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Serendipity

Serendipity

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This movie made me mad!
Review: I watched this movie with my fiance and was quite disturbed. It was as though we were supposed to be happy that these two people were CHEATING on their fiances.

This is an example of bad acting, bad writing, bad premise, bad everything.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Cusack coasts through another one
Review: At least it was better than his last effort, America's Sweethearts, which was truly awful. He's certainly a reliable actor for any producer or director since he basically plays the same character in every one of his films. If that doesn't bother you and you enjoyed his other films, you'll probably enjoy this one too. It's a decent date flick, but not one that you'd consider watching again such as When Harry Met Sally or Sleepless in Seattle.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Love that Transcends the Boundaries of time
Review: In my opinion, this is the finest Romance film I have ever witnessed, and one of the finest films i have seen.

Their love truly transcends the boundaries of time. Though Cusack and Beckinsale only spend roughly 15mins on-screen together, it is a very good 15 minutes. Most of the time I was vouching for them to meet each other but with the constant near-misses (of them meeting each other later) I was frought with frustration at them not meeting. Here the plot wasn't as predictable as it seemed *spoiler ahead* (as it could've ended with them not meeting ,and it all for nothing) this was meant to be a romantic "feel good" drama and it certainly lived up to expectations.

Beckinsale proves her acting ability lies in her true British self, and Cusack embodies the American romantic. The film is shot well with wonderful use of snow drops in key scenes; New York is witnessed in all its glory.

The happy ending is truly marvellous, atleast they finally meet (attention you must suspend belief, but it works!!). Echoes of the Family Man are also seen, a movie i truly loved as well (10/10 for that one). The dollar bill, the Book, the glove and the "Serendipity" shop will always be in my mind forever, as a symbol for eternal love.

Does fate truly operate in our lives? Is destiny pre-determined? Should we seek love, or let love come to us? Nevertheless we must make best every opportunity we have, as seen by Cusack's initial chance encounter developing into something much much more.

Watch for very interesting comic relief, but overall this movie is serious and challenging in nature.

10/10

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fate at its best
Review: I loved this movie - not since When Harry Met Sally have I (your typical action loving young male) liked a romantic comedy so much. This had to of been the most underrated movie of last year. I 'm buying it and watching it today! I recommend it to everyone - especially those who question the notions of 'fate' and 'weird luck'. Serendipity defines it all and this well writen well acted movie is a must watch.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: maybe it's not reality, but it was good.
Review: This movie is a fabulous date flick. The story is a twisting plot that begins in NYC's Bloomingdale's department store. Jonathan(Cusack- "High Fidelity") and Sara(Beckinsale- "Much Ado About Nothing") haggle over a pair of gloves. They can't decide who got there first and who should walk away with the soon to be infamous gift. Sara and Jonathan find themselves in a romantic predicament. They are instantly attracted to each other and finish the rest of the day spending time together and exploring the possibilities of being soulmates. They roam NYC, feeling the vibe of love. Unfortunately two things keep them from each other. Jonathan and Sara both have significant others. While this seems a bit of a problem, it is nothing compared to Sara's obsession with destiny.

She is convinced that if they are truly meant to be, they will find each other again. She writes her name and phone number in a book. He writes his name and number on a 5 dollar bill. The money gets spent and the book gets sold. She believes if they are truly meant to be together...these clues will resurface, assuring them of their soulmate qualities.

Years fly by and Sara and Jonathan have never forgotten each other. While they each have new loves and new careers, they are bombarded with signs of their past interlude.

I expected this movie to be pretty linear, but it wasn't. The 5 dollar bill and the book aren't so contrived. Many other twists of fate bring them close to each other. I was glad to find this aspect of the movie refreshing.

I did however get a little annoyed with the all too many coincidences that seemed unnecessary to bring the two lovebirds closer to each other. The movie could have left a few out.

I do recommend this movie. It has that sweet "Sleepless in Seattle" feel to it. I love romantic movies, and if you are a fan of fate, you will find this movie very enjoyable. The plot might be a little too familiar, but who can resist John Cusack in a romantic lead? No, he doesn't stand in the rain playing "In Your Eyes" to Sara, but gosh can he still sweep a girl off her feet.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The honest guy's review
Review: I give it two stars for trying hard. Eugene Levy and John Corbett make for nice scene stealers, and there are a few laugh-out-loud funnies that happen along the way. It's a "cute" movie, a decent date movie at best.

But the plot? Oh, please. Predictable, boring, and mildly disturbing. At one point I turned to my wife and muttered "Oh look, they're cheating on their fiancees, isn't it wonderful?"

