Happy Accidents (2000)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Brad Anderson

Writer:

Brad Anderson (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 2001 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Romance

Plot:

Ruby Weaver has man trouble: she tries to fix them, so she's stuck herself with a string of losers. Her current lover...

Plot Keywords:

Time Travel | Reverse Footage | Time Travel Romance | Independent Film

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Marty Davey	...	Directory Operator (voice)
Marisa Tomei	...	Ruby Weaver
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Sam Deed
Nadia Dajani	...	Gretchen
Holland Taylor	...	Therapist, Maggie Ann "Meg" Ford
Tovah Feldshuh	...	Lillian Weaver
Sean Gullette	...	Mark
Bronson Dudley	...	Victor
José Zúñiga	...	Jose
Sanjay Chandani	...	Sunil (as Jason Chandani)
Cara Buono	...	Bette
Lianna Pai	...	Claire
Tamara Jenkins	...	Robin
Richard Portnow	...	Trip
Saidah Arrika Ekulona	...	Nurse

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | South Korea:15 | Canada:14A | France:U | Norway:11 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company:

Independent Film Channel (IFC)

Trivia:

Although this was released a month after Brad Anderson's film Session 9 (2001), he actually completed it two years previously.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Sam is trying to operate a record player on his first date with Ruby, what appears to be fishing line is clearly visible pulling the arm back across the record.

Quotes:

Sam Deed: [to Ruby] That's Victor. His sister went down on the Titanic, he never stops talking about her.
Victor: [to Jose] My sister, she went down on the Titanic.
Jose: [to Victor] I know, I remember.
Sam Deed: [to Ruby] Old folks are great.

Movie Connections:

References Weird Science (1985)

Soundtrack:

Dusty Happy End

Watch this movie again...and again..and again...

I'm always intrigued by small titles, because sometimes they're better than the big moneymakers. This one failed to disappoint, especially because of the superb acting and camera shots. Vincent D'Onofrio(still "the bug" from "Men in Black" in my mind) did a wonderful job of stepping out of that role and into one that's believable, despite Sam's odd story. The first time I watched this, I was intrigued by the possibility that Sam may be telling the truth. Fortunately, K-Pax hadn't managed to ruin that scenario completely for me. The ending was a complete surprise and there were some nice twists.

I picked this up again to see if it was still as intriguing and to my surprise, it was. Even knowing Sam's true identity takes none of the emotion out of the film. I saw that this movie is not just the audience deciding whether or not to believe Sam, but Ruby deciding as well. It's a terrific inner conflict for her, as she struggles in the face of love and honesty after a string of horrible men. Haven't we all met someone that we loved and wanted to trust, but we didn't know we could? The time travel aspect makes this movie impossible but the characters are so real and deep, then the movie feels real and you find yourself thinking if only for a moment that it is perfectly possible. That's why I say that even if you know the ending, watch this movie for the quality that it is.