Peter Chelsom
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Mildly reminiscent of "Sleepless in Seattle" as it involves various bi-coastal "near misses" - where the two would-be lovers just miss running into each other (one could call this something like "Mobile in Manhattan") - the film is a charming and fluffy little exercise in romance and comedy that thankfully at least partially breaks the mold of the stereotypical romantic comedy.
Yes, Serendipity is one of those "soul mate" movies like Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember.
The will-they-ever-meet concept behind "Serendipity" may not be all that original, but this picture isn't a "Sleepless In Seattle"-style sickeningly saccharine confection.
Basically, it’s Sleepless In Seattle all over again, with the film striving desperately to keep its two leads apart until the end, so you get lots of those ‘she arrives in a taxi just as he leaves’-type scenes.
Like an East Coast variation of Sleepless in Seattle, Serendipity is a movie romance in which the lovers spend most of their screen time apart.
This is the characteristic that most annoyed me about Next Stop, Wonderland and, to a lesser degree, bothered me about both Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail.
Then again, you could go out and rent Woody Allen's "Manhattan," and do much, much better.
One wouldn't necessarily put Peter Chelson's saccharine-coated flick "Serendipity" in the same company as the classic romantic romps of yesteryear (such as "Pillow Talk") or even in the category of contemporary ditties like "Manhattan", "Sleepless In Seattle", or "You Got Mail" for that matter.
Brazil (1985)
Directed by Terry Gilliam
influenced Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Visuals
This all feels like an homage to Gilliam’s “Brazil,” though “Zero Theorem” also has shadows of “12 Monkeys” and other films in the onetime Monty Python animator’s cinematic carnival.
There's a subtle magic to everything, reminiscent of Chelsom's own "Treacle" and "Hear My Song," and the Scottish fantasies of Bill Forsyth ("Gregory's Girl," "Comfort and Joy" and "Local Hero").
One wouldn't necessarily put Peter Chelson's saccharine-coated flick "Serendipity" in the same company as the classic romantic romps of yesteryear (such as "Pillow Talk") or even in the category of contemporary ditties like "Manhattan", "Sleepless In Seattle", or "You Got Mail" for that matter.
Unless you are a big Richard Gere fan, Shall We Dance is only moderately entertaining.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Directed by Ben Stiller
influenced Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)
Visuals Themes Plot
It's almost doubly disappointing that Chelsom ditches Skarsgård to cut to a snowy Sherpa hike sequence, which is practically shot-for-shot the same as the one in Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, another film about an uptight white man who searches for his soul in Asia.
The tone of the adventure is a little like last year’s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, except more dry and British.
As adapted for cinema by the British writer-director Peter Chelsom (Hear My Song) it resembles Ben Stiller's recent misbegotten version of The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, except much worse.
Hector and the Search for Happiness is part fable, part self-help manual with echoes of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty , but like that film, there's a considerable gap between its deeply profound objective and the soft handling.
Then there are all those marvelous Irish faces; it's enough to remind you of John Ford's classic "The Quiet Man." Come to think of it, Ford would have loved "Hear My Song."
Just One of the Guys (1985)
Directed by Lisa Gottlieb
influenced Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Plot
SPOILERS AHEAD: The history of cinema is filled with shocking transformations in which a character's alternate identity is revealed to surprised witnesses: Jekyll's reversion to Hyde in any number of horror movies; Jack Lemmon's switch from "Daphne" to Jerry in front of suitor Joe E. Brown in "Some Like It Hot"; even undercover teen "boy" Joyce Hyser baring her breasts in "Just One of the Guys."
Starship Troopers (1997)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven
influenced Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Themes
But in the same way that, say, Paul Verhoeven’s “Starship Troopers” can be viewed either as straightforward action-sci-fi adventure or as a blistering satire on Fascist propaganda, “Hannah Montana: The Movie” lends itself to two completely different interpretations, one of which is as disturbing as it was probably unintentional to the filmmakers.
Playing the lovers' respective best friends, Molly Shannon ("Wet Hot American Summer," "Superstar") thankfully tones down her usual frenetic histrionics, while Jeremy Piven ("The Family Man," "Very Bad Things") is good despite not straying too far from the sort of characters he's played in various previous films.
If I were searching for a lost soul mate, Id want loyal friends like Jeremy Piven ( The Family Man ) and Molly Shannon (Superstar) helping me too.
Now in San Francisco, Sara's fiance is New Age Nordic flutist Lars (John Corbett, HBO's "Sex and the City"), yet she also has misgivings met with disgust by her best friend Eve (Molly Shannon, "Superstar").
In this case, Jonathan's journalist sidekick Dean (Cusack's "Grosse Pointe Blank" co-star and real life fellow Chicagoan buddy Jeremy Piven) and Sara's spacey shopkeeper Eve (Molly Shannon, "Superstar") both accompany their adventurous pals in an effort to partake in the romantic reunion.
The characters may be different, but we've seen the formula before in such films as "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002) and "Hope Floats" (1998).
SPOILERS AHEAD: The history of cinema is filled with shocking transformations in which a character's alternate identity is revealed to surprised witnesses: Jekyll's reversion to Hyde in any number of horror movies; Jack Lemmon's switch from "Daphne" to Jerry in front of suitor Joe E. Brown in "Some Like It Hot"; even undercover teen "boy" Joyce Hyser baring her breasts in "Just One of the Guys."
There isn't a weak link among the voice talent, but Will Arnett's (2016's " Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ") committed, gravel-toned performance is a comedic revelation, proving even the most broad of roles can be three-dimensional.The revelation that Batman and Robin share a love of the magical 2001 John Cusack-Kate Beckinsale romantic comedy " Serendipity " is single-handedly all the evidence one needs to realize "The LEGO Batman Movie" is worthy of one's rapturous admiration.
What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: I haven’t been this unconvinced by a ridiculous secret-identity plot since Hannah Montana: The Movie .
Yes, Serendipity is one of those "soul mate" movies like Sleepless in Seattle and An Affair to Remember.
Soon her chocolates have sparked the love life of a middle aged couple, started a senior romance between dog lover Guillaume (John Wood, "An Ideal Husband") and war widow Madame Audel (Leslie Caron, "Funny Bones"), engaged timid battered wife Josephine (Lena Olin, "Mystery Men") and secretly reunited Armande and Luc.
This manifests in the first of several mesmerizing sequences of shirtless dance (this one to "Slap That Bass," from the Fred Astaire movie Shall We Dance ), in which Phoenix's sinewy body contorts in twisted rapture.
He is up late at night while his mother sleeps, watching a classic movie on television, “Shall We Dance,” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
It pulls heavily from The King of Comedy in its narrative and from Taxi Driver (1976) for its protagonist’s modus operandi, and it seeks out a lineage not of other superhero movies, but of the great works of cinema: Fleck watches the Fred Astaire vehicle Shall We Dance (1937) on TV and Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) in a cinema, and the marquee of a theater showing Blow Out is featured prominently.
Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
Directed by Christopher Erskin
influenced Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
As love interest Travis, Lucas Till (2005's " Walk the Line ") was clearly cast for his looks over his thespian prowess, while Vanessa Williams (2004's "Johnson Family Vacation") brings a layer of dignity to her thankless role as Miley's dedicated publicist Vita.
American Satan (2017)
Directed by Ash Avildsen
influenced by Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)
Themes
Dozens of films have done a better job of making me feel empathy for someone in the position of ill-gotten, unenjoyable success, including 2009’s forgotten gem Hannah Montana: The Movie.