Title: "Serendipity"
Director: Peter Chelsom
Producer: S. Fields, P. Abrams, and R. L. Levy
Editing: Christopher Greenbury
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Starring:
- John Cusack as Jonathan Trager
- Kate Beckinsale as Sara Thomas
- Molly Shannon as Eve
- Bridget Moynahan as Halley Buchanan
- Jeremy Piven as Dean Kansky
Plot and Critical Review: At the height of the Christmas shopping season in New York City, Jonathan Trager meets Sara Thomas as they both try to buy the same pair of gloves at Bloomingdale's. They feel a mutual attraction and, despite the fact that each of them is involved in other relationships, they end up eating ice cream at Serendipity 3 together. They finish their ice cream, exchange goodbyes, and part ways. Both realize, however, that they have left something at the ice cream bar and return only to find each other again.
Considering this to be a stroke of fate, they decide to go out on the town together, and end up in Central Park. At the end of the night, the two are forced to decide what the next step will be. Jonathan suggests an exchange of phone numbers, but Sara balks and proposes an idea that will allow fate to take control of their future. She asks Jonathan to write his name and phone number on a $5 bill, while she writes her name and number on the inside cover of a used copy of Love in the Time of Cholera. If they are meant to be together, she tells him, he will find the book and she will find the $5 bill. They each take a single glove from the pair they purchased.
Seven years later, Jonathan is at an engagement party with his fiancé Halley Buchanan. On the same day, Sara comes home to her house to find Lars Hammond, a famous new age musician, proposing to her. As their wedding dates approach, both Sara and Jonathan find themselves with cold feet and decide to return to New York in an attempt to find each other.
Jonathan uses a practical approach; he and his best friend Dean return to Bloomingdales in an attempt to find her name using an account number on the original sales receipt for the gloves. They meet a salesman who tells them he no longer has the account information at the store, but agrees to take them to a storage facility to retrieve an original document. However, Dean smudges her last name, leaving them only an address. They venture to the address where they meet a painter Mr. Mignon, who has very little recollection of Sara. However, he does recall that she lived there for a short time after being referred by a placement company, which he identifies as being located in a shop next to Serendipity 3. Jonathan and Dean follow the lead to find that the agency has moved and its former location is now a bridal shop. Jonathan takes this as a sign that he is supposed to stop looking for Sara and marry Halley.
Sara leaves the hunt to fate. She takes her best friend Eve with her to New York, where she visits the locations of her date with Jonathan. At the Waldorf Astoria, Eve bumps into an old friend (Halley) who is there to get married the next day. Halley invites Eve and Sara to the wedding. Neither Eve or Sara are told the groom is Jonathan. Believing they've failed in their search, Sara and Eve console themselves with a coffee at Serendipity. Eve is handed the $5 bill (that Jonathan wrote on seven years ago) as change, but neither notices at the time.
After the dress rehearsal for the wedding, Halley hands Jonathan a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera as a groom's gift. Sure enough, it's the very same copy Sara had written her name and number in. Jonathan immediately sets off to find her. He travels to San Francisco, goes to her home, but sees two people in her house being intimate. He doesn't know the couple are two of Sara's friends who are house sitting for her while she's away in NYC. Heartbroken, he retreats back to New York City.
Sara decides not to go to the wedding, opting to return home. As the plans prepares for takeoff, Sara is asked if she wants a headset. To her surprise, she finds her wallet got exchanged with Eve’s. She pays the flight attendant $5 for the headset, and realizes it's the same $5 bill which Jonathan wrote on seven years earlier. Now that she knows his full name, she gets off the plane to continue the search for Jonathan. His neighbors tell her he’s getting married at the Waldorf. She rushes to the hotel only to see a man cleaning up the ballroom. She is in tears until the janitor tells her the wedding was called off. Sara returns to Central Park where she left her jacket the night before.
In the meantime Jonathan is wandering around Central Park. He finds Sara's jacket and uses it as a pillow as he lies down in the middle of the ice skating rink (now full of in-line skaters). It begins to snow and as the first snowflake drops, a black glove lands on his chest. He turns and sees Sara. They formally introduce themselves to each other for the first time. The film concludes with Sara and Jonathan at Bloomingdales enjoying champagne on their anniversary at the spot where they first met.
