“Serendipity” is a nice movie, probably more so because we like its main characters. Its leads, played affably by Jon Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, meet in a Bloomingdale’s department store and experience the beginnings of attraction over a series of events that lead them to the movie’s titular location, Serendipity, a coffee shop in Manhattan. This is one of those movies that begins on a holiday and ends on one, yet is not a holiday movie. In the mad dash for the perfect Christmas gift for their perspective better halves, “Serendipity’s” main characters experience the worst kind of indecision – developing feelings for someone else – and spend the next few years wondering what might have been.
Cusack plays Jonathan Trager, a producer for ESPN, though the film never states it outright. Beckinsale plays Sarah, and though a psychologist, this fact is also hidden at the film’s onset, instead defining its characters by a list of emotions, likes, dislikes, and enigma. “What’s your favorite movie?” Sarah asks, to which Trager responds without hesitation – “Cool Hand Luke.” Sarah grew up in England and teaches Trager a thing or two about skating. The movie shrouds Jonathan and Sarah in mystery and the result is the better for it. What a person does for a living, their passions, their name…these aren’t the things we remember when we develop an attraction for someone. It’s the chemistry, the ‘what’s your favorite movie/song/city’ similarities we use to convince ourselves this person is perfect for us.
As luck would have it, however, Sarah is a believer in fate. She scoffs at Jonathan’s request for her number – not because neither is single, but because, as she puts it, if they are meant to be, the universe should bring them back together. She writes her number in a copy of “Love in the Time of Cholera,” which she means to sell to a book store and has him write his number on a five-dollar-bill she uses to but a pack of Mentos. If they are meant to be, one of them will find the other. And while Jonathan’s not as convinced as her, he can’t really do much but go along. Fast forward years later, and each is readying to marry their prospective partner, though each still thinks about that night in New York where true love seemed possible.
The strengths of “Serendipity” lie in its charm, as Cusack and Beckinsale present characters that, whilelikeable in their own right, are more fun together than apart. The film’s opening presents enough chemistry between the two that the rest of the film – during which both question their present relationships while questioning if they are meant to be – keeps viewers connected to the characters’ fleeting hopes. Cusack, who has lined his career with quirky rom-coms such as “High Fidelity” and “Gross Pointe Blank” has no problems filling Jonathan’s shoes and presents a likeable character. And while Beckinsale doesn’t get as much back-story as him, her character is still fairly fleshed out and is a welcome departure from colder personalities in movies like “Underworld” or 2002’s “Laurel Canyon.”
Much of “Serendipity” is devoted to Jonathan and Sarah’s near misses, as well as Jonathan’s search for clues to her whereabouts, which present comical and fun scenes. We can’t help but laugh as Jonathan is bombarded with references to Sarah – in a barber shop, in a cab, on the street, as he does everything he can to prepare for his own wedding. It’s his romantic idealism that fuels this search – the result is an abundance of humorous pratfalls involving enlisting the help of his best friend, Dean (Jeremy Piven), running across Manhattan between wedding rehearsals, and an encounter with an ambitious Bloomingdale’s salesman, played by the hysterical Eugene Levy (“American Pie”).
Where the script suffers is in the presentation of its love quadrangle. Stories about love frequently fall into two categories – searching for lost loves or finding love that is somehow better than the one you’re with. “Serendipity” attempts to marry these two genres; and while not wholly ineffective, you have to wonder why the film’s writers couldn’t come up with a better angle to join Jonathan and Sarah together that didn’t involve the prospect of hurting current loves in order to pursue old feelings. As a result, Trager’s fiancée Halley (Bridget Moynahan) and Sarah’s fiancé Lars (Steven Corbett) are thinly painted; and though we want to see Jonathan and Sarah get together, there are some instances where you can’t help but feel sorry for the ones left out in the cold.
Some of the film’s strengths and frustrations come through its supporting characters such as Piven’s Dean and Sarah’s best friend Eve, played by Molly Shannon. For Eve, it’s Sarah’s inability to let go of the past, and for Dean, it’s the often-neurotic hoops he has to jump through to support his friend. However, the film smartly uses these as opportunities for growth. Dean’s early criticisms of Jonathan for refusing to give up this mystery girl are understandable; however, later scenes, ones where he pulls inspiration from Jonathan’s hopeful pertinacity for his own love life, create touching take-a-ways that make “Serendipity” about more than just its leads.
At the end of the day, “Serendipity” is a fairly predictable movie, but charming nonetheless. Cusack and Beckinsale put forth pleasing performances, and it has a way of being hopeful and inspiring. The film is more toned down than some of its over-the-top brethren, and as a result its ending feels more rewarding due to the earnestness of its characters and the fact that the movie really does try. “Serendipity” isn’t so much about finding true love but believing in it. Hollywood’s rom-coms often present love as a comical or jaded enterprise. “Serendipity” makes you feel just a little more hopeful. And you’ve got to give it credit for that.
– by Mark Ziobro
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