I had a valid point, too. Underneath the "cutsyness" of this movie lays some pretty dark stuff. We as the audience are encouraged to forget about all of the infidelities and straight-out stalking John Cusak does because he's looking for his "soulmate." And his current relationship isn't even that bad!!! Yet he pushes on with the encouragement of his best man (Jeremy Piven) as the movie glosses over the fact that he is destroying a perfectly good relationship.

A few factual goof-ups knock this movie down another notch. Most notable is when Kate Breckensale realizes she has mistakenly taken her friend's wallet once she has boarded a plane. So tell me just how she was able to get on the plane without showing her identification?!? It's a glaring omission in reality.

One final critique: The characters seem to suffer from that annoying "Saved By The Bell" phenomenon. You know, where Zak, Kelly, Slater and the gang (I'm taking you on a ride to 1991, sorry) could sort things out with one simple explanation, but instead always decide to take the roundabout way through webs of lies and over-the-top schemes? That's what this movie feels like. The two star-crossed lovers have ample opportunities to make it a simple 'yes' or 'no', instead I felt like I got the runaround.

Hey, take it for what it's worth. It's not a terrible movie, but I can't help feeling it was botched somewhat. The idea exceeded the execution, if you will.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Two Very Attractive Stars in a Rather Dull Romantic Comedy
Review: I was disappointed in this film because I expected a lot of fizz with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, both favorites of mine. The plot has already been characterized as pretty farfetched and a bit [stupid], but if you can get by the basic premise that two people so strongly attracted to each other would go through so much foolishness solely to put obstacles in their way, then you may enjoy watching this film. The chemistry between Beckinsale and Cusack is there but because so much of the time is spent with them just missing each other, it really doesn't get off the ground as it should. However, the movie has its moments (some of them provided by Cusack real-life best friend Jeremy Piven) and overall is a relatively pleasant way to kill a couple of hours.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Almost a good movie.
Review: Serendipity has so many things going for it. It is a shame that it had to be deficient in one major area to make this movie less than enjoyable.
John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are great as lead characters and they are great in the scenes the are in together (which are hardly any, which is part of the problem of the movie.) Great supporting parts are played for comic relief by Molly Shannon and Jeremy Piven.

John and Kate meet and spend a few hours together and supposedly bond in such a way that they will always be in love. Then several years down the road, they are about to marry someone else. Then John and Kate felt drawn to end their engagements and call off their marriages just for the hope of finding that long lost casual acquaintence. The movie overlooks all of the time and effort and friendship and love that would have caused John and Kate to become engaged to these poor saps. So when they abandon them to try and find each other, I found myself rooting for John and Kate to not find each other and to marry the person they actually love.

This movie is funny and entertaining, just incredibly unbelievable and therefore not to be taken seriously.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Brainless
Review: I love John Cusack. His acting is so good he manages to rescue almost any movie he's in. This one was just so bad however, that no rescue was possible.

Cusack does turn in another great performance, especially given the dirth of material he had to work with. Jeremy Piven as his best friend was also good. The chemistry between these two was great and they were really fun to watch.

The chemistry between Cusack and Beckinsale just wasn't there. And why cast Beckinsale in this movie anyway? She looks abominable! Why not cast someone attractive instead, with charm and personality? Beckinsale's bad camera looks aside, her acting is deplorable. She certainly didn't redeem her terrible performance in Pearl Harbor in this clunker.

If you have to see this movie, see it for Cusack. With another co-star, he might have been able to make something light and sweet out of this mess, but with Beckinsale, this flops. Totally.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Chemistry of a different kind
Review: Oh Kate, of the enormous white teeth and John of raven hair, black as night! Who couldn't watch these two for a few hours, even though they rarely appear on screen together? But the pair with the greatest chemistry in this movie are real-life best friends John Cusack and Jeremy Piven. Piven gets to use his acting chops a bit more here than he did in a similar best-buddy role in Family Man, and to good advantage. He is the emotional underpinning of this movie, and the only one who seems to really learn anything. Piven deserves to be moved up from supporting actor to lead roles, and soon. Another secondary character worth watching is Northern Exposure vet John Corbett, showing good sportsmanship as a godawful new-age musician/entertainer. Corbett's character is the only truly new addition to a plot cobbled from many others mentioned by other reviewers. The scene where he is watching his own music video for the first time is the funniest in the movie.

The director spares us from bothersome breakups with the cruelly tossed aside fiances, who must do all their wailing and gnashing off camera. How un-flattering that would be to the glossy leads! And as a book collecter I had to laugh at Cusack's obsessive legwork in search of a certain copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, which he could have probably found in a few phone calls after a half-hour internet search.

Enjoy this movie for charming characters and a light romance--just don't think about it too much!


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