The box office was not kind to Peter Chelsom after he ended his career as an actor and took up directing in the early 90s. His first few films included the forgettable "Hear My Song", "Funny Bones", and "Town & Country". It wasn't until he shouldered "Serendipity", a predictable but enjoyable romantic comedy (rom-com), that he got the attention he had been waiting for. His success was secured by the presence of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale; two actors who had never worked together before but had immediate and delightful chemistry on camera. "Serendipity" provided a boost for Beckinsale's career; her next film was the blockbusting "Pearl Harbor". While it doesn't shine too brightly in the firmament of the cinematic universe, "Serendipity" is loved and will surely live on as a standard in the (rom-com) genre.
My Rating: 6/10
Content to Caution:
V-1 - No comment.
L-2.5 - Some abrasive and coarse language.
DU-1 - Some drinking in social settings.
RT-0 - No comment.
H/S-0 - No comment.
CH-2 - No comment.
S/N-1.5 - Some kissing and one scene in which a couple is seen making love from a distance. No nudity.
The "Reel Revelation": "It's Just Fate...Right?
Throughout the course of "Serendipity" there are a series of conversations that revolve around the idea of actions/occurrences being destined to happen. Sara and Jonathan constantly struggle with the feeling that "the universe" is pulling them toward each other through the strange signs and all-too-convenient coincidences that appear before them. I suspect many of us have also experienced what we might call "signs"; occurrences that are too coincidental to be random.
Have you ever heard someone day, "I just know i'm destined to do something great!" Perhaps someone has said to you; "You're destined to go the distance and do great things!" That's an encouraging sentiment, but it leads to a line of thinking that some people struggle with. To suggest that one is "destined" to do something (or anything), for example, is to suggest, at least in part, that they have no control over what they do; that they will end up doing something (or being somewhere or meeting someone or...) at some point in time. This is especially difficult for people who don't want anyone or anything controlling their lives. How do you think they'd feel when someone should suggest that the universe (or God) has planned out every step before them?
In theological vernacular, this argument is called "Free Will vs. Predestination". In short, it's the argument between whether a person has the free will to do as he/she pleases (free will) or if all of his/her actions have been planned out and predestined by the Creator and/or "Universe" (predestination). Within religion, predestination could specifically refer to the choosing or selection of a group of people to receive salvation from God. In secular culture, predestination could take the shape of determinism; the belief that all human action is determined by occurrences and that all events are influenced by prior events and occurrences.
If you're already lost, don't give up quite yet... And don't worry, i'm not going to try and set the record straight in the middle of a film blog. Folks have been fighting over this one for a long time. Still, there's an important message in this argument (call it a debate if "argument" is too aggressive) for the life of the Christian. Let's approach this message by considering these words from Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome:
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
Yes, this is one of the primary verses used by pro-predestination parties, and i'll freely admit that I am on the predestination side of the argument. At the same time, I believe that I have the freedom to do as I please and that God gives me the freedom to behave as I will, unto whatever end. Consider this passage:
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants."(Deuteronomy 30:19)
If all action and inaction is predestined, why would God even mention the option of choosing? (That question is there just to bake your noodle...) More importantly, how does this theological/scholastic/insane argument influence our day-to-day walk as followers of Christ?
Both schools of thought point to one common concept; God is present in every moment and action. Whether He predestined all action or leaves the whole of humanity to act as it will, God is present! In the face of this fact, it really doesn't matter which side you stand on; the Lord of Lords is standing over shoulder right now. He is mindful of everything that you do, think, and feel. Some might fear that knowledge, for then it must be equally true that God sees all of our mistakes and failures alongside our acts of mercy and kindness. He does. But God is merciful, and He does not loom over us like a taskmaster. He is our Father, and He is present to help us. Because He is in every moment, we can turn to Him and ask Him for help.
How many times have we made decisions based on natural impulses, only to discover that our human instincts lead us somewhere we didn't expect to go? For this reason St. Paul admonishes us to "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:14) Unto this end it doesn't matter whether our actions are predestined or if we're left to our own inclinations; we ought to put on Christ and live as He lived.
Let us pray that God will soften our hearts, melt away the dross of pride, and refine us in the fire of His love. Then, as we stand before Him, made clean by the blood of Christ, let us live in each moment aware that God is present to guide us, inspire us, and lead us in the way we should walk.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - If you'd like to go deeper into the Free Will/Predestination argument, visit the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination It's a great jumping off point.
