Serendipity (2001)
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Two people who meet by chance during a holiday shopping trip must decide if their connection was fate or a mere coincidence.
The story
While Christmas shopping at Bloomingdale's in New York City, Jonathan Trager meets Sara Thomas, a British woman, when both try to buy the same pair of gloves. Despite both being in relationships, a mutual attraction leads them to have dessert at a restaurant called Serendipity 3 where Sara explains that she lets fate's "little signals" determine many of her life decisions. After separating, they meet again when each returns to the restaurant to retrieve something they forgot. Jonathan convinces Sara to give him her phone number, but when the wind blows it out of his grasp, Sara thinks it is fate telling them to back off.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While Christmas shopping at Bloomingdale's in New York City, Jonathan Trager meets Sara Thomas, a British woman, when both try to buy the same pair of gloves. Despite both being in relationships, a mutual attraction leads them to have dessert at a restaurant called Serendipity 3 where Sara explains that she lets fate's "little signals" determine many of her life decisions. After separating, they meet again when each returns to the restaurant to retrieve something they forgot. Jonathan convinces Sara to give him her phone number, but when the wind blows it out of his grasp, Sara thinks it is fate telling them to back off. Instead, she has Jonathan write his number on a five-dollar bill and they perform a series of 'fate' experiments, including a shared elevator ride. Seven years later, Jonathan is an ESPN producer about to marry Halley, and Sara is a therapist in San Francisco, engaged to a musician named Lars. Both eventually find the items they left behind and travel to find each other. After a series of near-misses and realizations about their current relationships, they finally reunite at a skating rink in the snow. They share a kiss and eventually celebrate their anniversary at the same department store where they first met.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 91
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Chelsom
- Writers
- Marc Klein · writer
- Cast and characters
- John Cusack · Jonathan Trager; Kate Beckinsale · Sara Thomas; Molly Shannon; Jeremy Piven; Bridget Moynahan; Eugene Levy
- Genres
- romantic comedy
- Themes
- Fate; Destiny; Timing
- Tone and mood
- Romantic; Light; Charming
- Setting
- New York City and San Francisco during the holiday season.
- Premise and plot tags
- Romance; Comedy; Christmas; Fate
- Reception
- The film received mixed to positive reviews, described as light and charming. It was a box-office success for director Peter Chelsom, becoming his first film to turn a profit.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- Jennifer Aniston was offered the role of Sara Thomas but turned it down to avoid being typecast in romantic comedies.; Carla Gugino and Claire Forlani auditioned for the role of Sara Thomas.; Images of the World Trade Center towers were digitally removed from all skyline shots of New York City following the September 11 attacks.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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