Taglines: Destiny… With A Sense Of Humor.
Serendipity is (1) a “happy accident” and (2) a New York restaurant that serves sweet, frozen goodies. It is #1 that brings our couple together, as both try to buy a pair of black cashmere gloves at Bloomingdale’s, and #2 where romantic sparks fly when Sarah (Kate Beckinsdale) takes Jonathan (John Cusack) there to thank him for letting her have the gloves.
There is a strong romantic connection, but both are involved with other people, so they part, with two romantic note-in-a-bottle opportunities for fate to bring them back together. He writes his name and number on a five dollar bill, which she puts back into circulation. And she writes her name and number in a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, which she sells to a used book store. Years later, as both are about to get married, they are still drawn to each other. So we’re in Sleepless in Seattle/When Harry Met Sally land, watching them just miss each other a dozen times until the happily-ever-after ending.
During the Christmas season in New York City, Jonathan Trager encounters Sara Thomas at Bloomingdale’s while they attempt to buy the same pair of black cashmere gloves. They both are in relationships but have a mutual attraction that leads to sharing dessert at Serendipity 3. Sara reveals her opinion that fate determines many of her decisions in life.
They encounter each other again when they both have to return to the restaurant to retrieve things that they had left behind. They consider this fate, spend more time together, and then are about to exchange phone numbers. Sara’s gets blown into the wind, which she interprets as a bad omen. She suggests that they put their names and phone numbers out to the universe by putting one on a $5 bill, and the other on the cover of a book that will be sold the next day. If they are meant to be together then each will find the other’s item and make contact.
Several years later, Jonathan is in New York City getting engaged to Halley Buchanan. On the same day, Sara is in San Francisco and comes home to find her boyfriend Lars Hammond proposing to her. Cold feet ensues as their respective wedding dates approach; they start their attempt to reconnect.
Sara flies to New York City and her friend Eve persuades her to give up the chase–they go to Serendipity. The $5 bill given to Eve in change has Jonathan’s contact information. Jonathan gets as a gift from Halley on the night of the wedding rehearsal the same book that has Sara’s phone number. He and his friend Dean fly to San Francisco to find her. Johnathan sees at the airport who he thinks is Sara but is Sara’s sister, Caroline. She is fooling around with her boyfriend. Jonathan believes that his chasing ghosts means that he does not want to marry Halley.
Serendipity is a 2001 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Chelsom, written by Marc Klein, and starring Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, Gary Gerbrandt, Kate Blumberg, Bridget Moynahan, Lilli Lavine, Ann Talman, Crystal Bock, Gary Gerbrandt and Abdul Alshawish. The music score was composed by Alan Silvestri.
Serendipity was shot in New Jersey, New York City, Ontario, and San Francisco, California in the spring of 2001. Following the 9/11 attacks, images of the World Trade Center towers were digitally removed from all skyline shots of New York City.
The film opened at #2 at the U.S. box office earning $13,309,241 in its opening weekend, behind Training Day. With an estimated budget of $28 million, this was the first of Chelsom’s films to turn a profit. After some of the biggest commercial failures of all time (Town & Country), Serendipity marked the first of several box-office successes for Chelsom, peaking in 2009 with Hannah Montana: The Movie. The film grossed $50,294,317 in the domestic box office and $27,221,987 internationally for a worldwide total of $77,516,304.
Serendipity (2001)
Directed by: Peter Chelsom
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, John Cusack, Gary Gerbrandt, Kate Blumberg, Bridget Moynahan, Lilli Lavine, Ann Talman, Crystal Bock, Gary Gerbrandt, Abdul Alshawish
Screenplay by: Marc Klein
Cinematography by: John De Borman
Film Editing by: Christopher Greenbury
Costume Design by: Marie-Sylvie Deveau
Set Decoration by: Catherine Davis, Carol Lavoie
Art Direction by: Tracey Gallacher, Andrew M. Stearn
Makeup Department: Margot Boccia, Victor DeNicola, Janice Miller
Music by: Alan Silvestri
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for a scene of sexuality, and for brief language.
Distributed by: Miramax Films
Release Date: October 5, 2001
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