The plot premise, in a particularly streamlined nutshell: In holiday-season Manhattan, Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) and Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) meet cute and, although they both have Significant Others, they end up spending a charming and romantic evening on the town (including coffee and dessert at the aptly-named Serendipity III restaurant). Despite their obvious chemistry, Sara insists on leaving their future up to fate (she turns out to be a therapist, so you'd think she'd know better, but more on that momentarily), whereupon they get separated in the Waldorf=Astoria. Years later, Sara and Jon are both engaged to other people, but can't stop thinking about one another, so they each take a last stab at finding each other again before their respective nuptials. Knowing what a big John Cusack fan I am, a friend of mine recommended I rent SERENDIPITY. Between a parade of people phoning us and our own busy schedules, however, I had almost as much trouble getting to finally sit down and watch the DVD from start to finish as Jon and Sara did trying to get back together in the film itself! But it was worth the effort: even though I was growling at Sara under my breath for being so stupid as to leave their budding romance up to fate instead of running off with Jon when she had the chance (and was Sara so new to NYC that it never occurred to her that other people might take Jon's elevator in the Waldorf=Astoria during their decisive elevator race? Do fate and common sense have to be mutually exclusive?), I found Cusack and Beckinsale so endearing and so full of romantic chemistry (and they both looked yummy, I might add) that I found myself forgiving a lot and rooting for them to get back together. Marc Klein's script is so chock-full of funny and frustrating near-misses that at times I found SERENDIPITY as suspenseful as a Hitchcock film! :-) NYC and San Francisco locations are used wonderfully (I was pleased to see that although the second floor of Serendipity III as shown in the film was quiet enough for Sara and Jon to hear each other talk, it was still as crowded as it usually is on a holiday week! :-). Cusack and Beckinsale are surrounded by a delightful supporting cast, too, particularly Jeremy Piven and Molly Shannon as their respective best friends and the scene-stealing Eugene Levy as an officious, self-serving Bloomingdale's salesman. I also found it refreshing that the filmmakers didn't take the obvious route of making the leads' current Significant Others so horrible that you can't imagine what attracted Our Heroes to these creeps in the first place (that sort of thing always makes me lose respect for both the protagonist *and* the screenwriter). Bridget Moynihan and John Corbett (did the casting directors just stroll on over to the set of SEX AND THE CITY one day and say "Who's free to make a movie?" :-) were appealing enough that I could understand what Cusack and Beckinsale saw in them, yet they were just self-absorbed enough and not-quite-on-our-heroes'-wavelength enough that I didn't feel bad when they got dumped. If romantic whimsy is your bag, give SERENDIPITY a try.

Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) is looking for a Christmas gift for his girlfriend. Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) is looking a gift for his boyfriend. They both pick a pair of gloves. They hit it off right away, but she refuses to give him her name. After a great night, she tries to give her name but a gust of wind blows it away. Then to give fate another chance, he writes his name on a $5 bill which she uses to buy certs. And she pledges to put her name in a book which she will sell. If either returns to them, then they'll know it's fate.

Years later, he's going to marry Halley Buchanan (Bridget Moynahan). She's to marry musician Lars Hammond (John Corbett). But neither can shake that night and both try one last time to find the other. He enlists his best friend Dean Kansky (Jeremy Piven) and she enlists her best friend Eve (Molly Shannon) to help find their soulmates.

Eugene Levy does a great comedic turn in a minor role. The two leads are a likable pair. The problem is that they aren't together much. They are a great pair at the beginning, but usually rom-coms require the couple to be together. They don't actually get back together until the very end. As it stands, it's a childish notion of love. The other problem is the pre-existing relationships. They really need to be shown as dysfunctional relationships right from the start. That way the audience is allowed to root against them without reservations.

This romantic comedy was rated three out of five by the critics, so I knew this wasn't going to be cheesy and not very exciting stuff, but I do like some good cheese, from director Peter Chelsom (Funny Bones). Basically Jonathan Trager (John Cusack) and Sara Thomas (Kate Beckinsale) meet in New York City, in a shop called Serendipity, both looking for a pair of gloves. It is obvious there was love in the air that night in Christmas time, despite both having lovers, so they decide to test their fate by splitting up and seeing if destiny would bring them back together. So they took a glove each, Sara wrote her name and contact number in a specific book, and Jonathan wrote his name and contact number on a dollar bill. Years later, both of them are engaged to be married, but neither can not forget each other, and begin a little journey to find each other again. Jonathan tries to get his friend Dean Kansky (Scary Movie 3's Jeremy Piven) to find her, and Sara takes her friend Eve (The Grinch's Molly Shannon) to New York to search. There are a number of near-misses confusion along the way, but eventually they happen to chance on each other's ways of contact, and find each other at the ice rink for their fate and happy ending at Christmas. Also starring John Corbett as Lars Hammond, Bridget Moynahan as Halley Buchanan, Eugene Levy as Bloomingdale's Salesman and Lucy Gordon as Caroline Mitchell. Obviously the plot is very long shot material, but it has to be, and even though it a bit mushy, Cusack and Beckinsale just about keep it going, so it is reasonably entertaining. John Cusack was number 48 on The 100 Greatest Movie Stars. Worth watching!