole to me. There wasn't any material in the movie to support blackmail, etc by the real Matty. I hadn't thought of her possibly being in on the scam. If not, why wouldn't the real Matty have immediately blanched when hearing herself be introduced with the wrong name? So far, I agree with the OP's suggestion.
The real Maddy was at the house when Ned arrived. Presumably, she had already discovered what "Fake Maddy" was up to. It looked like Fake Maddy (Turner) gave the real Maddy a check, presumably a payoff to keep quiet. The real Maddy may or may not have known exactly what Fake Maddy was planning, but went along with being introduced as "Mary Ann." Also, the movie deliberately leaves details vague because it is a big plot twist at the end when Ned, and the audience, learns that Fake Maddy is really Mary Ann.
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