“Serendipity”. A Review Of The 2001 Peter Chelsom Film Now On A 2012 BLU RAY.

"…Stuck For Eternity With Her Skirt Around Her Shoulders…

...And The Blood Rushing To Her Head..."

It's so hard to get a rom-com right - and when it happens - it tends to eek its way into the hearts of millions of movie fans around the world. "Serendipity" is one of those films. And at last fans can finally get their hands on a High Definition copy of it in 2012 (January in the USA and February in the UK). And I'm glad to say that this Miramax/Lionsgate BLU RAY boasts a gorgeous print and decent extras. And it's cheap too...

Defaulted to 1.78:1 ratio - the beautifully framed picture fills the entire screen with no bars top or bottom and no stretching of the image. And right from the get-go "Serendipity" looks 'so' good - crisp and clean images all the way through - with scene after scene using the wintry New York locations to maximum effect. The soundtrack too has a strong 5.1 surround mix that amps up the great music.

Written by MARC KLEIN and Directed by PETER CHELSOM - its on-the-money casting puts together two really smart, likeable and able actors - JOHN CUSACK and KATE BECKINSALE. They play Jonathan Trager and Sarah Thomas - an American guy and an English girl whose fate is set in motion by a store assistant placing a pair of gloves on the sale rack in Bloomingdales a few weeks before Christmas. They obtain the gloves from another customer through mutual skulduggery and then spend a magical night getting to know each other in snowy New York (he comments that her arm freckles resemble Cassiopeia in the constellations - dialogue above). After hours of talking and a gut feeling that something ‘stellar’ is afoot - they pass on their respective phone numbers to each other - hers on the inside flap of the Gabriel Marquez book "Love In The Time Of Cholera" and his on a five-dollar bill. But of course the winds of fate intervene (literally) and each gets lost. Four years later we find that both Jonathan and Sarah have moved on with their lives and are now engaged to differing but largely unsuitable partners. But of course neither can help but wonder - was that person in New York a million hours back their soul mate - their "Godfather" original and not Part 2 the sequel? And should they ditch what they've settled for now and go searching for what they really want? And on the story goes in a hugely enjoyable way...

In their manic searching and journey back to each other - they are ably assisted by a superb set of supporting roles - Jeremy Piven as Dean Kansky, Jonathan's loyal and witty friend, Molly Shannon as Sarah's scatterbrained pal Eve, John Corbett as a flute-playing egotistical musician trying to marry Sarah as long as it fits in with his European Tour and Eugene Levy as the eccentric and monthly-target-driven Bloomingdale's sales clerk. Both Piven and Levy have become huge since but can justifiably trace the public noticing them to this 2001 outing.

The use of music in the film also deserves a special mention. A lot of the time - the typical rom-com is populated with lazy and obvious choices - not here. Not only do the songs suit the scene and the mood conveyed - they're tunes you probably done know but would want to. Bap Kennedy was the lead singer with a short-lived Northern Ireland band called Energy Orchard who then put out a lovely solo album called "Lonely Street" in 2000. The track lifted off it is called "Moonlight Kiss". When Jonathan and Sarah are trying to get to each other in the last portion of the movie, Chelsom uses the stunning "Rose Rouge" by St. Germain (on their "Tourist" album - itself due for a DELUXE EDITION double in 2012) which features a sample of Marlena Shaw chanting "I want you to get together..." over an incessant drum beat. There's the ethereally beautiful "Northern Sky" by England's Nick Drake on the ice rink ("I've never felt magic crazy as this...") and Annie Lennox's cleverly re-arranged cover of Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain". There are also nice contributions by John Mayer, Shawn Colvin and Heather Nova. But the unsung gem here is an acoustic instrumental that's used as link-music throughout the entire film. It's by England's David Gray and is called "January Rain" - it turned up on his lesser-heard "Lost Songs 95-98" CD along with the equally moving "Flame Turns Blue" (which I hope to use in a screenplay one day).

To sum up - like George Clooney's "One Fine Day", Pierce Brosnan's "Laws Of Attraction" and Richard Gere's "Shall We Dance" - "Serendipity" is an underrated but properly lovely watch - and this BLU RAY finally does full justice to its multiple charms.

Get all metaphysical on yo ass people - and buy it.

BLU RAY Specifications:

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio Surround 5.1

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Full Screen)

Language: English

Subtitles: English and English for the Hard-Of-Hearing.

