Happy Accidents
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Movie Reviews of Happy Accidents
Movie Review: Cheeseman's Theory of Emotional Energy
Summary: 5 Stars
Rarely do I find a movie that I can watch twice, let alone in a week's time. But having seen it on the Independent Film Channel I subsequently bought a copy online and watched it again with the same delight as the first go around.Vincent D'onofrio plays Sam, a man from the future (Dubuque, Iowa on the Atlantic Coast to be specific) who after some tragic events in the future has broken the time-space continuum and traveled back some 400 years to find his one true love Ruby, whose picture he found in a curio shop. After a "chance encounter" in a park in NYC where they strike up a conversation and Sam entertains her, he seeks to find where she lives to return a book that she has forgotten on the park bench. The love-shy Ruby, who has had her share of "losers" in the past, is aloof when he approaches her but all the same curious of who this strange man is. To skip giving away any of the plot-line and formation, they begin a romantic relationship. But as the eccentric time-traveller starts to display odd and suspicious physical and personality traits, the neurotic Ruby begins to think that he is playing her for a fool. She confides finally in a therapist and after many see-saw episodes between the couple she believes that she must leave him. To keep her love he slowly uncovers the truth about who he really is. From this the main thrust of the movie becomes encapsuled in a simple futuristic ideal: Cheeseman's Emotional Energy Theory, which holds that if you can concentrate enough emotional energy on a particular moment in time you can alter the past and create a new future. Thus Sam has come back to save Ruby and himself from their tragic lots in life.
The strange sci-fi aspect of this romantic comedy is what fuels it to excellence and keeps it from becoming the prototypical toothy-actor "loser" meets the Hollywood starlett "princess" which normally plagues the genre. D'onofrio, though sometimes an over-actor, is always believable and sincere in his performances unlike a Tom Cruise or Harrison Ford, who no matter what they do, we are cognizant of the fact that they are mega-stars playing a part. Sam is real and likeable and thus the storyline becomes engrossing and brilliantly devised. Marisa Tomei, who I have never really thought twice about, is equally supportive and performs well and to the extreme which obliterates anything hackneyed or cliched about the film. A must have movie.
Movie Review: Pleasant Fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
Time travel movies always appeal to me which is why I enjoyed this wonderful little fable.Marisa Tomei plays Ruby, hard luck loser at lovw who always seems to latch on to losers who need her. She details the sad story of her love life to her therapist, played by the always good Holland Taylor. Into Ruby's life walks Sam, a strange fellow who seems to just happen into her life (a touch of Serendipity perhaps?). Sam claims to be from Dubuque Iowa, but Ruby soon learns that he is from Dubuque all right, but Dubuque in the year 2470. Thinking that Sam is mentally deranged, Ruby plays along and soon the game becomes all too real. She is torn between wanting to get rid of this nut to the genuine feelings she has for him. All the while, she reports on the various incidents to her therapist.
San's mission is soon made clear (to tell it would ruin the ending). Suffice to say that there is a reason for him to be in Ruby's life. He must break the space-time continuum (didn't Doc Brown warn against this in "Back to the Future"?)
One of the beauties of this movie is that the writers were able to create a new world that is real to Sam but seems bizarre to the rest of us. It soon becomes appearent that this world is not so crazy after all and besides, who are we to dsimiss the unknown becuse it doesn't seem real to us. If you buy the idea of time travel you will enjoy this movie.
The writers apparently decided how they wanted the movie to end and seemed to have worked backwards to get there. You can tell the ending from a mile off. And it looks as if they made it up as they went along, which is ok because it fits in with Sam's dilemma of trying to sell this fascinating tale to Ruby.
As noted, Holland Taylor provides wonderful support and plays a pivotal role in the story. Also excelling is Nadia Dajani (from various character roles and the TV series Ned and Stacey). Anthony Micheal Hall also makes a cameo for no apparent reason. His role could have been played by a thousand different actors. However, it is fun to see him grown up, as he was in 61*.
I enjoyed this movie because the story kept me involved even as i knew how it was going to end. Good filmaking can make an obvious ending very satisfying. "Happy Accidents" accomplishes just that.
Movie Review: A Definite Picker Upper
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie on the Independent Film Channel, and once I began watching it for a while, I found myself unable to leave the room. The plot automatically caught my attention. Not seeing the beginning of the movie the first time watching it, I then rented it to watch it a second time all the way through. Vincent D' Onofrio (seen in the Cell) plays the terrific role of Sam, who seeks to find love among other things from co-start Ruby, played by Marisa Tomei (seen in My Cousin Vinni). The two create an awesome chemistry, which only lures the viewer deeper into their romance.
