Rating: 
Summary: Full of holiday charm and warm characters.
Review: "The Family Man" is a holiday film about a man who gets a glimpse at what his life would be like had he not taken "the road less traveled." While the film is nowhere near the magnificence and grandeur of such Christmas classics as "Miracle on 34th Street" or "It's a Wonderful Life," from which it borrows certain plot elements, it retains a great deal of charm that quickly grows on you, and by the time the credits rolled, I was completely hooked. As the film opens, Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) and his girlfriend, Kate (Tea Leoni), are embracing at the airport as he prepares to depart for London to take part in the first big business venture of his financial career. She pleads with him not to go, but he promises undying love to her and proceeds, where the film then advances thirteen years later to the present day, and we see that they have drifted apart. Jack is now a wealthy and arrogant businessman, with no visible sign of settling down anytime soon. By not-so-sheer fate, he encounters a would-be thief in a convenience store, who transforms his life into a window of what it may have been had he not boarded the plane to London all those years ago. Jack wakes up on Christmas morning to find himself a husband and father, both of which he is unable to grasp or accept. As time goes on, he gleans what information he can about his "life" with Kate and their children, and the more he learns, the more he becomes attached to his would-be life. To bill the film as a rip-off of "It's a Wonderful Life" is unjustifiable. The movie obviously borrows the most popular element of the previous film's story, but while "Life" showed the future in an almost terrifying light, "The Family Man" chooses to cast a much more appealing ray on how things may have been. The result, I assure you, is more interesting than you may think, and while you won't be glued to your seat, you're sure to be satisfied at the very least. To it's credit, it has a lot going for it, mainly from the stellar leads. Nicolas Cage is one of those very unique actors who segues from genre to genre without the slightest sign of complication. Just as we believe in him as an action guru, he is also a warm, sensitive character in his more emotional roles, and this one is no exception. Tea Leoni is beginning to make her mark on Hollywood, and this role provides her a chance to give it all she's got. Here, she shows great emotion and integrity, and she fits the character perfectly. The story is also filled with elements that will appeal mostly to die-hard romantics and even some common followers of the genre. It allows Jack and Kate to build an understanding of one another, and just as he is trying to discover this life he never led, the both of them are coming to a crossroads with one another, at which point their relationship reaches its full bloom. What will happen once Jack is yanked back into a now-harsh reality is a satisfying payoff to the story, one that plays by the rules and succeeds by not being too saccharine or melodramatic. There are some lighthearted moments of comedic jubilance at play, but "The Family Man" is more interesting as a holiday romance than anything else. The performances from Cage and Leoni bring home a wonderfully executed plot about second chances, one that is effective despite its slight lack of originality. The film gave me a warm feeling inside, and that alone is worth recommending it.
Rating: 
Summary: Love Conquers All...
Review: I haven't cried so much from watching a movie than I did when I watched The Family Man. It is a truly, touching, magical film about second chances. Nicolas Cage is perfect for the part of Jack Campbell, the cocky, ambitious, and selfish wall street millionaire who believed he had it all until he is approached by an Angel on Christmas Eve who knows the truth deep inside Jack. Jack performs a very good deed inside the convenient store, and therefore the Angel grants Jack "a glimpse" of the beautiful life he could have led if he had only made different choices as a younger man. This movie is not only touching, it is a laugh riot! Watching Jack's reactions as he wakes up Christmas morning to a wife and two kids he never had.... I was crying and laughing at the same time.
This movie portrays a very important message. Life is about LOVE. You could be the richest man in the world, but without the warmth of love what is there to live for? Jack realizes after "the glimpse" that deep down inside of himself, he is alone... truly, and utterly alone. He truly would've had it all if he had just chosen LOVE.
A lot of people don't like the ending to this movie, but I believe that the producers were trying to make the audience think for themselves. Jack had to make the right decision HIMSELF, it could not be granted to him. Miracles do happen in real life, and in The Family Man, Jack experiences a miracle. He realizes that LOVE is true happiness. His life is with Kate, and he must get her back before his future closes right in front of his eyes. The ending is a very realistic ending. Jack and Kate couldn't just fall into eachother's arms and say, "Okay! Let's begin our lives now!" They needed to start all over again from scratch. What's meant to be will always find a way....God works in mysterious ways....
