The romantic comedy banks on audiences forgiving its plot a series of illogical misadventures in love and actually expecting wildly coincidental occurrences. Serendipity is your forumlaic story of guy meets girl in a lucky happenstance, they bond over a series of dates where they each have some of the most memorable experiences of their lives. And yet, due to an impossibly ridiculous quirk, the girl insists that they should leave their future together to chance, tying the odds of seeing one another to two entirely arbitrary and statistically impossible events. You could argue that would make the reunion more touching when it happens later on, but the entire affair feels like an inevitability with all of the obstacles just a formality we all know will work themselves out so “true love” can shine through. In spite of that, Serendipity is still rather entertaining and one of Cusack’s more entertaining films of the new millennium.
The few dates Jonathan (Cusack) and Sara (Kate Beckinsale) had after a chance meeting in a department store left a lasting impression on both them. So much so, that years later, neither of them is convinced that their new significant others are truly the ones for them. With Jonathan’s marriage just a few days away, he begins thinking of those magical nights with Sara with increasing frequency, until a sign convinces him that she’s still out there.
The belief in loved destined by faith is a popular one, and even moreso amongst fans of the romantic comedy audience. From a critical point of view, it’s the aspect of the romantic comedy genre that’s all but impossible to look at objectively, because in so doing romance becomes the equivalent of fantasy. A love hinging upon the statistically improbable (almost impossible) scenarios of one person coming across the same five dollar bill twice or a man tracking down a specific copy of a mass-produced popular piece of literature require a suspension of disbelief when taken by themselves, but when paired together there’s no way to rationally examine the film as anything other than a fantastically exaggerated expression of a sentimental notion.
You have to want to believe, and that’s fine, but such devotion to a belief in order to enjoy a 90-minute piece of entertainment might be more effort than most want to put into watching an otherwise harmless film. Yes, the belief in that serendipitous set of circumstances is the whole point of the film, but the few believable scenarios where fate played within the realm of sense are drowned out by the two biggest embellishments of the notion, which are then made even more absurdly impractical in how they occur. Again, it’s harmless fun, but if you think too hard (or at all) about the premise, then it all falls to pieces.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
For a direct port from the DVD release, it’s nice to see they bothered to include the extras, a step often overlooked. An audio commentary and production diary with Director Chelsom, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and some deleted scenes round out the disc.
"Serendipity" is on sale January 3, 2012 and is rated PG13. Comedy, Romance. Directed by Peter Chelsom. Written by Marc Klein. Starring Bridget Moynahan, Jeremy Piven, John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale.
