I thought the premise sounded cute- rom-coms aren't exactly a realistic portrayal of love so why not use the premise of fate to make the coincidences make 'sense'?
Jon (John Cusack) has a typical 'meet cute' with a pretty woman Sara (Kate Beckingsale). Despite both of them having partners, after a bit of chatting and a fun evening Jon is ready to chuck his girlfriend. Sara is a big believer in fate so when she finally agrees to give her name and number, the piece of paper she's written it on blows away! So she plays some silly game about if they get on separate elevators and get off at the same floor it's some sign that they're meant to be together. She also writes her name and number in a book and John writes his on a five dollar note- if they're meant to be together, the items will find their way to the other person.
What the movie calls 'a few years later' but which actually turns out to be seven, both Jon and Sara have new serious partners. Jon's fiancee is barely even a character and Sara's fiance is a pretentious New Age musician that provides the laughs. But of course Jon and Sara are still hung up on each other so even though they are in serious relationships, decide to chuck it away, thus fitting in with their previous jerkiness of seven years ago. Jon is particularly creepy, coming off as an unhinged stalker at times.
The film exemplifies the worst values of romcoms- that you can fall in love without needing to know anything about a person and that you can get away with cheating and acting like a jerk because 'true love' wins out. Cusack and Beckinsale also lack the chemistry that would make you believe they were destined to end up with each other.
Sleepless in Seattle, whilst still having the stalker element, is a much better and nuanced portrayal of the same idea.
Jon (John Cusack) has a typical 'meet cute' with a pretty woman Sara (Kate Beckingsale). Despite both of them having partners, after a bit of chatting and a fun evening Jon is ready to chuck his girlfriend. Sara is a big believer in fate so when she finally agrees to give her name and number, the piece of paper she's written it on blows away! So she plays some silly game about if they get on separate elevators and get off at the same floor it's some sign that they're meant to be together. She also writes her name and number in a book and John writes his on a five dollar note- if they're meant to be together, the items will find their way to the other person.
What the movie calls 'a few years later' but which actually turns out to be seven, both Jon and Sara have new serious partners. Jon's fiancee is barely even a character and Sara's fiance is a pretentious New Age musician that provides the laughs. But of course Jon and Sara are still hung up on each other so even though they are in serious relationships, decide to chuck it away, thus fitting in with their previous jerkiness of seven years ago. Jon is particularly creepy, coming off as an unhinged stalker at times.
The film exemplifies the worst values of romcoms- that you can fall in love without needing to know anything about a person and that you can get away with cheating and acting like a jerk because 'true love' wins out. Cusack and Beckinsale also lack the chemistry that would make you believe they were destined to end up with each other.
Sleepless in Seattle, whilst still having the stalker element, is a much better and nuanced portrayal of the same idea.