Customer Reviews

Family Man [VHS]

5 star:		(148)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

In the tradition of the best films that Hollywood ever had to offer comes this refreshingly honest movie that isn't afraid to say that you don't have to be rich, hip and cynical to be successful and happy with your life. "The Family Man," directed by Brett Ratner, stars Nicolas Cage as Jack Campbell, a man who took the "road less traveled," and turned his back on love for a career on Wall Street, and thirteen years later still doesn't realize how empty and shallow his life has become. Then something happens; on Christmas Eve, Jack does a good turn to the right person at the right time. His name is Cash (Don Cheadle), and he just happens to be a guy with, well, connections. And the next thing Jack knows, he's getting a "glimpse" of what his life would have been had he made a different choice all those many years ago. When he wakes up on Christmas morning, he's not in his bed in his penthouse apartment, but in a house in the suburbs, sleeping next to Kate Reynolds (Tea Leoni), the woman he once loved, but abandoned. Wall Street is history; he's now a crackerjack tire salesman at "Big Ed's," and he and Kate have two kids, Annie (Makenzie Vega) and Josh (Jake and Ryan Milkovich).

Needless to say, Jack is confused; and the enigmatic Cash isn't about to let him in on what's going on-- that's for Jack to figure out on his own. So Jack has no choice but to go on living his life-- even if it's not really "his" life. And it becomes a journey of discovery; not only for Jack, but for the audience, as well. And what follows may be fantasy, but it's fantasy with a message, from some filmmakers who aren't afraid to tell it like it is, and they do it well.

What director Roth presents you with is an examination of what life is really all about, and what-- in the final analysis-- is really important. And make no mistake, this isn't a film that aims for the head, it aims for the heart, scores a bullseye and doesn't apologize for it. Is it pure, true, realistic, riveting drama? Of course not, and it never pretends to be. What it is, is a film that stays true to what it's all about and says some things that need to be said in this fast-food, cybersaturated world of the here and now. It's a poignant, well made and well acted film that appeals to the universal sensibilities that in one way or another reside within even the most jaded, modernized and "New Aged" individuals. Because it's an entreaty to the most basic of human needs and concerns.

Cage was the perfect choice to play Jack; he's got a natural, sympathetic look that makes him easy to like, and combined with the emotional aspect he brings to the character it makes Jack someone to whom it is so easy to relate. it's a performance that allows you to feel something; and that's really what this movie is all about, capturing that sense of humanity that is so often lacking in people's lives today. Cage makes it work, and he makes it work beautifully, because he lets you share Jack's frustration, his loss, his fears and, most importantly, the hope and the love he ultimately realizes has been missing in his life. It's a challenging role that Cage not only met, but surpassed with just the kind of exacting performance that was needed to put this story across.

Tea Leoni gives an excellent performance, as well, as Kate. It's a sensitive, sympathetic portrayal that serves the character and the story with great effectiveness. Leoni makes something special out of a character that could've been just the "female lead," with the purpose of being nothing more than the means of moving the story of Jack's self-discovery along. Instead, she makes it her story as much as his by making Kate an endearing, truly integral part of the film, and she fairly sparkles on the screen.

The supporting cast includes Jeremy Piven (Arnie), Saul Rubinek (Alan), Josef Sommer (Peter), Lisa Thornhill (Evelyn), Harve Presnell (Big Ed), Mary Beth Hurt (Adelle) and Francine York (Lorraine). There's no doubt that personal experience and frame of reference is going to play a big part in the way "The Family Man" is received by the audience. But Ratner, Cage, Leoni and everyone else connected with this project are to be commended for making an honest, heart-felt film with an important message about life in today's world. It's a film that says success isn't just being the guy at the top of the heap, that it's okay to just "be" whomever or whatever you are, as long as it's what makes you happy and content. It's a bold statement for a filmmaker to make today, and we can only hope that more artists will have the guts to make more movies like this in the future.

If, like me, you find most Hollywood "love" stories about as warm and romantic as a cold sleepless night in Seattle, then you're in for a surprise. Not since Casablanca have I enjoyed a love story as much, and though they both end at the airport, the similarity ends there. This one is about marriage, family, and the connections and sacrifices that make marriage, parenthood and yes, love, worthwhile.

Nicolas Cage plays a harried but driven Wall Street executive playboy who wakes one day to find himself trapped in a life he never wanted, married to the woman he abandoned years ago. It's a living nightmare at first, but the harder he tries to escape it, the more he begins to see that there are values and rewards that he somehow missed in his previous executive penthouse lifestyle. By the end of the movie, he's learned a lesson he will never forget.

