Review of Serendipity (2001) by Staceyg. — 03 Sep 2006

Imagine trying to bake a perfect cake with layers of chocolate and vanilla. But the cake will be nothing more than a forgettable, fattening dessert unless it is cooked at the exact set temperature. Even with old ingredients, 'Serendipity' was cooked perfectly.

It comes out of the oven with the candles already on it, and they're lit, too. 'Serendipity' is a movie with so much heart and bold honesty that you just might like it. Romantic comedies are not meant to be good or memorable beyond a few sparked daydreams, but once Cusack and Beckinsale click in front of the camera they click on screen, and when snow falls and lips lock everything else falls into place.

It's as if the film were a tapestry of events and characters that was meant to be viewed right when you thought a romantic comedy could never be a total success, just to prove you wrong. Beckinsale and Cusack Are Jonathan and Sarah, two people who fall in love by doing nothing more peculiar than visiting a department store.

They are not the perfect people romantic comedies often portray the 'featured' couple to be. Jonathan and Sarah are just a nice pair trying to make sense of a life changing night. The characters never seem as if actors play them.

They seem to be as caught up in their romance as we are. Jeremy Piven plays a better 'sidekick' to Cusack than even Vince Vaughn did to Owen Wilson in "Wedding Crashers." The script is so refreshing that when it's funny you forget it has a romantic base and when it is romantic you forget it is meant to be funny, as well.

The romance is like the center of a flower while the comedy-centered moments are pretty pedals. Everything in the film seems proud and charming. When 'Serendipity' ends and you realize (and admit) it found a way to hide your logical views on love for a few hours, you will ponder just how the movie managed so much charm.

Is it the directing, the writing, the acting, the soundtrack? Not really. It's in how they mix. It's how when the movie has the perfect actors it also knows when to have them say a perfect line at a perfect moment while the perfect music plays off camera.

'Serendipity' might have its flaws and it will never be more than a romantic comedy, but it's a really good one and everyone involved with the project seems to know that. It's like the charming little novel that is always eager to be taken off the shelf and read.