A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Serendipity

Date Viewed: 10/14/01

Details:

John Cusack

Kate Beckinsale

Jeremy Piven

Molly Shannon

John Corbett

Director: Peter Chelsom

Score: 1/2

The Review: More light fluff, a romantic comedy of errors. Jonathon (Cusack) accidentally meets Sara (Beckinsale) during a pre-Christmas rush, and after a bit of sparring they hit it off well. The gimmick? She is reluctant to commit, so she wrests control of the situation and suggests they trade phone numbers in a very bizarre and stochastic manner. He writes his phone number on a $5 bill which she immediately uses to buy candy (putting it into circulation without looking at it), and she promises to write her phone number on the flyleaf of a novel which she gives away to a used book store the next day. The idea is: when she gets back the marked bill, or he finds the annotated copy of the book, they can pick up their relationship where they left off. Right. Well, that accounts for the title. The path of love seldom being straight and uncluttered, in the intervening years, they form other romantic alliances. Things come to a head when he is about to get married, to someone else (of course). Coincidences and quirks of fate abound, as with any archetypal Shakespearean comedy.

There's no specific negative reason to deduct a fraction, other than it wasn't quite as good as other +'s. Corbett is fun as Sara's self-absorbed, Yanni-like, boyfriend.

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