An unexplainable fantasy in the tradition of "Groundhog Day", you soon find yourself accepting the unexplainable, even as the protagonist himself realizes there is no easy escape from his new reality, and learns to work within it's framework. After all, life throws all of us some unexpected "curves", and like the protagonist in this modern day Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Suburban Bowling League, we can become better people by accepting and embracing the crazy things life puts us through in the name of love. Chalk one up for old-fashioned family values in a feel-good movie with a message, served up without the sappy cliches.

Put the kids to bed early (The Family Man deals with some adult issues, and much as I enjoyed it, it would need a little editing before I would consider it a family film!), and just the two of you watch this one together with a bowl of popcorn and a glass of wine - you'll be glad you did!

I saw this movie in the theatre just after Christmas and I have to say it is one of the best romantic drama/fantasy movies I've ever seen. Nicolas Cage proves once again that his acting skills are second to none, and I don't think I've seen Tea Leoni in a better role.

Cage's character, a rich, hard-working businessman with no time for a real relationship comes across his ex-finacee's phone number after he chose to leave her in order to accept a job offer years before.

A 'guardian angel' of sorts gives him the chance to take a glimpse of how his life would be if he didn't get on that plane. And the result is phenomenal. This is a movie for anyone who has ever wondered, "What if I made different choices in life."

Why this movie wasn't nominated for an Oscar is beyond me, but it is indeed a great film which the whole family will surely enjoy.

Although it is written for the general populace, this film does shed light on the meaning of life and the age old question of "Is it better to have power or have love?" Love vs. Materialism. Nicholas Cage does a good job in the lead role, realizing what his life could have been, only if he had taken the less greedy path.

Watch this movie with your teenagers, it's not bad.

Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) was a highly sucessful wallstreet businessman. Thirteen years ago, he had left his college girlfriend, Kate Reynolds (Téa Leoni), to study law in the UK. Despite how hard she tried to convince him to stay, he had decided to leave. They never kept in contact after that.

Jack went to bed on Christmas eve and woke up on Christmas morning in a noisy house with a wife and two kids. Apparently, this was the alternate life that he would lead if he had not left for studies 13 years ago and stayed to marry Kate. He slowly discovered the importance and joy of having a family in the rest of the movie.

When Jack returned to his real life, he went to look for Kate, hoping to start afresh with her. Kate had long gotten over Jack and was in the midst of packing up to leave for Paris to work. Jack tried hard to get her to stay.

This is a heart-warming movie, especially during the parts when Jack was searching out his role as a family man. The current ending can be improved if it shows a scene where Jack and Kate live happily together as a family.

This movie borrows from It's a Wonderful Life and the book Replay, where a man can go back and see how his life would be if he made a different choice.

In this movie, Nicholas Cage says goodbye to his girlfriend (Kate) at the airport. He is going to London for a job. We next see him years later as a successful head of a large corporation, unmarried and basically involved in one-night stands. We are later to find out that when Cage went to London, he forgot about Kate and she went her own way, never to be heard from again.

Cage is on the way home from the office during a snow-storm and thwarts a robbery. The audience expects the robber to shoot cage but instead Cage seems to convince the robber that he would be a better man if he didn't shoot Cage. It turns out that the robber is not really a robber but a type of Angel (similar to Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life) who will give Cage a glimpse of what life would be like if he hadn't stayed in London but instead came back and married Kate.

Cage goes to sleep in his luxury apartment and wakes up the next morning in a bed with an older Kate. Cage slowly learns that he is really a married man with a family and instead of a big time corporate president, he is a tire salesman in his father-in-law's store.

There are several hilarious scenes and some very touching ones. His "new" life looks like a nightmare at first turns out to be the life he will eventually prefer (Some of this is reminiscent of Goldie Hawn in Overboard). Only until he realizes this, he will not be returned to his prior life by the Angel.

The director does a great job in giving us an ending that is different than what you seem to expect. I won't say what but I think it was well done.

One thing that is not explored is that when Cage's glimpsed life finishes, he will lose his two children from that glimpsed life. The director never touches on Cage's feelings about that, unlike the novel Replay where the main character is torn apart because a child he had in an alternate life no longer exists when he is in a different reality.

The movie is well cast and Don Cheadle is excellent as the "angel."

Nicolas Cage is the hook in this one. He plays a successful Wall Street investment banker who wakes up one day to find himself on the "road not taken"--married to the girl he left behind almost 20 years ago. Cage does a nice job portraying his confusion. Likewise, wife Tea Leoni does pretty well as she grows into loving her "new" husband. Don Cheadle has a bit part as the mysterious street person who sends Cage on this adventurous way, for reasons that aren't made very clear. This movie was released at Christmastime and as such bears resemblance to the classic "A Christmas Carol"--a "C+" version--I'll upgrade it to 3 stars for Cage's and Leoni's performances.