Rating:
Summary: Romantic and Meaningful
Review: Personally, I don't like Nicolas Cage all that much but in this movie, all the actors and actresses excel in their trade. It's a wonderful movie that teaches everyone the importance of family and to not pass up a great opportunity. It has plenty of morals packed into it and yet it doesn't sound like something your philosophy teacher would drone on and on about. It's funny and compassionate. Wanna know the ending? Go buy the movie.
Rating:
Summary: A wake up call for our society
Review: This was a good film. A story about a guy that is on top of the world. He commands respect from everyone around him. However, he gets a "glimpse" of what his life would have been like if he had changed a decision that he had made earlier in his life. Nicholas Cage is an awesome actor. He has come a long way in the last couple of years. He can play so many roles so believably. This is a good film. Not a "Chick Flick" as the title may lead you to believe. I give it four stars because it is not an "incredible" film like Saving Private Ryan or The Matrix. If I could give it 4.5, I would.
Rating:
Summary: It's a family movie
Review: Life is full of compromises & The Family Man conveys this message through its main character, Jack. All of us, married folks, would find ourselves wondering once in a while, WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN if we did not marry so & so & chose our careers instead. In Jack's case, it was the opposite -- he was brought to a parallel life where he chose to settle down instead of following his high-profiled dream. Compromise. That's what we do sometimes with our lives. We cannot have everything we want, when we want it, where we want it. We give some, we take some. But the bottomline is that we should be able to find a comfortable place, where these compromises have not compromised our own happiness.
Rating: 
Summary: I Just About Wanted To Die
Review: I didn't like anything about The Family Man: not the acting, the ideas or alleged philosophies about time & second chances or the acting, the script, the storyline, the acting or even the script. What completely killed it was Cage's character's speech at the end of the film, at the airport to a single-working, Tea Leoni's character regarding how they have two kids, live in a house, etc, etc followed by a speech which was directly reiterated, verbatim, from the speech she "as his wife" gave him as a married man...saying, "I choose us". Any single woman in her right mind would perceive that male character as, at least, a sociopath, if nothing else, saying how they already have two, gorgeous kids & an established life when they hadn't seen each other in years. Puhleeze. In the real world, she would have walked on that plane & if that was the actual ending, I would have given the film 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: It's a wonderful life with Tea
Review: After seeing this movie I was ready to propose to Tea Leoni (well, almost). This was also the first DVD I've ever purchased. There is some good bonus footage on the DVD that you didn't see at the theatre or on tape. For example, a deleted scene from the airport in 1987 where Kate made Jack a cassette tape of songs that would remind him of her. Another deleted scene was an outstanding alternate to Mintz pulling Jack aside after the job interview. Finally, another deleted scene (which I think they should have left in) after Jack goes back to his "old" life and Arnie doesn't recognize him.
Rating: 
Summary: Faded at the finish
Review: Film started off with an akward transition to a glimpse of how life could be had Nicolas Cage chosen a differnt path earlier in his life. Your really have no idea how it happens or why, but there you go. A great story from there on. You feel hopeful that love wins out over money and poser, but then the disappointing finish. Nicolas Cage's character is sent back to his previous life, with no possible way of continuing on the path he had been on for most of the movie. He finds his lost love, whose personality is completely different, and convinces her to give life with him a try in less than 20 minutes of conversation. No kids, no house, both are power hungry and wealthy. Not really what the glimpse was all about.
Rating:
Summary: Don't forget the meaning of life
Review: Cage is a successfull chairman in a company. He owns everything he wanted except the sense of love. One day when he wakes up he find himself in a different life then the story begins; end of that he will find the meaning of life.
Rating:
Summary: A joy.
Review: This is perhaps the most touching film I have seen in a very long time. There is a very strong feeling of old-fashioned story telling here that makes it simply a joy to behold. The essence of the story is a simple morality tale about life and love that draws a lot of its power from the fact that, when we join the story, Jack (Nicolas Cage) is not really a bad man and he is in fact quite happy with his life, he is simply blind to what he has chosen to give up. The performances are a delight, the direction impeccable and the care that has gone into the film obvious to all. Watch this film.
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