Happy
Accidents
is a refreshing surprise, given the abundance of romantic
comedies completely devoid of originality and substance.
Although the film is a bit too quirky and the mystery of the
story is drawn out to the point of exhaustion, it is heartfelt,
original, and inventive and has two captivating lead
performances. The film could have easily been ludicrous or silly
given the premise, but it manages to stay believable and sincere
by concentrating on the reality of love and relationships, as
well as the constantly inventive dialogue.
The plot
centers on the budding relationship between Rudy (Marisa Tomei)
and Sam (Vincent D’Onofrio). Rudy is a neurotic, self-absorbed
New York girl who has had her fair share of awful relationships
and she always seems to be looking for love in all the wrong
places. And then Sam comes into her life, a sweet, good-natured
man who immediately falls for Rudy, and for who Rudy feels a
strong connection to. As their relationship grows, Rudy begins
to question Sam’s increasingly bizarre behavior, such as
reacting to any number of simple everyday things like it is the
first time he has ever experienced or seen them.
Sam slowly
reveals more and more about himself, and Rudy grows more
untrusting. Eventually, Sam tells her the “real” truth, he is a
“back-traveler” from the year 2470 and he has come back in time
with a purpose. A purpose he doesn’t want her to know, but if he
doesn’t, he will lose her. Rudy, believing Sam is mentally sick,
wants to get out of this relationship, but her heart is telling
her to stay.
The story is a hard sell, but it
works. It works because of the inventive and intelligent
dialogue, in reference to the future (described in great detail
by Sam) and in the intricacies of their relationship. It also
works because of the great lead performances. Vincent D’Onofrio
is terrific. He portrays Sam with such warmth and conviction
that he makes you truly hope that he is from future. That is the
strongest asset of the film; the two performances are so good
you can’t help but root for it to work out. Marisa Tomei gives
one of her best performances, matching her costar scene for
scene. The small supporting cast is also quite good, most
notable being Nadia Dajani. Brad Anderson, an emerging director
in the independent scene, wonderfully directs the film. The
“backwards-time” scenes are especially effective.
The
biggest problem I had with Happy Accidents was the
impossibly drawn out conclusion of the mystery. This movie is at
least twenty minutes too long. This almost ruins the movie; the
filmmakers come dangerously close to losing their audience. I
mean, where is the editor on this film? The originality and
warmth of the story and the performances do overcome this.
Happy
Accidents
is a quirky, heartfelt, inventive and original romantic comedy.
That is something that can’t be said for the majority of recent
films in this genre.
