Family Man
by Lovell Mahan-Moutaw

We've seen this scenario before.

Ebenezer frigging Scrooge!

Hello? Anyone? Anyone?

I guess it is that time of year.

Okay, in case you haven't been paying attention and haven't seen Scrooged or the one thousand and one productions of A Christmas Carol or are not eagerly anticipating A Diva's Christmas Carol just because the lead character is named "Ebony Scrooge" and that is hysterical on some frightening level that screams "YOU NEED A LIFE!", ahem, then I'll lay it on the line for you.

Incredibly financially successful man has what he thinks is everything. His heart is closed to life and his sole focus is the making of money. In comes an angel or a devil or a spirit or an ancestor or whatever who gives him a "glimpse" of what life could be like or should be like depending on how you look at it. Then, wham! - incredibly financially successful man realizes the error of his ways and he turns his life around.

Enter Jack (Nicolas Cage) - who, years ago, said goodbye to Kate (Tea Leoni, thank God, back to work). At the time, she wanted him to give up an internship in London to be with her. She choose them. He choose London.

Now - Jack is wildly successful and has so much money it isn't even funny. Kate calls but he decides to take his mentor's advice and let sleeping dogs lie so he throws away the message and goes home. It is Christmas Eve and Jack needs some egg nog. He stops by the local convenience store. He witnesses and then intervenes in a crime. The man committing the crime isn't what we think he is. We know this because he is Don Cheadle and Don Cheadle would never play some guy who would commit some petty crime for no reason.

Jack goes home, wakes up and finds that he is in bed with Kate. They have two children and it is Christmas morning. He goes back to the City, finds that life as he knew it has been erased, he goes back to Kate and attempts to comprehend what is happening to him. He says nonsensical things to her which for some reason she does not think are nonsensical. Instead of thinking he is insane, she thinks he is exasperating. He winces at a smelly diaper as if he's never seen or smelled one, which he hasn't. His daughter is convinced he is an alien who has taken her real father's place as she senses he is not the same. Nevertheless, crisis averted, she decides to become his coach and even manages to help him out of some jams.

All sorts of things happen - Jack reaches for his old life - Kate supports him and chooses them again - Jack realizes, finally, what that means and pretty soon - boom! - the glimpse is done. Jack is thrown back to his reality and he doesn't want to be there. Surprise, surprise - even though Jack had all the money in the world, it was all about the love of Kate and family that Jack really needed. Jack is devastated and he knows he has to rectify the situation. He finds the message and tries to call Kate. And so on, and so on.

I was really looking forward to this movie. I like Tea Leoni and Nicolas Cage and especially Don Cheadle. I thought there was going to be something more than the cliched smelly diaper scene and the bowlers-are-schmucks baloney. This kind of movie is usually charming. It makes you wonder, "what if" - what if you had made the other decision, chose the other road, decided not to have that fourth doughnut?

Um.

Well, it is interesting to ask what if, and to wonder. And I have to say that Jack and Kate are both pretty interesting and they are neat characters and I didn't at all mind spending a couple of hours watching them play out this little "what if" scenario. My Film Society showed it, so I didn't pay for it, so what else are you gonna do on a snowy Tuesday night?

And Jack and Kate's daughter is adorable and she pulled off the cliche "Are you an alien?" scene and managed to be quite vulnerable. Even the corny "Glad you're back" scene closer to the end of Jack's glimpse was done well by the daughter. In fact, she was very affecting and she made the whole thing a lot less been-there-done-that than it really was.

But that is where it all ends. You have been there and you have done that. There is nothing new here so don't expect any magic. I really cannot say it was a waste of my time and that I didn't enjoy it on some level - but there were holes (Kate accepting Jack's unusual behavior) and there isn't really anything original about the whole scenario and the end, well, the end just doesn't cut it.

This holiday season, there may easily be nothing better out there to see. So if that is the case, then I would recommend this for a lazy holiday day when you just want to spend some time laughing a bit and wondering, "What if?". But that is as far as I can go.

CineScene, 2000