DVD Reviews: Cusack proves his worth

Geoff Carter

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 9:46 a.m.

John Cusack is the name to trust in romantic comedy. Sure, there are other brands available, but Cusack has proven himself so reliable (with the exception of "America's Sweethearts") that there seems little sense in trying others. You can mess with Ed Burns and Josh Hartnett all you like, but they're just spit-shine in quality. Only Cusack brand does the deep-soul cleaning.

His turn in Peter Chelsom's "Serendipity" should conclude a modestly spectacular run in his chosen genre. He's done too-smart-for-his-own-good ("High Fidelity"), he's done the man with a guilty past ("Grosse Point Blank"), he's done stupid but lucky ("Pushing Tin") and he's done wildly idealistic ("Say Anything").

"Serendipity" combines all his lovers and fools into one sad-but-hopeful guy, and pairs him with one of the most likeable leading ladies he's ever worked with.

British beauty Kate Beckinsale remains an enigma to American audiences. Her biggest role, in "Pearl Harbor," was marred by the same mealymouthed dialogue that nearly struck down every actor involved with the project (except Alec Baldwin, natch -- I'm telling you, the guy's not human). In "Serendipity," Chelsom allowed her to use her own accent, infuse her own quirks into the character. We fall for her 30 seconds into her role -- just a few seconds behind Cusack.

Cusack plays Jonathan, a television producer who meets Beckinsale's Sara one night at Bloomingdale's; they both reach for the same pair of black gloves -- the last pair on the rack. A third party, an anonymous man (Buck Henry, in a short-but-sweet cameo), tries to snatch the gloves as they negotiate over them, and Jonathan and Sara make up an excuse involving a sex-change operation, playing off each other as if born to do so. Civilizations have been built on less.

There's just one problem: Sara believes everything happens for a reason, and no sooner do they fall for each other does Sara's fatalism derail them. They part without getting each other's phone numbers or last names -- sort of: Sara writes hers in a copy of "Love in the Time of Cholera," which she sells to a used bookstore the following day, and Jonathan writes his on a $5 bill that's immediately spent on a pack of gum.

A few years later Jonathan and Sara are on the verge of getting married to other people, but can't shake the suspicion that they both lost something good. Cusack explains to his friend Dean (wonderfully played by real-life Cusack pal Jeremy Piven) what's eating at him: "(My wife-to-be) is like 'The Godfather II.' An incredible movie -- might be better than the original. But you still have to see the original to appreciate it."

Armed with that potent metaphor, Jonathan begins looking for Sara, who in turn begins looking for him. They hide their feelings from their respective fiances (Bridget Moynahan and John Corbett, respectively), incur the wrath of the world's most uptight sales clerk (Eugene Levy) and tear New York apart looking for each other, and missing each other by inches or seconds. It's an inspiring search, made rich by crisp dialogue and solid pacing.

Chelsom, on the DVD commentary track, speaks modestly of the film, which in itself is a modest enterprise.

He talks about creating winter in New York in the middle of summer, how quickly Piven and Cusack ripped through their lines, and the mechanics of hitting Molly Shannon in the head with a golf club. He talks about the fun he had at the expense of New Age culture, how he used one scene to invoke a Cold War thriller, and his favorite song by Nick Drake. It's a proper coffee chat, right in line with "Serendipity's" easygoing nature.

If Cusack chooses to end his run in romantic comedy with "Serendipity," he's played a near-perfect grace note. It's a likeable, funny, ingratiating picture that deserves to be a sizable rental hit. And hopefully it's brought some shine to Chelsom, an underrated director who deserves to become a brand name.