Director: Peter Chelsom
Producer: S. Fields, P. Abrams, and R. L. Levy
Editing: Christopher Greenbury
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Starring:
- John Cusack as Jonathan Trager
- Kate Beckinsale as Sara Thomas
- Molly Shannon as Eve
- Bridget Moynahan as Halley Buchanan
- Jeremy Piven as Dean Kansky
Plot and Critical Review: At the height of the Christmas shopping season in New York City, Jonathan Trager meets Sara Thomas as they both try to buy the same pair of gloves at Bloomingdale's. They feel a mutual attraction and, despite the fact that each of them is involved in other relationships, they end up eating ice cream at Serendipity 3 together. They finish their ice cream, exchange goodbyes, and part ways. Both realize, however, that they have left something at the ice cream bar and return only to find each other again.
Considering this to be a stroke of fate, they decide to go out on the town together, and end up in Central Park. At the end of the night, the two are forced to decide what the next step will be. Jonathan suggests an exchange of phone numbers, but Sara balks and proposes an idea that will allow fate to take control of their future. She asks Jonathan to write his name and phone number on a $5 bill, while she writes her name and number on the inside cover of a used copy of Love in the Time of Cholera. If they are meant to be together, she tells him, he will find the book and she will find the $5 bill. They each take a single glove from the pair they purchased.
Seven years later, Jonathan is at an engagement party with his fiancé Halley Buchanan. On the same day, Sara comes home to her house to find Lars Hammond, a famous new age musician, proposing to her. As their wedding dates approach, both Sara and Jonathan find themselves with cold feet and decide to return to New York in an attempt to find each other.
Jonathan uses a practical approach; he and his best friend Dean return to Bloomingdales in an attempt to find her name using an account number on the original sales receipt for the gloves. They meet a salesman who tells them he no longer has the account information at the store, but agrees to take them to a storage facility to retrieve an original document. However, Dean smudges her last name, leaving them only an address. They venture to the address where they meet a painter Mr. Mignon, who has very little recollection of Sara. However, he does recall that she lived there for a short time after being referred by a placement company, which he identifies as being located in a shop next to Serendipity 3. Jonathan and Dean follow the lead to find that the agency has moved and its former location is now a bridal shop. Jonathan takes this as a sign that he is supposed to stop looking for Sara and marry Halley.
Sara leaves the hunt to fate. She takes her best friend Eve with her to New York, where she visits the locations of her date with Jonathan. At the Waldorf Astoria, Eve bumps into an old friend (Halley) who is there to get married the next day. Halley invites Eve and Sara to the wedding. Neither Eve or Sara are told the groom is Jonathan. Believing they've failed in their search, Sara and Eve console themselves with a coffee at Serendipity. Eve is handed the $5 bill (that Jonathan wrote on seven years ago) as change, but neither notices at the time.
After the dress rehearsal for the wedding, Halley hands Jonathan a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera as a groom's gift. Sure enough, it's the very same copy Sara had written her name and number in. Jonathan immediately sets off to find her. He travels to San Francisco, goes to her home, but sees two people in her house being intimate. He doesn't know the couple are two of Sara's friends who are house sitting for her while she's away in NYC. Heartbroken, he retreats back to New York City.
Sara decides not to go to the wedding, opting to return home. As the plans prepares for takeoff, Sara is asked if she wants a headset. To her surprise, she finds her wallet got exchanged with Eve’s. She pays the flight attendant $5 for the headset, and realizes it's the same $5 bill which Jonathan wrote on seven years earlier. Now that she knows his full name, she gets off the plane to continue the search for Jonathan. His neighbors tell her he’s getting married at the Waldorf. She rushes to the hotel only to see a man cleaning up the ballroom. She is in tears until the janitor tells her the wedding was called off. Sara returns to Central Park where she left her jacket the night before.
In the meantime Jonathan is wandering around Central Park. He finds Sara's jacket and uses it as a pillow as he lies down in the middle of the ice skating rink (now full of in-line skaters). It begins to snow and as the first snowflake drops, a black glove lands on his chest. He turns and sees Sara. They formally introduce themselves to each other for the first time. The film concludes with Sara and Jonathan at Bloomingdales enjoying champagne on their anniversary at the spot where they first met.
The box office was not kind to Peter Chelsom after he ended his career as an actor and took up directing in the early 90s. His first few films included the forgettable "Hear My Song", "Funny Bones", and "Town & Country". It wasn't until he shouldered "Serendipity", a predictable but enjoyable romantic comedy (rom-com), that he got the attention he had been waiting for. His success was secured by the presence of John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale; two actors who had never worked together before but had immediate and delightful chemistry on camera. "Serendipity" provided a boost for Beckinsale's career; her next film was the blockbusting "Pearl Harbor". While it doesn't shine too brightly in the firmament of the cinematic universe, "Serendipity" is loved and will surely live on as a standard in the (rom-com) genre.
