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FAMILY MAN (PG-13)

Reviewed December 26, 2000 - Check out the Family Man Website.

Studio Synopsis: Thirteen years ago, when Jack Campbell (Nicolas Cage) left for London to pursue a prestigious internship, he promised his law school-bound girlfriend Kate (Téa Leoni) that they'd only be apart for a year. Now it's Christmas Eve, and Jack's a high-paid, high-powered and high-living Wall Street bachelor, and Kate's a distant memory. Stopping at a convenience store on his way home from work, Jack finds himself in the middle of a disagreement between the store's owner and an agitated street punk. After helping to settle the riff, Jack proceeds to lecture the young man Cash (Don Cheadle), who in turn, proceeds to questions Jack's values in life. "I have everything I've ever wanted," Jack tells him. Tucked safely inside the walls of his sleek, immaculate designer penthouse, Jack falls asleep...

... and wakes up in a cluttered suburban New Jersey bedroom next to Kate, 13 years older and sleepdeprived but still looking like he remembers her, with a baby crying in the next room and a six-year-old girl calling him Daddy. And that's just the beginning in a long list of surprises for Jack.

Fuzzydog Review: A good performance by Nicolas Cage and a great performance by Tea Leoni help but ultimately do not save this film from being what it is: boring.  The story of a man who gets a glimpse at an alternate life has been done before, with comparisons between Family Man and It's A Wonderful Life the most obvious one during this holiday season.  Well, likeable as he is, Nicolas Cage is no Jimmy Stewart, and Family Man is no It's A Wonderful Life.  Despite a few charming, witty and touching moments in this film, what you get here is a series of thuds that get louder and louder as the film progresses.  This is ho-hum holiday film-making with an unfortunate lack of charisma and chemistry.  Pass on this one...