Serendipity (2001) / Comedy-Romance

MPAA Rated: PG-13 for a scene of sexuality, and for brief language
Running Time: 90 min.

Cast: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon, John Corbett
Director: Peter Chelsom
Screenplay: Marc Klein
Review published November 5, 2001

The Hollywood idea of love: the less you know about the person you find attractive, the more in love you are.  It's really ok to throw away that close relationship you have with a person because you had the warm fuzzies for that one person you knew for a couple of hours oh so many years ago.  With this in mind, I think it's time to take a little test to see how good your own relationship may be.

 

THE SERENDIPITY QUIZ -- How strong is your love?

1) How often do you and your lover spend time together? (a) Every free moment, (b) At least once a day, (c) Whenever our schedules allow it, (d) Hard to say how often because we still haven't had the second meeting, with the first being several years ago.

2) How much do you value your lover? (a) You would give your life for her/him, (b) You have been in many a fight defending her/his honor, (c) You have strong feelings but not deep enough to make great personal sacrifices, (d) You gave your name and number on a fiver and left it up to chance whether or not you'd see each other again.

3) How much do you know about your lover? (a) You could recreate every cell of his/her body from scratch if need be, (b) You know her/him more than anyone you've known in your life, (c) You are best friends, (d) Hey, at least you know her/his first name.

 

If the answer was (d) for all three questions, congratulations...you have found your soul mate and are deeply and madly in love!   If the answer was (a) for all three, then I am sorry, but you have a shallow and ultimately unfulfilling relationship and you should dump that person immediately so that you can be with the person with whom you have a (d) relationship.

OK, so Serendipity wasn't all that bad, but I'm sorry i have seen just too many romantic comedies of its ilk of late.  In fairness, it's better than most of it's breed and the stars are likeable as well as good at playing their respective roles.  Director Peter Chelsom (Shall We Dance, Hector & the Search for Happiness), coming off of his major misfire, Town & Country, gives an oft-told type of story freshness when it needs it so that even the most contrived of circumstances, and there are many, seem to be all a part of the romantic fantasy world. 

Serendipity is strictly a date movie, and along those lines, it will fit the bill for most.  Not too heavy and amiably sweet, Serendipity may be cotton candy fluff, but at least sometimes you gotta have your dessert too.

Qwipster's rating:

©2001 Vince Leo