Serendipity

Year: 2001
Genre: Romantic comedy
Director: Peter Chelsom


Plot: Two people who fall in love and separate on the same night attempt to find each other years later using clues they left behind.


The gist: Serendipity is defined as a fortunate accident or a pleasant surprise, as well as the name of the cafe where John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale's characters have coffee with each other after they meet. Although already attached to other people, they like each other a lot, so they leave their respective numbers on a dollar and a used book, and vow to find each other again if they rediscover the items someday.

Of course, being a romcom, the ending is already a foregone conclusion, but the fun is in getting there. Peter Chelsom keeps things moving briskly and inserts a lot of funny situations that are not over the top, and it works. It also helps a lot that his two leads are really charming and work well together, despite only sharing scenes at the beginning and end of the film.


The good: Cusack and Beckinsale are the perfect choices for the leads. Jeremy Piven shines as Cusack's best friend while Eugene Levy is pretty funny as the salesman who helps Cusack in getting information that he needs. The music is also to die for, my favorites being numbers from Annie Lennox and Evan & Jaron.

The bad: Predictability, obviously. Being a romcom, a lot of the stuff that happens is way too convenient. And why would they be attached to other people to be married if they're still pining for each other? I don't get that. 


Verdict: I'm not a fan of romantic comedies, but I like this charming little film. (3.5/5)