The Family Man (2000)

Hey all you Schuster at the Movies fans, it’s four days until Christmas, so I figured it’s the perfect occasion to review a few holiday-inspired films. Yule love’em!

Synopsis: It’s Mr. Destiny at Christmas time! No wait, it’s really It’s a Wonderful Life, and Mr. Potter wakes up as George Bailey!

Blurb From the VHS Jacket: “Jack Campbell (Academy Award winner Nicholas Cage) is a single, wealthy Wall Street trader living the high life in New York City. All that magically changes one morning when he wakes up in a suburban New Jersey bedroom with a wife (Téa Leoni) he never married and two kids he never had – the life he would have led if he had made different choices as a younger man.”

What Did I Learn?: Unless you want to suddenly find yourself in some alternate reality where you wake up in a pool of dog drool every morning, never do a good deed for anyone.

You Might Like This Movie If: You miss this scene for a well-timed bathroom break (the atrocious singing begins at the 1:17 minute mark).

Really?: 1) Jack seems a bit slow on the draw at times. Mid-way through the movie, he notices some award on his shelf and says: “I was in London in 1988”...later, he finds his old airline ticket stub and says: “I flew back the next day.” Well, duh!! Wouldn’t any normal human being have figured out the alternate timeline lickity-split? 2) Jack gets an opportunity to cheat on his wife, and he asks his best friend to provide the lady's address and phone number? Couldn't he have found that out himself?

Rating: The Family Man is a nice, family Christmas movie. Ok, it’s a little contrived and a total rip-off of Mr. Destiny, but well worth watching. 7.5/10 stars.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/