Why ‘Serendipity’ Is Destined to Be a Holiday Classic
Assorted Flavors features listicles and other movie-related goodies.
By Kevin Prchal
Here are 8 reasons Serendipity is the Christmas fairytale you’ve been waiting for.
Cool Yule
If your movie kicks off with Louis Armstrong’s “Cool Yule” overlaying wintery images of New York City, it’s not a matter of fate: it’s a stone-cold holiday classic.
Fairytale of New York
Ice skating in Central Park, charming cafes, supercharged department stores, fairytale ending. This picture-perfect New York City might only exist in movies and snow globes, but I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have me checking on flight rates.
Certified Bromance
John Cusack and Jeremy Piven’s bromance chemistry is a thing to behold. Their banter and beaming everyman charisma put them in the hall of fame of “Duos I’d Like to Grab A Beer With.” (See also: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.)
Sweet Levity
You can’t spell levity without Levy. Between Eugene Levy and Molly Shannon’s indelible comic personas, a sweet and oh-so-early aughts soundtrack, and its story packed with enough sincerity to sedate our meme-filled culture of irony, this movie (like any good holiday title) gives us the warmhearted lift from our troubles we seek each holiday season.
Slay Ride
Just two years before Kate Beckinsale began her prosperous career of slaying vampires and werewolves in the Underworld saga, she was slaying my 17-year-old heart as the sweet and starry-eyed Sara Thomas in Serendipity. Took me a merry minute to stop looking for her anytime I stepped off of an elevator. Just kidding. Or am I? Anyways, her charm still holds.
The Right Side of Hope
Although the film is only bookended by Christmas, it works so well as a holiday film because its central premise asks us to believe in something we’re all ready to believe this time of year: hope. And when our bewildered believer Jonathan Traeger opens that book and sees her name, it’s enough to propel anyone into the new year on the right side of hope.
Streaming Originals Don’t Compare
Whether or not Serendipity is *destined* to become a Christmas classic, I don’t know. But please join me in mourning this bygone era of filmmaking. A time when movies with a heyday Hollywood budget and movie stars at the center were made before the age of streaming originals slowly yet defiantly took over. At first blush, this movie might strike you as a little gooey, but stack it against literally any Netflix or Hallmark Channel holiday original and it’ll play like GD Casablanca.
The Logo
Just kidding, that’s indefensible.
