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Movies / On DVD / Serendipity
Serendipity

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Serendipity (2001)

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Reviews Counted:128

Fresh:74

Rotten:54

Average Rating:5.8/10

Consensus: Light and charming, Serendipity could benefit from less contrivances.

Runtime: 90 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: New York City, just before Christmas. The last pair of black cashmere gloves in Bloomingdale's is on its way to the counter. As the gloves arrive, Sara (Kate Beckinsale) and Jonathan (John Cusack)... New York City, just before Christmas. The last pair of black cashmere gloves in Bloomingdale's is on its way to the counter. As the gloves arrive, Sara (Kate Beckinsale) and Jonathan (John Cusack) claim them simultaneously. And so it begins--Sara and Jonathan go to a little coffee shop, named Serendipity, to decide who gets the gloves. They skate in Central Park. They look at the stars--the Cassiopeia constellation has the same pattern as the freckles on Sara's forearm. She writes her phone number in a book, saying she'll sell it to a random bookstore tomorrow. Jonathan writes his number on a five-dollar bill and she gives it to a street vendor. If destiny means them to be together, the book will find him, and the five-dollar bill will find her. Several years later--in New York--Jonathan is about to marry Hally (Bridget Moynahan). On the West Coast, Lars (John Corbett) proposes to Sara. Both Jonathan and Sara remember their delightful night. Jonathan sets out with friend Dean (Jeremy Piven) to find the book. Sara, with her friend Eve (Molly Shannon), flies to New York looking for Jonathan. Crisp direction from Peter Chelsom, a witty script by Marc Klein, and beautiful performances by John Cusak and Kate Beckinsale, make SERENDIPITY a delightful romantic comedy. [More]

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, John Corbett, Eugene Levy

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, John Corbett, Eugene Levy, Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon, Bridget Moynahan

Director: Peter Chelsom

Director: Peter Chelsom
Screenwriter: Marc Klein
Producer: Simon Fields, Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: Miramax Films

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Reviews for Serendipity

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101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Might just be the perfect date movie.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
10/05/01
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

Enjoyable and often hilarious cat-and- mouse game with the fates.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/05/01
Max Messier
Max Messier
Filmcritic.com

Its characters act as if they're slogging through an 85-minute screen exercise, not engaging in anything remotely resembling real life.

Full Review Source: Fresno Bee | comment Comment
10/05/01
Donald Munro
Donald Munro
Fresno Bee

Serendipity plays with the fantasy of fate and destiny and romantic kismet with all the lightness and frivolity of a championship chess match.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
10/05/01
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

A lot of fun.

Full Review Source: Norman Transcript | comment Comment
10/05/01
Jim Chastain
Jim Chastain
Norman Transcript

Defying logic and reason, Serendipity captures our hearts and makes us goners. Sounds like true love to me.

Full Review Source: Jeff Huston's Believe Me | comment Comment
10/05/01
Jeffrey Huston
Jeffrey Huston
Jeff Huston's Believe Me

The fluffy Serendipity may nauseate but its naivete is more than compensated by its snowy backdrops and slew of hysterical supporting players.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
10/05/01
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

The most delightful date movie around right now.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
10/05/01
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
San Francisco Examiner

The movie forces these two together without ever explaining why they should be together -- except that their faces are on the movie poster.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
10/05/01
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

It's certainly better than all the bad romantic comedies we've had recently.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/05/01
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

While this romantic confection is about as substantial as the frozen hot cocoa they serve at the titular Upper East Side restaurant, it's appealing cast and snowbound, fairy-tale NYC locations make it go down easy.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
10/05/01
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz

Serendipity has no business working, but it does.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
10/05/01
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly

A blithe and unapologetic fairy tale about affairs of the heart, it's a spun-sugar confection that's so light and airy it threatens to simply float away.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
10/05/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Serendipity makes the same mistake The Mexican did earlier this year -- it signs up a great star couple, then spends most of its time keeping them apart.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
10/05/01
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

Worth a chance.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
10/05/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A perfectly timed tribute to its setting.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
10/05/01
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Serendipity elevates magic realism into the realm of three-card monte.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/05/01
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Serendipity asks us to believe that Fate's will is influenced by old movies and a few seasons' worth of Mad About You. Don't the gods have better things to do? Or at least have more cable channels than mere mortals?

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
10/05/01
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If you can believe Serendipity's cockeyed conceit, you may find that discovering this escapist love story feels like a lucky accident.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
10/04/01
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Contrived and schematic, Peter Chelsom's film is a mechanical bird that never takes wing.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
10/04/01
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
 
101 - 120 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
all

Latest News for Serendipity

April 18, 2007: Kate Beckinsale as "Barbarella"?
This word arrives by way of a British gossip column, so you know what to do with it, but here's the dirt: Kate Beckinsale is apparently being considered for the lead role in... More...

June 30, 2005: A Quartet of Performers Sign Up for Pang's Next Horror
Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter comes some casting news on an upcoming and as-yet-untitled horror movie from Oxide & Danny Pang. The Columbia Pictures project now has... More...

June 05, 2001: Director Peter Chelsom has not had particularly good luck of late, at least not yet at the American box office. Opens in new window
More...

June 05, 2001: What's the big deal? The romantic comedy prince and the Pearl Harbor princess test fate in the Big Apple. Opens in new window
More...

See All

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