Serendipity

This charming romantic comedy has all the right ingredients and serves up a bouillabaisse of schmaltzy romance and slapstick fun. Jonathan (John Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) meet in Bloomingdales when they both want to purchase the same pair of gloves. The attraction is instant and they spend a romantic evening cavorting around New York City together. At the end of the evening John wants to see her again, but Sara decides that if it is fate that they should be together, they will find each other again. She drives away in a cab and he never sees her again. Well, almost never.

Years go by and both of them are about to be married, but each still has this nagging feeling that the other was his/her one true love. Of course fate conspires to bring them back together (after about a dozen near misses) as they each simultaneously undertake one last attempt to find one another just before they get married to someone else.

The fate angle is plowed mercilessly, almost to the point of nausea, but the skits are funny and the chemistry between Cusack and Beckinsale is enchanting. Cusack is an expert at playing the tortured and neurotic lover, but here he is more haunted and forlorn than dysfunctional, and it plays much better than his previous two characters in `High Fidelity' and `America's Sweethearts'.

Kate Beckinsale rocketed from obscurity to prominence with her performance in `Pearl Harbor' and proves to be a wonderful romantic lead in this film. She is breezy and adorable and spins a delightful web around Jonathan and the viewer. The film also benefits from outstanding comedic support from Jeremy Piven as Jonathan's best friend and devoted Sara sleuth. Piven's zany comedy proves to be the perfect complement to Cusack's wry despondency. Eugene Levy is a scream as the eccentric Bloomingdales salesman, who blackmails Jonathan into buying half the store to give him information from Sara's charge account.

All in all, this is an entertaining comedy that is insubstantial but delectable. I tend to give romantic comedies a little more slack, because I'm a sucker for this slush, and this is one of the better ones I've seen in a while so I rated it a 9/10. This lighthearted romp makes a great date flick, but if serious drama is your preference stay away.

Jonathan Tragger (John Cusack) meets Sara Thomas (the gorgeous Kate Beckinsale) by chance in the Christmas eve, in Bloomingdale's, both trying to buy the unique pair of black gloves available for sale. They decide to go to the cafeteria Serendipity and Jonathan asks for her name and phone. Sara decides to write it in a book, and his on a five dollars bill. She gives the bill to a newspaperman and she says that she would sell the book in a New York used books store. She states that if destiny wants them two together, Jonathan will get that book back. Or she will receive that bill again. From this day on, Jonathan will 'chase' Sara's book trying to reach his lost love.

I did not know the word 'serendipity'. In accordance with Webster' dictionary, it means 'an apparent aptitude for making accidental fortunate discoveries'. The character of Sara believes on it, but regrets for her belief in the end of the story. This is the typical predictable and commercial film, but supported by a very charming actress (Kate Beckinsale) and actor (John Cusack). I am a suspicious viewer to make any comment in this regard, since I love Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. But I really believe there is no way that any viewer dislikes this movie. The cover of the DVD is also very beautiful. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Escrito ans Estrelas" ("Written in the Stars")

Since I have always wondered about fate/destiny and the alike, it was not for one moment, hard for me to embrace this movie. To me, this movie signifies the importance of saying what you feel and feeling what you say. All to often in life people pass each other by and subsequently up all because of being afraid to feel, say, think, and of what others will think. I have tried to become more honest in my life as a result of seeing this movie.

Serendipity...I went to meet an old friend for drink that had just moved back in to town. I was running late, parked at the opposite end of the street where I always parked and missed them. I ran into another friend who asked, me to fill in on a dart team. Then I met a man who was at the next board and talked with him all night. At the end of the night I was walked to my car by one of the guys. On the way home our paths crossed again. To make a long story short we crossed paths again, and the next day he asked me to marry him. I waited two years and we have been married for twelve years. Unfortunately yes, I was in a relationship when we met. It does happen! Even though I thought this film had a few problems. I liked the actors, the story and for gosh sake stop being so cynical everyone!!!

The plot premise, in a particularly streamlined nutshell: In holiday-season Manhattan, Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) and Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) meet cute and, although they both have Significant Others, they end up spending a charming and romantic evening on the town (including coffee and dessert at the aptly-named Serendipity III restaurant). Despite their obvious chemistry, Sara insists on leaving their future up to fate (she turns out to be a therapist, so you'd think she'd know better, but more on that momentarily), whereupon they get separated in the Waldorf=Astoria. Years later, Sara and Jon are both engaged to other people, but can't stop thinking about one another, so they each take a last stab at finding each other again before their respective nuptials. Knowing what a big John Cusack fan I am, a friend of mine recommended I rent SERENDIPITY. Between a parade of people phoning us and our own busy schedules, however, I had almost as much trouble getting to finally sit down and watch the DVD from start to finish as Jon and Sara did trying to get back together in the film itself! But it was worth the effort: even though I was growling at Sara under my breath for being so stupid as to leave their budding romance up to fate instead of running off with Jon when she had the chance (and was Sara so new to NYC that it never occurred to her that other people might take Jon's elevator in the Waldorf=Astoria during their decisive elevator race? Do fate and common sense have to be mutually exclusive?), I found Cusack and Beckinsale so endearing and so full of romantic chemistry (and they both looked yummy, I might add) that I found myself forgiving a lot and rooting for them to get back together. Marc Klein's script is so chock-full of funny and frustrating near-misses that at times I found SERENDIPITY as suspenseful as a Hitchcock film! :-) NYC and San Francisco locations are used wonderfully (I was pleased to see that although the second floor of Serendipity III as shown in the film was quiet enough for Sara and Jon to hear each other talk, it was still as crowded as it usually is on a holiday week! :-). Cusack and Beckinsale are surrounded by a delightful supporting cast, too, particularly Jeremy Piven and Molly Shannon as their respective best friends and the scene-stealing Eugene Levy as an officious, self-serving Bloomingdale's salesman. I also found it refreshing that the filmmakers didn't take the obvious route of making the leads' current Significant Others so horrible that you can't imagine what attracted Our Heroes to these creeps in the first place (that sort of thing always makes me lose respect for both the protagonist *and* the screenwriter). Bridget Moynihan and John Corbett (did the casting directors just stroll on over to the set of SEX AND THE CITY one day and say "Who's free to make a movie?" :-) were appealing enough that I could understand what Cusack and Beckinsale saw in them, yet they were just self-absorbed enough and not-quite-on-our-heroes'-wavelength enough that I didn't feel bad when they got dumped. If romantic whimsy is your bag, give SERENDIPITY a try.