Here's a blast from the past: Serendipity! I've been loving it since 2001 so I might as well admit it. We were bored on Saturday night so we popped it in for another viewing (we absolutely own it; and this was a Jeremy purchase, not a Molly purchase). It's just as great as it ever was.Kate Beckinsale is fantastic. You can't argue that fact. John Cusack is fantastic. He's been rolling in high comedy since the old days. He anchors this picture nicely. Jeremy Piven does his Jeremy Piven thing, but before he entered the "all I do is the Jeremy Piven thing" stage of his career, so it's OK. Eugene Levy is present and perfect in a small role (the search for the name by Cusack, Piven, and Levy is a great bit). Molly Shannon restrains her Molly Shannon self for about 75 minutes before cracking her single SNL line (who would have thought there'd be two Molly Shannon references on Try Avoidance in one week). Tom Brady's baby-momma even shows up. What more could you ask for?
Let's go down the list:
- It's always nice when a romantic comedy is actually a comedy. Check.
- The music actually adds value. I hadn't noticed this until this past viewing. Great tunes for the settings, I'd love to get the soundtrack. Check.
- I cried when I first watched it and continue to get misty-eyed every viewing since. Watch the scene where Beckinsale goes to the Waldorf near the end and try not to cry. If you succeed your heart is made of stone surrounded by three inches of ice. Check.
This is what a romantic comedy should be.
7 comments:
I'd like to take this moment to remind readers that Eyes Like Static is just a click away.
And no, we do not endorse Serendipity.
Seriously? No Serendipity for you? Come on, break it down for me at least. What's the issue?
Umm, I was going to avoid commenting on this. I still am.
At least I'm getting some content out there.
Okay, I'll break it down:
-It's a by the numbers romantic comedy. It basically takes every single plotline and element found within romantic comedies and strings it together to form the story. Which is fine...it just never goes anywhere beyond that. It doesn't put its own stamp on the romantic comedy genre. Now, I'll the first one to admit that I'm playing off a bit of an oxymoron here, but there have been a few brave films that played against the genre (Keep an eye out for Punch Drunk Love...they play it on FX every now and then - or how about The Break Up).
-Kate Beckinsale is a deer caught in the headlights. She isn't charismatic, magnetic or worthwhile in any way. She lacks substance and character and never once proves why she is worth lusting after...aside from her obvious physical beauty. Her eyes might as well be made of glass. Give me Reese Witherspoon...at least she'd liven up the role a little bit. I wonder if they had a Best Boy checking Beckinsale's pulse in-between takes?
-John Cusack is fine (he usually is)...but he isn't given a whole heck of a lot to work with. He's just your generic "nice guy". At the least, he does give the film some acting cred...
-Molly Shannon is worthless when she isn't crazy.
-Neither lead earn the happy ending they are given...they just sort of stumble into it. I get it...it's "Serendipity". Here's my title for it: "Easy Way to Avoid Screenwriting Problems". We go to the movies to watch characters earn their success or downfall, not see them stumble into it with an "aww shucks" look about their glassy eyes. I am specifically talking about them meeting up at the end. Talk about Deus ex machina. I would have rather had him chase her down at the airport...it's bland and overused, but at least he would have done something to earn her love instead of rolling over and "dying".
-His obit at the end is great.
-It's just another sugar-coated over-simplification of romance and love churned out by the studios...worse than that, it doesn't even try to dress itself up a little bit. It's leftovers.
-I do have a cold-heart of stone, and I am also single. That being said, everything I say about this film needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
And for what it's worth, I do watch some of it whenever I see it on TV...
I'm sorry...I won't bust up anymore parties.
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