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"SERENDIPITY" (2001) (John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate None Heavy None None Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None None None Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Minor Minor Mild Minor QUICK TAKE: Romantic Comedy: Years after meeting for just a few brief hours and now a country apart, a young man and woman can't shake the feeling that the other is their soul mate and thus set out to find each other. PLOT: It's the winter of 1990 and Jonathan Trager (JOHN CUSACK) and Sara Thomas (KATE BECKINSALE) are doing their holiday shopping in New York City. They meet when both go for the same pair of gloves and find themselves immediately smitten with each other. After spending the evening wandering around Manhattan, Jonathan would like to continue seeing her. Sara, on the other hand, wants to see if fate has them destined to be together and so runs a series of small tests that will prove whether or not the two are meant to be a couple. Unfortunately, the tests fail, leaving Jonathan not even knowing Sara's name or address and the two going their separate ways. A few years later, Jonathan is a TV producer still in New York, engaged to marry Halley (BRIDGET MOYNAHAN) in just a few days. Sara, on the other hand, is now a counselor living in San Francisco with her new fiancé, Lars (JOHN CORBETT), a musician. Despite the distance and the passing years, however, the two have not been able to shake the feeling that they may have missed out on the perfect person for them. Accordingly, Jonathan - with the aid of his best man, Dean (JEREMY PIVEN), and a reluctant Bloomingdale's salesman (EUGENE LEVY) - and Sara - with her best friend, Eve (MOLLY SHANNON) - set out to track down the other and see if their feelings are legitimate before it's too late to turn back. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of romantic comedies or someone in the cast, they just might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For a scene of sexuality, and for brief language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: JOHN CUSACK plays a television producer who meets and immediately falls for Sara, never forgetting her, even as he's about to marry another woman (and thus threatens his relationship with her). He also uses some profanity. KATE BECKINSALE plays a San Francisco-based counselor who similarly wonders if she let the right man slip through her fingers, all while engaged to someone else. JEREMY PIVEN plays Jonathan's best man who helps him track down Sara. He uses some profanity. MOLLY SHANNON plays Sara's best friend who also uses some profanity. EUGENE LEVY plays a persnickety sales clerk who breaks some rules to help Jonathan find Sara. BRIDGET MOYNAHAN plays Jonathan's fiancée who's concerned about him being emotionally distant from her of recent. JOHN CORBETT plays Sara's new fiancé who pays more attention to his music and touring than he does to her. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this romantic comedy that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 6 "s" words and other expletives, while some colorful phrases are also used. Some sexually related dialogue is present, including comedic references to a sex change, lesbianism and a favorite sexual position. A brief sexual encounter is viewed through a window (with no explicit nudity, but some movement, pleasured expressions and the removal of panties). Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while various characters drink and some smoke. Beyond that and a few minor instances of violence, the rest of the film's categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content. Nevertheless, if you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what's present and/or occurs in it. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Jonathan and Sara have "blended drinks" (that may or may not have liquor in them). Various people at a dinner make a toast with wine. Someone asks Jonathan about how drunk Dean is on a scale from one to ten and Jonathan replies that he's a twelve. Some people have wine during one of Lars' performances. Sara's sister then mentions that she was going to ask Sara something when she (Sara) was drunk. Jonathan has a beer. An associate of Lars' holds a glass of beer. We see a woman holding a bottle of liquor. Jonathan pours some champagne for Sara and himself. BLOOD/GORE None. