Bud_Fox
07-25-2001, 01:12 PM
The Family Man
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, and Amber Valletta.
The title of this movie could have also been It's a Wonderful Life meets Sliding Doors meets Scrooged (fortunately I enjoyed all three films)
Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) is a mega-millionaire, power/arbitrator and CEO of a successful Wall Street investment banking firm. In It's A Wonderful Life and Scrooge-like fashion the film opens on Christmas eve and Jack is on the cusp of completing one of the largest merger acquisitions ever in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. In an attempt to avert any chance of the deal falling through Jack schedules an emergency strategy meeting of all his staff for noon Christmas day! This action, among many others, clearly show us that Jack Campbell is a highly successful, determined and powerful businessman who cares little for family and the spirit of Christmas and is more concerned about padding his wallet along with his ego. He leads the ultimate bachelor life wearing $2400 tailor made suites, driving a kick-ass Ferrari, living in an extraordinary upscale penthouse and sleeping with an array of extraordinarily beautiful woman ;aka Amber Valetta /ubb/wink.gif
Actually I failed to mention that prior to the above sequence the very first opening scene is set ten years prior in 1987 where we see Jack and Kate(Tea Leoni) fresh out of college and very much in love at an airport. Jack is about to board a plane leaving for London to work for one year at a prestigious firm. At the last second Kate tearfully begs him not to go whereas Jack tells her that a year apart could never threaten the Love he has for her. Again she asks him to stay and start a life together, but instead he reassures her of his deep love but still chooses to leave. Cut to present day and Jack is a bachelor, never married exiting the firm late Christmas Eve. Surprise! It starts snowing and an encounter ensues with Boogie Nights Dan Cheadle (aka Angel, Ghost of Christmas Past-Present-Future, ect...) upon where Jack Campbell makes the mistake of declaring he has "Everything in Life."
The next morning, Christmas morning of course, Jack does not awake in his million dollar penthouse bachelor pad, but awakes on a small lumpy mattress next to Kate, with two kids, a dog in a four bedroom house somewhere in the suburbs of New Jersey! The events that ensue are comical and chaotic as Jack realizes him and Kate are married, and that he is a tire salesman and no longer a CEO of an investment firm.
I found this movie to be very cliched. Many parts were overly-emotional and sappy similar to Cage's role in City of Angels. However this was all over-shadowed by Cage's great ability to entertain and deliver an all-around solid performance. Tea Leoni was exceptional as well and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with her performance. All the other characters play very small roles, but all where well acted including Don Cheadle from Boogie Nights, the Dr.Chivago guy from True Romance, and a very small but impressionable role played by Amber Valetta /ubb/wink.gif /ubb/wink.gif
Having just seen this movie on dvd I want so badly to give it a higher rating but there are definitely a few key ingredients lacking in this movie needed for a true recipe of success. Regardless the movie is very entertaining and thought provoking in once again asking the audience to explore the idea of how your life could differ if you had made one decision differently, and wether it would have changed your life for the better, or worse.
[This message has been edited by Bud_Fox (edited 07-25-2001).]
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, and Amber Valletta.
The title of this movie could have also been It's a Wonderful Life meets Sliding Doors meets Scrooged (fortunately I enjoyed all three films)
Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) is a mega-millionaire, power/arbitrator and CEO of a successful Wall Street investment banking firm. In It's A Wonderful Life and Scrooge-like fashion the film opens on Christmas eve and Jack is on the cusp of completing one of the largest merger acquisitions ever in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. In an attempt to avert any chance of the deal falling through Jack schedules an emergency strategy meeting of all his staff for noon Christmas day! This action, among many others, clearly show us that Jack Campbell is a highly successful, determined and powerful businessman who cares little for family and the spirit of Christmas and is more concerned about padding his wallet along with his ego. He leads the ultimate bachelor life wearing $2400 tailor made suites, driving a kick-ass Ferrari, living in an extraordinary upscale penthouse and sleeping with an array of extraordinarily beautiful woman ;aka Amber Valetta /ubb/wink.gif
Actually I failed to mention that prior to the above sequence the very first opening scene is set ten years prior in 1987 where we see Jack and Kate(Tea Leoni) fresh out of college and very much in love at an airport. Jack is about to board a plane leaving for London to work for one year at a prestigious firm. At the last second Kate tearfully begs him not to go whereas Jack tells her that a year apart could never threaten the Love he has for her. Again she asks him to stay and start a life together, but instead he reassures her of his deep love but still chooses to leave. Cut to present day and Jack is a bachelor, never married exiting the firm late Christmas Eve. Surprise! It starts snowing and an encounter ensues with Boogie Nights Dan Cheadle (aka Angel, Ghost of Christmas Past-Present-Future, ect...) upon where Jack Campbell makes the mistake of declaring he has "Everything in Life."
The next morning, Christmas morning of course, Jack does not awake in his million dollar penthouse bachelor pad, but awakes on a small lumpy mattress next to Kate, with two kids, a dog in a four bedroom house somewhere in the suburbs of New Jersey! The events that ensue are comical and chaotic as Jack realizes him and Kate are married, and that he is a tire salesman and no longer a CEO of an investment firm.
I found this movie to be very cliched. Many parts were overly-emotional and sappy similar to Cage's role in City of Angels. However this was all over-shadowed by Cage's great ability to entertain and deliver an all-around solid performance. Tea Leoni was exceptional as well and I must admit I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with her performance. All the other characters play very small roles, but all where well acted including Don Cheadle from Boogie Nights, the Dr.Chivago guy from True Romance, and a very small but impressionable role played by Amber Valetta /ubb/wink.gif /ubb/wink.gif
Having just seen this movie on dvd I want so badly to give it a higher rating but there are definitely a few key ingredients lacking in this movie needed for a true recipe of success. Regardless the movie is very entertaining and thought provoking in once again asking the audience to explore the idea of how your life could differ if you had made one decision differently, and wether it would have changed your life for the better, or worse.
[This message has been edited by Bud_Fox (edited 07-25-2001).]