Nicholas Cage is a wall street tycoon that has everything but a real life. As Christmas approaches Cage is busy landing a mega merger deal when an "angel of fate" transports him into what his life could have been like if he would have stayed with his former fiance (Tea Leoni). He finds himself with a wife of thirteen years and two very cute kids. The problem is that he has all the memories of his wall stree existence and no idea how he got where he is. The result is a feel good comedy that makes you wonder "what if".

The plot line is not all that original. It is basically the same film as "Mr. Destiny" except with the reverse circumstances. Also, unlike Jim Belushi, Nicholas Cage CAN act. Cage pulls off this comedy better than most of his previous performances. Tea Leoni is charming and funny in her own right. They mix well on screen and the child actors add that OH SO CUTE factor that seems to be a must have in movies lately.

Overall the movie flows good and holds interest throughout. It plays on human emotion to the point that the viewer really seems to care about the development of the characters and wants to know what happens. The ending is hopeful without being the typical over the top sap. I really enjoyed this movie and recommend it.

I haven't cried so much from watching a movie than I did when I watched The Family Man. It is a truly, touching, magical film about second chances. Nicolas Cage is perfect for the part of Jack Campbell, the cocky, ambitious, and selfish wall street millionaire who believed he had it all until he is approached by an Angel on Christmas Eve who knows the truth deep inside Jack. Jack performs a very good deed inside the convenient store, and therefore the Angel grants Jack "a glimpse" of the beautiful life he could have led if he had only made different choices as a younger man. This movie is not only touching, it is a laugh riot! Watching Jack's reactions as he wakes up Christmas morning to a wife and two kids he never had.... I was crying and laughing at the same time.
This movie portrays a very important message. Life is about LOVE. You could be the richest man in the world, but without the warmth of love what is there to live for? Jack realizes after "the glimpse" that deep down inside of himself, he is alone... truly, and utterly alone. He truly would've had it all if he had just chosen LOVE.
A lot of people don't like the ending to this movie, but I believe that the producers were trying to make the audience think for themselves. Jack had to make the right decision HIMSELF, it could not be granted to him. Miracles do happen in real life, and in The Family Man, Jack experiences a miracle. He realizes that LOVE is true happiness. His life is with Kate, and he must get her back before his future closes right in front of his eyes. The ending is a very realistic ending. Jack and Kate couldn't just fall into eachother's arms and say, "Okay! Let's begin our lives now!" They needed to start all over again from scratch. What's meant to be will always find a way....God works in mysterious ways....

THE STORY: Nothing new: A ruthless, cold-hearted businessman named Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) gets a glimps how his life would have been if wouldn't have left his girlfriend Kate Reynolds (Tea Leoni) 13 years ago to start a career. So one morning he finds himself as a family man and.. well.. he begins to like it. Off course he is torn out of that illusion and realisez it would be great to see Kate again and live this life for real.

CAST: Nicolas Cage is perfect. He manages to carry the movie and keep the ballance between comedy and tragedy. We all know he's got the sadest eyes in Hollywood but he can also be extremely funny. Tea Leoni plays a likeable Kate Reynolds. She is the perfect wife for Nicolas Cage. There's a lot of chemistry between the two of them and you don't wanna be Jack Campbell if Katie is getting angry. Don Cheadle, who was brilliant in Traffic is reduced to a chliched African American who goves Jack the glimps of the what if world.

WRITING/DIRECTING: This could have been such a sappy romantic movie but it actualy touched me on several levels and warmed my heart. The combination of comedy (which sometimes is a bit too over the top) and Drama works pretty well and you begin to ask those famous questions to yourself. What if, what if.. Brett Rattner.. well, I couldn't believe that after two mediocre buddy movies (Rush Hour and Money talks) he'd be able to direct a serious movie. He did a great job. My favourite shot is when Cage walks his dog. Also the images have a warm feeling to them which adds to the story.

THE DVD:Making of, Deleted scenes, hillarious outtakes, director/producer/writer commentaries. All you could ask for. But what makes this DVD an absolute winner is the isolated music score with commentary by Danny Elfman, who I would hire if I would ever do a Christmas movie...

ALL IN ALL: I guess this movie is a little bit corny but that kind of corny that touches you and feels real. Great performances and an interesting story. The only problem are some bad jokes.. but that's all. See it at Christmas time with your loved ones..