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Jonathan has both due to continuing to pursue/find Sara despite being engaged to Halley. The same holds true for Sara in relation to Lars. Lars puts his career ahead of his pending marriage to Sara (but more in an ignorant rather than purposefully mean-spirited way). Armed with Sara's old credit card number, Jonathan tries everything (including bribery) to get a sales clerk to help him find out something about Sara (such as her last name and address). The clerk eventually agrees, but at a high price (making Jonathan buy goods in the store so that the clerk can meet his quota). Jonathan and Dean convince a records clerk to look up some private information regarding Sara. Eve states that guys who play golf are too fat to play tennis. FRIGHTENING SCENES None. GUNS/WEAPONS None. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Bullsh*t," "You're the sh*t," "Screwed up," "What the hell /was that/is this?" "Must be a bitch" (adjective, but not about a person), "It's screwing with my head," "Pain in the ass," "You're freaking me out," "Bloody" (adjective), "Frigging," and "Jackass." A kid gets onto an elevator with his dad and proceeds to push various buttons for different floors. JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) None. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 6 "s" words, 3 hells, 1 ass, 1 crap, 1 S.O.B., 7 uses of "Oh my God," 2 each of "God" and "Oh Jesus" and 1 use each of "G-damn," "Oh God" and "God awful" as exclamations. SEX/NUDITY While trying to make up a story about a pair of gloves that someone else has grabbed but both Jonathan and Sara want (and to keep that other man from taking them), they state that they're for her boyfriend and his girlfriend. When the man seems confused, they then say that Sara's boyfriend will soon become Jonathan's girlfriend (meaning a sex change operation). As they ask each other about their favorite things, such as movies, etc. Sara jokingly asks, "Favorite sexual position?" as she falls to the ice they're skating on. Seeing her suddenly lying down on her back, Jonathan jokes back, "That's my favorite too." Sara pulls Jonathan into a hotel (to test another of her fate beliefs - of them taking different elevators and seeing if they choose the same floor), causing him to joking ask if they're going to get a room and that he barely knows her (a sexual reference). Someone mentions that something must "be a bitch on their sex life." Halley sensuously tells Jonathan that he better be home later. When he asks why, she replies that she's going to come home, get undressed, get into bed and then act like they just got over a terrible fight. They then briefly make out on the street. After inviting Eve to join her on an impromptu trip to New York, Sara says that she wants to have one last fling before getting married, prompting Eve to joke that Sara isn't her type. A male store clerk gives Dean an unwelcome massage as they search through some records. A French artist tells Jonathan and Dean that Sara "sat on me" (causing them to wonder what that means, but they then figure out that he meant that she sat "for him" for a painting). Seeing Sara with Eve, Halley (who's invited Eve to her rehearsal and wedding), says that she can bring her "partner" (meaning Sara), causing Sara to state that she's engaged, "to a man." As Sara then departs, Eve jokingly calls Sara her "lesbian lady lover." As Dean and Jonathan arrive at what they think is Sara's place, Dean spots a couple (through a window at night) having sex. We see the man's bare back and it looks like the woman's legs are around him. Jonathan then takes a look and we see the two on a chair (with the woman on top of him) but we don't see any nudity or anything explicit beyond the pleasured look on her face (his back is still toward the camera and it and the chair block the view of her). We then see him holding her panties that he's pulled off (again nothing explicit). SMOKING Sara tries to smoke, but can't manage to light her cigarette, while a few miscellaneous people do smoke (a cigar and cigarette). TENSE FAMILY SCENES Dean tells Jonathan that Courtney moved out (she's apparently his wife) since they've been fighting for a long time. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Chance and happenstance versus fate and destiny. How some people seem destined for one another/love at first sight. Both Jonathan and Sara ditching those to whom they're engaged in favor of finding one another after all of the intervening years. VIOLENCE Jonathan briefly grabs an obstinate and greedy sales clerk by the lapels of his jacket. He then violently knocks away a pair of shoes - but in a comedic fashion -- that the clerk suggests he buy to help persuade the clerk to get some information for Jonathan about Sara. Some slapstick material includes a golf ball ricocheting at a driving range and hitting Eve on the head. Momentarily knocked silly, she stumbles into another golfer's back swing and his club hits her on the head. Another moment has Dean tackling Jonathan (by grabbing him around the ankles) to prevent him from seeing what he thinks is Sara having sex with some man. Reviewed September 12, 2001 / Posted October 5, 2001