Lloyd Dobler Grows Up In Serendipity

This review is dedicated to the biggest Lloyd Dobler fan I know, Odellburgess.

Preamble
I've been waiting patiently all year to see this. First, they teased us with previews during the springtime. Then they promised to have it out August 24. Over a month from the original release date, I was able to catch a sneak preview of the one movie I waited all year to see.

The Bottom Line
Ladies and gentlemen...Lloyd Dobler is back and better than ever.

The good news....that annoying Ione Skye isn't in this flick. Instead, the lovely and gorgeous Kate Beckinsale graces us with her presence.

Who should see this:
* Romantics
* Fans of Say Anything
* Fans of John Cusack
* Fans of Kate Beckinsale
* Fans of Sleepless in Seattle.
* Women

Alright, now that I'm done stereotyping the target audience, let's move on to the more pertinent details.

The Story
Boy (John Cusack) and girl (Kate Beckinsale) meet in Bloomingdale's, five days before Christmas. Both reach for the same pair of black cashmere gloves. He wants to buy them for his girlfriend. She wants them for her boyfriend.

Boy lets girl purchase the gloves. As a thank you, girl treats boy to some sort of weird drink at a place called "Serendipity".

While sipping frozen hot chocolates and talking about various things, girl mentions that she was attracted to this tiny restaurant shop because of its name. It means making fortunate discoveries accidentally. Girl believes that every thing happens for a reason. It's fate. It's meant to be.

Boy stares passionately into girl's eyes and mentions that all of this is fate, even though both already have significant others.

Girl, second-guessing his statement, leaves without telling him her name. Both leave Serendipity separately only to come back moments later to gather the items that they accidentally left behind. Girl thinks that the boy may be on to something so the night continues.

At the end of the night, girl thinks that this is indeed fate. As she hands her name and phone number to boy, a passing truck blows the paper out of her hand and out of sight. Taking this as a sign, girl starts backpedaling on boy.

Girl finally decides that if this was truly meant to be, then it will happen. Boy writes his name and phone number on a five-dollar bill. Girl circulates it and tells him that if she stumbles upon it, she will look him up and it was meant to be.

Boy compels girl to do the same thing. She writes her name and number in a book and vows to sell it to a used bookstore. If boy finds it, he should call her.

Boy and girl part ways.

Flash forward ten years later. Boy is three days away from marrying some other girl (Bridget Moynahan). Suddenly, coincidences start occurring that make him think of girl.

Unable to get her out of his mind, boy enlists the aid of his best friend (Jeremy Piven) to assist him in finding his destiny.

Does he find her?
Does he marry girl 1 or girl 2?

Ah! See the movie to find out.

Analyze Me Baby
Alright, the story line is pretty predictable however the way in which the characters execute the plot isn't.

Kate Beckinsale, who I predicted would be more than just a one woman hit, completely charms your socks off. Hell, I was in love with her myself!

John Cusack - well - I would marry him if I could. While he struggled quite a bit in his character in America's Sweetheart, playing Jonathan felt 100% right. No one else could have played this role but John.

The scene-stealer was Eugene Levy. He makes a couple of appearances as a salesman at Bloomingdale's. The interaction between him and Jeremy Piven and John Cusack has all of the makings of a future cop/buddy movie. I'd pay to see these three together in anything.

The show stealer was long time John Cusack friend, Jeremy Piven. He was a chump in Say Anything as the Gas-n-Sip Boy, Mark. Here, he was utterly charming and adorable. I would also marry him. He's a man's man.

Molly Shannon played the lesbian girl friend of Kate Beckinsale. While I understand that not every one can be charming and likable, I was so hoping that Molly could have done something less annoying with the character. Fortunately, she didn't go totally, the fingernails on the chalkboard route, but it was touch and go there for a while.

Let's talk a moment about the writing.

As I said before, the plot was pretty predictable. The script however, was not. The dialog given to the characters was outstanding - heartfelt, witty, and personable. Sometimes in movies, you have difficulty warming up to people and caring about them. Not here. From the very first moment, I felt like I knew all of them my entire life.

I even understood what Kate Beckinsale's character's motivation was. This should scare you.

And last but not least, props to Peter Chelsom for his directing effort. The pacing was appropriate and the scenes believable (considering the material). This is a far cry from the stink bomb he previously directed, Town and Country.

Side Notes
I have to tell you that seeing New York and its skyline at first, creeped me out. But then, it gave me comfort. I don't know what happened but some sort of peacefulness knowing that if I ever needed to see the skyline again, I could and there it was in the movie.

You know I'm very attracted to soundtracks for movies I like. This soundtrack doesn't come out until Tuesday, October 2. I'm not sure if I'll purchase it because there were really no tracks that stood out in my mind.

The End
Entertainment is a great way to escape reality. With all of the crap going on and all of the heartache we feel, every one deserves an hour and half escape from it. When this movie opens up in wide release on October 5, I urge you to go. Grab a bucket of buttered popcorn and your big gulp of diet Coke and just sit and be. I'm certain some of that numbness you've been feeling will at least melt away for this period of time.