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Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 36 Ratings

  • Starring: John Cusack, Kate Beckinsale
  • Summary: They met by chance and spent the perfect night together. Now, before it's too late, they have one last chance to find out if what might have been could still be. (Miramax Films)
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 33
  2. Negative: 4 out of 33
  1. Serendipity has no business working, but it does. And by the way, Eugene Levy has no business almost stealing the show, but he does, too.
  2. 80
    The casting is sublime.
  3. Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    60
    Your affection for Serendipity may depend on how fascinated you are by a movie that is apparently going after the all-time record for delayed consummation.
  4. 38
    The plot risks bursting under the strain of its coincidences, as Sara and Jon fly to opposite coasts at the same time and engage in a series of Idiot Plot moves so extreme and wrongheaded that even other characters in the same scene should start shouting helpful suggestions.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Negative: 3 out of 18
  1. Eliza
    10
    It is wonderful romantic story. It is my favorite love story. Advice to everyone who still trust in true Love.
  2. 10
    I watched this movie... how many times? 20? 30? And everytime I always feel the same magic feelings...
  3. StaceyG.
    9
    Imagine trying to bake a perfect cake with layers of chocolate and vanilla. But the cake will be nothing more than a forgettable, fattening dessert unless it is cooked at the exact set temperature. Even with old ingredients, 'Serendipity' was cooked perfectly. It comes out of the oven with the candles already on it, and they're lit, too. 'Serendipity' is a movie with so much heart and bold honesty that you just might like it. Romantic comedies are not meant to be good or memorable beyond a few sparked daydreams, but once Cusack and Beckinsale click in front of the camera they click on screen, and when snow falls and lips lock everything else falls into place. It's as if the film were a tapestry of events and characters that was meant to be viewed right when you thought a romantic comedy could never be a total success, just to prove you wrong. Beckinsale and Cusack Are Jonathan and Sarah, two people who fall in love by doing nothing more peculiar than visiting a department store. They are not the perfect people romantic comedies often portray the 'featured' couple to be. Jonathan and Sarah are just a nice pair trying to make sense of a life changing night. The characters never seem as if actors play them. They seem to be as caught up in their romance as we are. Jeremy Piven plays a better 'sidekick' to Cusack than even Vince Vaughn did to Owen Wilson in "Wedding Crashers." The script is so refreshing that when it's funny you forget it has a romantic base and when it is romantic you forget it is meant to be funny, as well. The romance is like the center of a flower while the comedy-centered moments are pretty pedals. Everything in the film seems proud and charming. When 'Serendipity' ends and you realize (and admit) it found a way to hide your logical views on love for a few hours, you will ponder just how the movie managed so much charm. Is it the directing, the writing, the acting, the soundtrack? Not really. It's in how they mix. It's how when the movie has the perfect actors it also knows when to have them say a perfect line at a perfect moment while the perfect music plays off camera. 'Serendipity' might have its flaws and it will never be more than a romantic comedy, but it's a really good one and everyone involved with the project seems to know that. It's like the charming little novel that is always eager to be taken off the shelf and read. Expand
  4. CassianJ.
    7
    When Jonathon randomly bumps into Sarah in a department store whilst both trying to purchase the same pair of gloves an instant bond is formed. Sarah has a great believe in fate and takes Jonathon for some food at her favourite café Expand

See all 18 User Reviews