Might just be the perfect date movie.
Serendipity (2001)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Serendipity
Its characters act as if they're slogging through an 85-minute screen exercise, not engaging in anything remotely resembling real life.
Serendipity plays with the fantasy of fate and destiny and romantic kismet with all the lightness and frivolity of a championship chess match.
Defying logic and reason, Serendipity captures our hearts and makes us goners. Sounds like true love to me.
The fluffy Serendipity may nauseate but its naivete is more than compensated by its snowy backdrops and slew of hysterical supporting players.
The movie forces these two together without ever explaining why they should be together -- except that their faces are on the movie poster.
It's certainly better than all the bad romantic comedies we've had recently.
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.
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.
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.
Serendipity elevates magic realism into the realm of three-card monte.
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?
If you can believe Serendipity's cockeyed conceit, you may find that discovering this escapist love story feels like a lucky accident.
Contrived and schematic, Peter Chelsom's film is a mechanical bird that never takes wing.
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. ![]()
More...
June 05, 2001:
What's the big deal? The romantic comedy prince and the Pearl Harbor princess test fate in the Big Apple. ![]()
More...
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