The idea for the plot in "Serendipity" is not unusual. But neither is it common or overly used. It's what I call a lost and found love story. A man and woman bump into each other or meet at some event, and they have chemistry. That's a brief and modern way of saying they have a strong attraction and sense of belonging to one another. It's way beyond sexual attraction and interest. But, they have other relationships, and circumstances separate them almost as abruptly as they met.
Then they spend considerable time after this thinking about one another, not knowing how to find the other person, and even searching for the other person. In a movie of this type, the audience watches in anticipation of their finally getting together. That's the draw and hold of the film.
John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are the two strangers who meet, separate and then spend years wondering about the other person. The story jumps a decade for its resolve. Jonathan Trager (Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Beckinsale) have other relationships, careers and friendships. With the exception of Trager's journalist friend, Dean Kansky, these other entanglements aren't anything special. They are even more distractions than film filler while the main plot unravels.
Kansky (played by Jeremy Piven) helps Trager trace and look for his mysterious woman friend. Some of the best comedy occurs as he becomes obsesses with finding Trager's "Miss Right." The complications in this story are ominous because the couple didn't exchange names or addresses in the short time they were together. There are some nice and interesting twists about fate and their meeting.
While the extraneous story and screenplay aren't particularly good, the hunts by man and woman are very good. That's where the screenplay picks up. The scenes of just missing each other, each going to the other's home, and arriving and leaving at the same places just moments apart, are fantastic. The natural frustration one feels watching these near misses is part of what makes this a very good film. It's not great, but it is a very good love story and comedy.
Here are a couple favorite lines from the film. For more funny or clever dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web age of the movie.
Eve, "You know who plays golf? Guys who are too fat to play tennis."
Dean Kansky, "Do you remember the philosopher Epictetus? You remember what he said? He said, 'If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.'"
Then they spend considerable time after this thinking about one another, not knowing how to find the other person, and even searching for the other person. In a movie of this type, the audience watches in anticipation of their finally getting together. That's the draw and hold of the film.
John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are the two strangers who meet, separate and then spend years wondering about the other person. The story jumps a decade for its resolve. Jonathan Trager (Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Beckinsale) have other relationships, careers and friendships. With the exception of Trager's journalist friend, Dean Kansky, these other entanglements aren't anything special. They are even more distractions than film filler while the main plot unravels.
Kansky (played by Jeremy Piven) helps Trager trace and look for his mysterious woman friend. Some of the best comedy occurs as he becomes obsesses with finding Trager's "Miss Right." The complications in this story are ominous because the couple didn't exchange names or addresses in the short time they were together. There are some nice and interesting twists about fate and their meeting.
While the extraneous story and screenplay aren't particularly good, the hunts by man and woman are very good. That's where the screenplay picks up. The scenes of just missing each other, each going to the other's home, and arriving and leaving at the same places just moments apart, are fantastic. The natural frustration one feels watching these near misses is part of what makes this a very good film. It's not great, but it is a very good love story and comedy.
Here are a couple favorite lines from the film. For more funny or clever dialog, see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web age of the movie.
Eve, "You know who plays golf? Guys who are too fat to play tennis."
Dean Kansky, "Do you remember the philosopher Epictetus? You remember what he said? He said, 'If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.'"