Happy Accidents (2000)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writer:

Brad Anderson (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes the future is better than it used to be

Plot:

Ruby Weaver has man trouble: she tries to fix them, so she's stuck herself with a string of losers. Her current lover...

Plot Keywords:

Time Travel | Reverse Footage | Time Travel Romance | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Marty Davey	...	Directory Operator (voice)
Marisa Tomei	...	Ruby Weaver
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Sam Deed
Nadia Dajani	...	Gretchen
Holland Taylor	...	Therapist, Maggie Ann "Meg" Ford
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Lillian Weaver
Sean Gullette	...	Mark
Bronson Dudley	...	Victor
José Zúñiga	...	Jose
Sanjay Chandani	...	Sunil (as Jason Chandani)
Cara Buono	...	Bette
Lianna Pai	...	Claire
Tamara Jenkins	...	Robin
Richard Portnow	...	Trip
Saidah Arrika Ekulona	...	Nurse

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Canada:14A | France:U | Norway:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company:

Independent Film Channel (IFC)

Trivia:

The book that Ruby reads in the film, "The Delta of Venus", was written by Anaïs Nin.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Sam is trying to operate a record player on his first date with Ruby, what appears to be fishing line is clearly visible pulling the arm back across the record.

Quotes:

Sam Deed: [to Ruby] That's Victor. His sister went down on the Titanic, he never stops talking about her.
Victor: [to Jose] My sister, she went down on the Titanic.
Jose: [to Victor] I know, I remember.
Sam Deed: [to Ruby] Old folks are great.

Movie Connections:

References Weird Science (1985)

Soundtrack:

Maracana

Interesting and Refreshingly New

I tend to like character-driven movies and am quickly put off by movies that follow one of the familiar Hollywood stories. This movie successfully ventures into interesting and largely untested ground.

The story is about a man (Vincent D'Onofrio) who becomes romantically involved with a woman (Marisa Tomei) who has a history of co-dependence and failed relationships. He claims that he is from the future. The plot takes us on the journey of their relationship and her questioning of the truth to his claims vs. whether he is another in a string of loser guys that she seems to cling to.

The plot synopsis sounded a little odd, but it was my hope that these two talented actors could pull it off. Both Tomei and D'Onofrio turn in excellent performances. They present complex, interesting and flawed characters who engage our interest. The writing is very good and enjoyable.

My only complaint is the the story sags a little about 2/3 of the way through. A little tighter editing of about 10 minutes of essentially redundant scenes would have made the movie a more engaging.

I rate it a 8/10 and encourage those who like well-written, character-driven movies to check this one out.