Product Description

Irresistible stars John Cusack (AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS, HIGH FIDELITY) and Kate Beckinsale (PEARL HARBOR, BROKEDOWN PALACE) are drawn together and take a chance on love in this critically acclaimed romantic comedy! In the course of one magical evening, Jonathan (Cusack) and Sara (Beckinsale) meet unexpectedly ... then part without expectation when she decides they must let fate determine if they are meant to be together. Years later, they are both engaged to others but cannot give up the dream that -- despite time, distance, and the obstacles that conspire to keep them apart -- they will one day meet again. Also starring Jeremy Piven (THE FAMILY MAN, VERY BAD THINGS) and Molly Shannon (SUPERSTAR, NEVER BEEN KISSED) in a stellar supporting cast -- you're destined to agree with audiences everywhere who fell for the surprising charms of this delightful big-screen romance!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1068 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2002-04-09
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.com
The irresistible casting of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale highlights this predictable romantic comedy, which combines the romantic yearning of An Affair to Remember and the New York charm of You've Got Mail. It all begins "a few years ago," when New Yorker Jonathan (Cusack) meets Brit beauty Sara (Beckinsale). They share a few perfect hours together before parting ways, leaving future encounters to her quirky obsession with fate. "A few years later," they're about to marry their respective fiancés (reluctantly, of course), and urgently hoping for destiny to bring them back together. Under the casual direction of Peter Chelsom (barely recovering from Town & Country), this starry-eyed romance offers no surprises, but it has a comforting familiarity, made warmer by the easy chemistry of the leads, with obligatory best-friend support by Molly Shannon and long-time Cusack pal Jeremy Piven. It's hokey, but die-hard romantics are sure to be forgiving. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Two consenting New York adults meet at Bloomingdale's during the Christmas season. He (John Cusack) takes Her (Kate Beckinsale) to Wollman Rink and proceeds to draw on her forearm with a pen, connecting her freckles to form the constellation Cassiopeia. She, wisely, proposes that they let fate decide whether or not they should be together. Cusack does his familiar woe-is-me loverboy shtick, and Beckinsale is full of charm and crispy vowels, but the real sparks are in the supporting performances, especially that of John Corbett as a musician boyfriend who's an unholy union of Kenny G and Yanni. -Michael Agger
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Feel Good Romantic Comedy Just Perfect In Most Every Way
Put the depressing world news aside for a bit, and relish this delightful romantic comedy. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale shine as Jonathan and Sara, two people brought together while fighting over the last pair of black cashmere gloves at Bloomingdale's a few days before Christmas. This leads to a falling-in-love conversation at a coffee shop, ice skating amidst the Christmas decorations of New York, and finally a parting where she won't reveal her name because she believes in fate. Now, if you can accept that a girl can fall totally in love and decide not to share her name and number but choose to leave it all up to fate to bring them back together, you will love this movie. And I did! A name on a five-dollar bill and another name in a book called "Love in the Time of Cholera" are pivotal to the plot as Jonathan and his best friend race to find one, while Sara and her best friend stumble onto the other. But this is all several years later when both are about to marry other people. Will the two would-be lovers find each other in time? Will there be a happy-ever-after ending? Suffice it to say, you will see the glove counter at Bloomingdale's one more time.

John Cusack is adorable as always in this ultimate chick flick, and Kate Beckinsale excels as the slightly off-beat girl he can't forget. But it is Jeremy Piven as his best friend and Eugene Levy as the Bloomingdale's clerk who have some scene-stealing moments.

Treat yourself to this totally romantic escape into a world where all is well and your fondest dreams can come true.

