It Could Happen to You Synopsis: A police officer promises to share his lottery ticket with a waitress in lieu of a tip.
Kind-hearted cop Charlie Lang always wants to do the right thing. While he’s content with his modest life, his wife Muriel craves more. Namely, more money. She is growing frustrated with their meager lifestyle. When Charlie decides to play the lottery, he also comes up short when leaving a tip for Yvonne, a diner waitress. The latter has had to declare bankruptcy thanks to her husband maxing out her Mastercard.
Charlie promises Yvonne that he will split the winnings with her as a tip if he wins the lottery that evening. If he doesn’t win, he’ll return and give her double the tip he would have left that day had he had the money. Yvonne humors him enough to agree, and that night, Charlie and Muriel discover they’ve picked the winning lotto numbers. But so has an entire bowling league, so the $64 million payout dwindles to $4 million. Things grow even more strained between Charlie and Muriel when Charlie explains his deal with Yvonne.
“It’s like we’re on two different channels now. I’m CNN and she’s the Home Shopping Network.”– Charlie
This was my first watch of It Could Happen to You, and it was a long time coming as I had wanted to see it for ages. Thank you, streaming services! I really enjoy Nicolas Cage in his romantic comedies, and this movie was no different. He and Bridget Fonda have a warm, cozy sort of chemistry that makes you root for them despite Cage’s character being married. Rosie Perez was hilarious as Charlie’s discontented, shallow wife, Muriel. Even though you know she is not the right kind of woman for Charlie, Perez makes the character fun to watch.
There was something romantic and old-school about It Could Happen to You. Yes, it was released in 1994, but I’m not entirely sure they make romantic comedies like this today. It is a simple premise surrounding two simple people who fall in love amid life-changing circumstances. It just toes the line of perhaps being too sentimental. Thankfully, Cage and Fonda are so genuine in their roles that it feels more romantic than schmaltzy, and that’s exactly what I like to see in a rom-com.
“Because of me, you have nothing.”- Yvonne
“Because of you, I have you.” – Charlie
It’s also great to see small supporting turns by Richard Jenkins and Stanley Tucci, who are always welcome regardless of the movie. Tucci plays Yvonne’s jerkish husband, whom she’s too broke to divorce, and Jenkins is the smarmy divorce attorney that Muriel hires when she decides she wants all of the winning money. The moral of this romance is that money isn’t everything, and sometimes love really is enough. Obviously, this is a life lesson most of us already know, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of it in an old-school, feel-good rom-com.
Nicolas Cage has made many stinkers in his career, but It Could Happen to You is not one of them. I recommend this movie to any rom-com fan who wants to sit back and be entertained by a cute, funny romance.
Watched: 08/26/2021
Notable Song: Young at Heart by Frank Sinatra
Joel
September 2, 2021This is a sweet little rom-com. Perhaps it relies on coincidence a bit too often but the leads are very winning, such a shame Bridget Fonda decided to retire, she had quite a career going. Nowadays Cage gives me the creeps but this was shot before his descent into full blown eccentricity and it’s a reminder how very appealing he could be.
Rosie Perez is a scream as the rapacious Muriel, on film she’s very funny but if you met someone like her in real life you’d run the other way in a hurry.
It’s a minor film, and no unfortunately they no longer seem to know how to turn out pieces of gentle whimsy like this, but a nice way to pass a couple of hours painlessly.
Sara
September 3, 2021Nic Cage is very hit or miss for me when it comes to his movies. But I love The Family Man too! And yes, it’s a shame Hollywood can’t seem to capture the wistful rom-com feels of the early 90s anymore. I almost always fall in love when any from com that has Louis Armstrong or Frank Sinatra music.