My Rating: 6/10
Content to Caution:
V-1 - No comment.
L-2.5 - Some abrasive and coarse language.
DU-1 - Some drinking in social settings.
RT-0 - No comment.
H/S-0 - No comment.
CH-2 - No comment.
S/N-1.5 - Some kissing and one scene in which a couple is seen making love from a distance. No nudity.
The "Reel Revelation": "It's Just Fate...Right?
Throughout the course of "Serendipity" there are a series of conversations that revolve around the idea of actions/occurrences being destined to happen. Sara and Jonathan constantly struggle with the feeling that "the universe" is pulling them toward each other through the strange signs and all-too-convenient coincidences that appear before them. I suspect many of us have also experienced what we might call "signs"; occurrences that are too coincidental to be random.
Have you ever heard someone day, "I just know i'm destined to do something great!" Perhaps someone has said to you; "You're destined to go the distance and do great things!" That's an encouraging sentiment, but it leads to a line of thinking that some people struggle with. To suggest that one is "destined" to do something (or anything), for example, is to suggest, at least in part, that they have no control over what they do; that they will end up doing something (or being somewhere or meeting someone or...) at some point in time. This is especially difficult for people who don't want anyone or anything controlling their lives. How do you think they'd feel when someone should suggest that the universe (or God) has planned out every step before them?
In theological vernacular, this argument is called "Free Will vs. Predestination". In short, it's the argument between whether a person has the free will to do as he/she pleases (free will) or if all of his/her actions have been planned out and predestined by the Creator and/or "Universe" (predestination). Within religion, predestination could specifically refer to the choosing or selection of a group of people to receive salvation from God. In secular culture, predestination could take the shape of determinism; the belief that all human action is determined by occurrences and that all events are influenced by prior events and occurrences.
If you're already lost, don't give up quite yet... And don't worry, i'm not going to try and set the record straight in the middle of a film blog. Folks have been fighting over this one for a long time. Still, there's an important message in this argument (call it a debate if "argument" is too aggressive) for the life of the Christian. Let's approach this message by considering these words from Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome:
"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
Yes, this is one of the primary verses used by pro-predestination parties, and i'll freely admit that I am on the predestination side of the argument. At the same time, I believe that I have the freedom to do as I please and that God gives me the freedom to behave as I will, unto whatever end. Consider this passage:
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants."(Deuteronomy 30:19)
If all action and inaction is predestined, why would God even mention the option of choosing? (That question is there just to bake your noodle...) More importantly, how does this theological/scholastic/insane argument influence our day-to-day walk as followers of Christ?
Both schools of thought point to one common concept; God is present in every moment and action. Whether He predestined all action or leaves the whole of humanity to act as it will, God is present! In the face of this fact, it really doesn't matter which side you stand on; the Lord of Lords is standing over shoulder right now. He is mindful of everything that you do, think, and feel. Some might fear that knowledge, for then it must be equally true that God sees all of our mistakes and failures alongside our acts of mercy and kindness. He does. But God is merciful, and He does not loom over us like a taskmaster. He is our Father, and He is present to help us. Because He is in every moment, we can turn to Him and ask Him for help.
How many times have we made decisions based on natural impulses, only to discover that our human instincts lead us somewhere we didn't expect to go? For this reason St. Paul admonishes us to "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:14) Unto this end it doesn't matter whether our actions are predestined or if we're left to our own inclinations; we ought to put on Christ and live as He lived.
Let us pray that God will soften our hearts, melt away the dross of pride, and refine us in the fire of His love. Then, as we stand before Him, made clean by the blood of Christ, let us live in each moment aware that God is present to guide us, inspire us, and lead us in the way we should walk.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
P.S. - If you'd like to go deeper into the Free Will/Predestination argument, visit the wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination It's a great jumping off point.
To quote "Flash Forward", I think the answer is something along the lines of "It's not fate or free-will, it's fate and free-will" (fate of course meaning predestination, in my context, not karma). I've had too many moments in my life that simply cannot be explained other than Divine appointments, and yet I know that God also gives me the option of choosing my own path. It's all a very complicated subject. Great post, you're making us think, as usual!
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