A Bit of Romance and Magic
Magic happens, if you let it; and sometimes even fate or destiny-- or whatever you want to call it-- steps in to lend a hand. But when it concerns love, and finding that special person you're going to spend the rest of your life with, should you risk tempting fate with a test of that love or what is seemingly meant to be, or should you just follow your apparent destiny and embrace it? Such are the questions two people must face and answer in the romantic comedy/drama "Serendipity," directed by Peter Chelsom. Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) is shopping for a gift for his girlfriend, and Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) is looking for something for her boyfriend when they reach for the same pair of gloves on a rack at Bloomingdales. And the wheels of fate are quickly turning. Or are they? Jonathan and Sara proceed to spend the next few hours together, including a romantic interlude skating in New York's Central Park, and there are definite sparks flying between them. For Jonathan, it's a significant emotional experience, and he realizes something has happened, that something has changed in his life; Sara feels the same, but being a true believer in destiny, she needs a sign that this is meant to be before she'll consider pursuing whatever it is that's just happened between them. So she puts it to the test. And for Jonathan, knowing only that her name is Sara, it's the beginning of an odyssey-- a quest-- to find true love with the woman he already knows in his heart of hearts that he wants to share his life with. For Sara, it's the beginning of a search for love, and for that one special person she knows is destined to be her soul mate forever. They both find, however, that the path to pure love is filled with every obstacle the known universe could possibly place in their way. And is the journey worth it? Well, in the end, it all comes down to what fate has predetermined. Or does it?

In the tradition of such films as "Sleepless In Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," Chelsom has fashioned a truly romantic tale of two people who are absolutely destined to be together, no matter what. And-- as the audience knows early on-- nothing less will be acceptable. Hanks and Ryan may be missing, but the charismatic Cusack and the beguiling Beckinsale more than make up for it, carving out their own niche in the genre with this outing, and Chelsom has just enough of that Nora Ephron touch (including the use of music, matching the perfect song with every situation) to make it work. The chances of things ever happening in real life the way they do in this movie are about twice as remote as winning the lottery, but who cares? This is a heartwarming fable about love-- about the way we "want" love to be-- and it's delivered with an endearing care that makes it emotionally involving, entertaining and a thoroughly satisfying experience. And there's not a whole lot more you can ask of a movie, I think.

Cusack is so likable, and manages to convey the bedevilment of his situation with such facility, that the viewer is unequivocally drawn in from the beginning. You want things to work out for this guy-- and Sara, as well; and, of course, you're pretty confident from the outset they are going to. But along the way they make you feel something; they enable you to share the frustration as well as the elation that comes with discovering love, and perhaps finding that better part of yourself at the same time. And the fact that Cusack makes Jonathan so believable, and someone with whom you can identify, has more than a lot to do with it. It's a quality performance from an actor with the flexibility and range to do just about anything, and who never disappoints.

The other half of the equation for success, of course, belongs to Beckinsale, who is not only beautiful, but a good actor who infuses her character with a touch of mystery and complexity that makes her winsome and interesting. Like Cusack's Jonathan, Sara is someone you can root for; you want to see her get what she wants and what she deserves. This isn't a perfect world we live in, and we all know it; but for Sara and Jonathan you want it to be. There's a chemistry between the two of them, and they make it so easy for you to project your own feelings and desires into their situation, that there's no getting around it. If they win, you win. It's that simple. And even though they take you over some rough spots along the way, it's a fun trip and Beckinsale and Cusack-- Sara and Jonathan-- make it a journey worth taking.

The supporting cast includes Molly Shannon, Jeremy Piven, Bridget Moynahan and Eugene Levy (who is terrific-- and hilarious-- as a sales clerk at Bloomingdales). A handsome film that touches all the right nerves and pushes all the right buttons, "Serendipity" has a gentle sensibility about it that addresses the notions of romance and love that reside within us all. And it's refreshingly presented in a way that is pure and inoffensive; and as such it allows you to open up and embrace something of value without having to apologize for it, and without implying you have to be "hip" to appreciate it. Because it's all about love and sharing love, which is something we can all use a little more of in this world we live in today. And that's the magic of the movies.

Serendipity
I am not sure how much I believe in serendipity - good fortune discovered by accident also known as fate, but this movie could make a believer out of me. John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale are wonderful together as soul mates that overcome every obstacle to be together! They are successful because it was meant to be. If you can't suspend reality, and just go with the flow, then this movie probably isn't for you. It is meant for those that can have faith.