Rate It
|
||||||||||||||||
Rating Averages
My Friends |
Not rated. () |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
All Flixster |
(75152) |
16706 |
55855 |
Female |
(49825) |
11076 |
37032 |
Male |
(25327) |
5630 |
18823 |
More Like This
If you liked this, then you'll also probably like...
Got another recommendation for someone who liked this movie? Add it to the list!
Got an opinion? Use the buttons to vote on all the suggestions people have added.
If lots of people vote, the best suggestions will rise to the top.
| It's a Wonderful Life (71%) |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Click (70%) |
|
|
| 13 Going on 30 (Suddenly 30) (67%) |
|
|
| Mafia! (33%) |
|
|
| Raising Arizona (75%) |
|
|
Plot:
Wall Street playboy, Jack Campbell is at the top of his professional game with little time for anything else. Jack's lavish, fast-paced lifestyle drastically changes one snowy Christmas night when he ...( read more 
)
Meet Other Fans
ONLINE NOW
Recent Reviews
-
MCT:August 15, 2008The Family Man is the latest in a flurry of recent movies to contemplate life in an alternate reality. An amalgamation of elements and ideas from sources like A Christmas Carol, It's a Wonderful Life, and Groundhog Day, The Family Man proves to be an effective, if not truly impressive, look at the road not taken. It's also an almost exact copy of Pip Karmel's 1999 feature, Me Myself I, which took a similar premise and approached in from the female point of view. In that movie, the protagonist was played by Rachel Griffiths. This time around, it's Nicolas Cage.
Regret, it is said, is one of the most important elements of life. Every time we make a serious choice, regret inevitably follows, if only fleetingly. The bigger the decision, the more likely we are to wonder what would have happened if we had elected another option. To take a job or not to take a job... To marry or not to marry... To be or not to be... Those are the questions. And it's the nature of life that we only learn how one half of each twin possibility turns out. So, those who are married, for example, wonder what it would have been like to ride the wave of bachelordom (or bachelorettedom) into middle age. And those who are single, understanding that loneliness can be the companion of independence, ponder what it would be like to be shackled to someone else. However, while the untraveled road remains shrouded in mystery in the real world, movies like The Family Man enjoy parting the fog and giving their characters a glimpse of what they have missed.
Nicolas Cage plays Jack Campbell, a wheeler-dealer who's the toast of Manhattan and "a credit to capitalism." He is willing to do anything to close a deal, including forcing his entire team to work late on Christmas Eve then come in for a "strategy session" on Christmas Day. Family has no meaning for Jack. Then, on his way home after work late on Christmas Eve, he encounters a street hustler (Don Cheadle) who turns out to be an angel of sorts. When Jack claims that he has everything in life that he needs, the angel decides to prove that's not the case, and transports Jack into an alternate universe where he has been married for 13 years to Kate (T?a Leoni), his college girlfriend. He is no longer rich, he works at a tire dealership, he has two kids, and he lives in a small house in Teaneck, New Jersey. Jack is initially horrified, but, in true It's a Wonderful Life fashion, he begins to connect with this lifestyle, which focuses on people and relationships rather than money and possessions.
Boiled down to its essence, The Family Man is a romantic comedy dressed up with a lot of intriguing philosophical side issues. At the core of the film is the relationship between Jack and Kate, and how her love (and the affection of his children) redeems him and proves the old-fashioned ideal that true wealth comes from having a family, not a 10-figure bank account. For the most part, this relationship works. Neither Cage nor Leoni does groundbreaking work here, but they're both effective and likable, and, when together, they click. And, although Cage is not recognized as an actor with great range, he capably handles Jack's transition from self-centered bachelor to giving husband and father.
The Family Man is not a flawless exploration of this scenario. At a little over two hours in length, the movie wears out its welcome. Director Brett Ratner (who made his mark in Hollywood directing Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in Rush Hour) has a tendency to include redundant scenes, especially late in the film as Jack is coming to the realization that he likes his "new" life. Ratner seems unsure how much the audience needs to buy Jack's conversion, and he ends up belaboring the point. The conclusion is lame, as if the filmmakers couldn't decide how to wrap things up and went with a "you can have your cake and eat it" option. For a story that is in large part about sacrifice, this doesn't work.
Overall, however, The Family Man is a pleasant motion picture, and, placed side-by-side with its opposite gender clone, Me Myself I, it is the more appealing movie. Despite its flaws, the screenplay is effective enough to get us thinking about a few philosophical issues (which a movie like this should always do) while it tells a worthwhile story. This is the second major film of 2000 to update and reshape Dickens' A Christmas Carol (the other being Disney's The Kid), and its success argues in favor of the timelessness of the themes and issues involved. -
MCT:July 20, 2008
Incredible. Loved it. Puts life into perspective !! What's important !, a real tear jerker at times ! :'-( Excellent ! ;-) Enjoy.
