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diversions
Cusack back on
track with 'Serendipity'
By Greg Smith
On-line Forty-Niner
The romantic comedy
has become a film genre that has steadily become bogged down
in absurd situations and silly, gross humor. Hollywood's romantic
comedy track record of late has been disturbing.
Films like "The Wedding Planner," "The Bachelor"
and "America's Sweethearts" have been quite miserable,
incorporating little romance and comedy that is aimed more
at juveniles than adults.
Director Peter Chelsom's new film "Serendipity"
is a fine example of what a good romantic comedy should be.
Chelsom's film is smart, funny and most importantly, romantic
as hell.
John Cusack plays Jonathan, an ESPN producer who, while Christmas
shopping, happens to meet Sara (Kate Beckinsale) at a department
store sales counter. The two hit it off and end up spending
the night together wandering the streets of New York.
Sara is a firm believer in destiny and believes that if the
two of them are meant to be together then fate will step in
and make it so. Knowing only each other's first names they
split apart at the end of the night.
To prove that fate will eventually bring them together, Sara
has Jonathan write his name and phone number on a five dollar
bill which she spends at a news stand. She also writes her
name and number into a book that she promises to sell to a
used bookstore the next day. Her reasoning is that if they
are meant to be than the book and bill will find their way
to them.
Ten years later, both Sara and Jonathan are engaged but still
thinking of the love that they lost. With the help of their
best friends they decide to search one last time for each
other. The ensuing search is packed full of near misses and
signs from fate that at once keep them apart but finally bring
them together.
What makes this movie great is the chemistry between Cusack
and Beckinsale, even though they share little screen time
together. Cusack has mastered the image of a brooding leading
man. He is not inhuman like the Pitts and Clooneys, but a
real and honest human being, packed full of both exploding
and subtle emotions. He is like Jimmy Stewart with a black
eye.
Beckinsale is phenomenal. She gave by far the best performance
in this summer's poorly received "Pearl Harbor"
and she shines again in "Serendipity." Her eyes
have an extraordinary power sucking the viewer into her depths.
The longing and infatuation that Cusack and Beckinsale share
is extraordinarily believable.
Most of the comic relief is supplied by the stellar supporting
cast. Jeremy Piven is Jonathan's best friend Dean, an obituary
writer for the New York Times who appears to have the perfect
marriage. Dean finds a new piece of himself while helping
Jonathan find his lost love.
Molly Shannon plays Sara's best friend Eve, a lesbian new
age shop owner who hates new agers. Shannon subdued herself
in order to not be just another "Saturday Night Live"
character and proves to be just as funny playing a realistic
character.
Eugene Levy stole the show as an obsessive-compulsive department
store clerk and John Corbett as Sara's fiancée, a Yanni-esque
flutist who is much more concerned with his odd music than
his bride to be. One of the funniest moments in the film is
a viewing of Corbett's new music video where he subdues a
band of Viking's with his psychedelic flute playing.
"Serendipity" is greater than the sum of its parts,
a rarity in the romantic comedy genre. The film is both smartly
funny and romantically touching. The audience feels for all
the characters. While Sara's fiancée is by all means
an idiot, Jonathan's fiancée has practically nothing
wrong with her and truly loves Jonathan. The only reason that
Jonathan denies her is that he can't shake Sara from his head.
Chelsom's camera work represents the character's feelings
well, going from smooth and loving to quick and manic.
All the greatness in "Serendipity" adds up to a
fine examination of love and fate. The viewers are sucked
into a world of true love, loss and redemption and taken for
an amazing ride through human emotion.
The end result is film that both entertains and touches, a
wonderful break from the monotonous dreck that has plagued
the romantic comedy genre.
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