Bonus Features:

1. Feature-length Commentary

2. Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary

3. Behind The Scenes Documentary - "On The Set"

4. Production Diary

5. Theatrical Trailer

6. Storyboard Comparison

PS: check out other great films by Director Peter Chelsom:

"Hear My Song" (1991), "Funny Bones" (1995), "The Mighty" (1998), "Town And Country" (2001) and "Shall We Dance" (2004) [see BLU RAY REVIEW].

“Shall We Dance” – Peter Chelsom’s 2004 Movie. A Review of the 2008 BLU RAY Reissue.

“…. It’s Quite Possible We Could Find Your Husband Knee Deep In Potpourri…It’s Quiet Possible…But Unlikely…”

Whenever I'm asked by friends for a movie to lift up a dreary Monday evening after a tough day at the job, I reach for "Shall We Dance".
They then look at the outer sleeve with sneering suspicion, shake their heads and check my pulse.
Richard Gere and J-Lo! Ballroom Dancing!! Are you mad!!!
But they always come back a few days later saying how much they genuinely loved it...

Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere play Beverly and John Clark who are happily married and living in their affluent suburban mansion. They've a well-balanced life with an equally well-balanced daughter and all seems to be in order. But his job as a Chicago Estate Lawyer dealing with other people's wills has become tedious and their same-old existence at home quietly stagnant. One evening heading home after work on the overhead L train, John looks up into "Miss Mitzi's Dancing School" and sees a beautiful woman standing at the window (Jennifer Lopez). Several evenings and sightings later, he finally gets off the train, goes in and unwittingly enrols in Ballroom Dancing classes - and of course everything changes...

Peter Chelsom's 2004 remake of the 1996 Japanese film "Shall We Dansu?" is as lovely as film gets (pictured in English above) - and its transition to BLU RAY is a real triumph.

The picture is GLORIOUS throughout - far better than the DVD - beautifully framed by cinematographer John De Borman. There are so many scenes now where the detail hits you - the texture of his coat on the train home - the look of the wet streets outside the studio - his tie as he stands by the fridge in his perfect kitchen, the scuffed and scratched wooden floorboards of the Mitzi's studio - Stanley Tucci's character Link wiping false tan off his face (his Latin lothario look) as he discusses his secret passion for the Rumba and Tango with work colleague John - it 'all' looks so clear.

As with all great films, there's a combination of things that make it work. First up is the fabulous support cast who very nearly steal the film from the leads - Stanley Tucci and Lisa Ann Walter in particular are like Bette Midler and husband - ball-breakingly funny, ratty with each other, but ultimately human and touching. There's the huge but lovable Omar trying to lose a few pounds to propose to his girlfriend (Omar Miller from 8 Mile), the macho and deceptively deep Chic played brilliantly by Bobby Cannavale (from The Station Agent) who wants to score with women (or so he thinks) - Susan Sarandon admirably downplaying the acting hysterics as John's suspicious wife who then hires Richard Jenkins (the dead father in Six Feet Under) and Nick Cannon to investigate...and on it goes to revelations none of them were expecting...

John O'Connell did the choreography (Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge) with Richard Gere admirably putting in 4 months of intensive training to get it right. Then there's the score by John Altman during the dance numbers which is such great fun - itself sided by Gabriel Yared's beautiful piano refrain infusing so many of the quieter scenes with an old-school romance and class. And of course the movie's trump-card - the elegant, sexy and sleek Jennifer Lopez who's in her element as Paulina the spurned Ballroom champion. She wins praise from her co-cast and director - and rightly so.

The Special Features on the BLU RAY are:
1. Audio commentary by the Director Peter Chelsom
2. Deleted Scenes (About 17 Minutes) With Commentary by Peter Chelsom
3. Behind The Scenes Of "Shall We Dance" - interviews with all the cast, director, producers etc
4. Beginners Ballroom
5. The Music Of (John Altman and Gabriel Yared who did the principal score; Mya's version of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" and The Pussycat Dolls update of Dean Martin's "Sway" including behind the scenes at the video shoot and interviews with Mya and Nicole Kea

Like "The Full Monty", "Sleepless In Seattle" or "When Harry Met Sally" - "Shall We Dance" is a bit of a modern day gem. Ok it won't make the top 50 best films every made - but it will talcum powder its way into your heart and stay there. And on BLU RAY it's a winner.

Recommended.

PS: Peter Chelsom has made other really great films worth checking out - "Hear My Song", "The Mighty", "Serendipity" and the wonderfully quirky "Funny Bones" which is set in his hometown of Blackpool in coastal England