-
MCT:July 8, 2008A Bret Ratner film. That has that Asian guy that stars in almost all his films and I don't mean Jackie.
-
MCT:June 30, 2008
interesting plot. i really dont think that nicholas cage was fit at all to play jack campbell. jeremy piven was great.
-
MCT:June 25, 2008Love love this movie, I watch it at the holidays now but it is good anytime of the year!
::|::Favorite::|:: -
MCT:June 16, 2008
A nice play on the idea of It's A Wonderful Life, instead it is the business man who gets the awakening to what he is missing by becoming a ruthless competitor instead of a family man. Undoubtedly Ratner's best film I think.
-
MCT:June 7, 2008
A perfect Christmas film. Will make you question about your motives and the people you love and care about, as well as your current life's state.
77/100 -
not bad not up there with its a wonderful life but i get why nbc keeps playing this around christmas every year it has its redeaming qualities its just a little depressing when you see the twin towers when he drives into new york you cant help but remember
-
MCT:May 26, 2008
ICK, BLEG, VOMIT, Nicolas Cage...but the movie was ok, i suppose, once you can get over stupid puke face.
-
MCT:May 15, 2008
A happily single,wealthy executive who thinks he has everything meets a mysterious stranger,attempting to intervene in what he believes is a man needing help. The amused mystery man asks him a challenging question and from there turns the executive's life into chaos by sending him on a journey into the "WHAT IF I HAD DONE THIS INSTEAD" realm.It's a fun ride all the way with engaging chacters who have real chemistry.A great script,great caste,hilarious,touching and leaves you with a smile.
-
MCT:April 22, 2008
great movie. I enjoy the fact that this film takes to of the most basic priorities (work and family) and puts them in the correct order, and despite the "difficulty" that comes with the time spent on a family, Cage realizes it is time well spent.
-
MCT:April 18, 2008
pretty educative with a perfect chemical relation between nicolas and tea.very lovely movie for all audience.
-
A men who thought that he got everything but a wise man appear and gave him a glimps,and let realize what he missed is to have a beautiful family and one day he waked up, he noticed was just dreaming.
-
MCT:March 30, 2008
nick cage man that guy is great is there nefin he can't do welll?!!!! really simple but well done concept! tea leoni is really good as well...the film is so universal and really hit a chord wit me!!!
-
MCT:March 26, 2008
Two things that made me not like this movie:
1. i don't like Nicolas Cage.
2. It wasn't a great movie. -
MCT:February 28, 2008
Love this movie. Awesome romantic comedy with both Cage and Leoni playing a chemistry driven marriage
-
MCT:February 26, 2008
i cried a lot in watching this movie... hope everyone be given the chance to see d future... to avoid mistakes...
-
MCT:February 23, 2008
Nicholas Cage is untouchable when he does dramas. The Family Man might not me as emotional as Leaving Las Vegas but it's still pretty good.
-
MCT:February 16, 2008
An unfotunately overlooked film about a man who finds himself questioning his happiness. Some really humourous parts along with a great story all in all. Nic Cage is such a great actor.
-
MCT:February 11, 2008
Surely, I've seen better fims, but this one wasn't horrible. It's a so-so look into the life of Jack Campbell and what could have been... or maybe it's what is... or what will happen, you get the drift.
-
MCT:February 10, 2008
Not bad does get a little boring in bits but it has its moments. This movie just proves Nicolas cage is good no matter what he does.
-
MCT:February 5, 2008
Decent film, could be better, but could also be much, much worse. Nicholas Cage puts in a really good performance as he comes to grips with a normal life. Thought it was one of those occasions where it would have been nice to get the traditional Hollywood ending, with him somehow ending up in the other timeline for good.
-
MCT:February 1, 2008
? ? Once More - My Guy Nicolas Cage On Top Form ? .. ? Love This Film And The Sentimental Aspects Too - Certainly One That Will Be Remaining In My Collection Long Time ? .. ? Mwahhh ? .. ? Lil Mim? ? ?
-
MCT:January 10, 2008
Sweet movie, characters you can relate to, non original idea, but its nice to see sth like this sometimes, right?
-
MCT:January 10, 2008
One of my most fav movies. I love when she says "how can you look at me like that after 13 years" Its so beautiful :)
My Friends Said...
The Family Man Recent Reviews
Register or sign-in to see your friends' reviews !
Comments
-
aperfectgentlemanposted 47 days ago -
Brilliant. Best film ever for me. Epitomy of art imitating life -- especially at 2000.
posted 256 days ago -