The movie features a young woman, Ruby (Tomei), dealing with her many issues of family, friends and love throughout therapy. She then meets the strangely irresistible Sam (D' Onofrio) who forces her to deal with her issues of love directly, avoiding nothing. Besides Sam's immediate attraction and love for her being hard to handle, Sam reveals to Ruby that he is from the future and that he is on a mission. Ruby is stunned like anyone would be, but instead of dumping Sam immediately, she decides to investigate the situation. Sam being from the future may seem a little far fetched, but the movie makes time travel actually seem believable.
The movie would be categorized as a mix of romance, comedy and mystery. Some might consider the movie a bit of a chick flick considering the main plot of Sam and Ruby's relationship, but I think the movie has a lot more plot and potential than just a love story because of its time travel subject involvement. The story may be hard to believe for some with it's from the future character stance, but necessary explanations of who, how and why are given. To say anything more about the plot of the movie would ruin it.
You will find yourself dieing to see whether things work out like they should between the two through the many twists and turns of arguments and disagreements. Overall, the movie is very well done with the acting and plot. I recommend it to any woman or man who doesn't doubt science or emotion. The movie gives hope to those who those who have lost all hope in love. Ruby herself felt hopeless in finding love, but Sam seemed to change that.
Movie Review: Modern Time Travel Romance
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve was the best time travel romance ever filmed until I saw this one. In that movie, we knew from the beginning that he was from the future because we got to see him hypnotize himself and make the trip.Here we have only the word of Vincent D'Onofrio, who may be a delusional epileptic or a man of his word....P>Marisa Tomei pulls off one of her best roles as a codependent person in therapy who puts her love and trust into people before she gets to know them. She lets D'Onofrio move in after a week and deals with the consequences later. The story unfolds as she relates it to her best friend and also her therapist. The two women give her completely different advice, and we never know for sure how she will react. The onscreen chemistry between the leads is very magnetic. As we slip into the story, we tend to forget the two are acting.
Anthony Michael Hall factors into the story in an amusing way, and he has a cameo towards the end.
Brad Anderson's direction here is superb, transcending his work with "Next Stop Wonderland" and "Session 9" His range as a filmmaker is wide. "Session 9," which is about a group of asbestos removers who unravel as they work in the creepy confines of an old insane asylum, is a gripping portrayal of what happens as paranoia sets into the minds of a group of men who once trusted each other. Watch it, it stars David Caruso in his best performance since "NYPD Blue." As for film content, the two are not even similar.
Anderson stops a scene and turns it into a photograph as the characters tell their stories, and the montages and collages of imagery make you pause and absorb everything that is going on. The scenes where D'Onofrio's eyes glaze over and he watches time go backwards are unique and sometimes moving. This is a film that puts a wholly original twist on two themes we've seen many times before. We have never seen them pulled off like this. This is a movie anyone can enjoy, and the ending is one of the most emotionally powerful finales I have seen in a long time. This deserves repeat viewings. This is one of the films that you make everyone you know sit down and watch.
Movie Review: Watching this film was a happy accident!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't know exactly what to expect from Brad Anderson's Happy Accidents. The premise sounded intriguing enough, but also like one that could be a pure misfire if not done right. I passed the DVD in the video store so often that I finally decided to give it a chance, and I am so glad I did. The film was a refreshing surprise, given the abundance of recent films completely devoid of originality and substance. It deals with a young woman who falls in love with a guy, who says he's from the future. To say anymore will ruin the film.
Happy Accidents is heartfelt, original, and inventive and has two captivating lead performances. The film could have easily been ludicrous or silly given the premise, but it manages to stay believable and sincere by concentrating on the reality of love and relationships, as well as the constantly inventive dialogue.
The story is a hard sell, but it works, mainly because of the inventive and intelligent dialogue, in reference to the future (described in great detail by Sam) and the chemistry of the two leads. Vincent D'Onofrio is terrific as always. He portrays Sam with such warmth and conviction that he makes you truly hope everything will work out for him. Marisa Tomei gives one of her best performances, matching her costar scene for scene. The small supporting cast is also quite good, most notable being Nadia Dajani. Brad Anderson, an emerging director in the independent scene, wonderfully directs the film. The "backwards-time" scenes are especially effective.
The film did unfold a bit slowly, but as soon as things started to come together, it managed to build suspense and led to an intriguing finale. Part romance, part comedy, and part mystery, Happy Accidents is well done, unique, and original. It is not a film everyone will enjoy, but it is definitely a wonderful experience.