Happy Accidents

Starring:Marty Davey, Marisa Tomei, Vincent D'Onofrio, Nadia Dajani, Holland Taylor, Tovah Feldshuh, Sean Gullette, Bronson Dudley, JosÃ© ZÃºÃ±iga, Sanjay Chandani, Cara Buono, Lianna Pai, Tamara Jenkins, Richard Portnow, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Mick Weber, Sam Seder, Lyn Vaus, Anthony Michael Hall, H. Jon Benjamin
Director: Brad Anderson (II)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This unusual but strikingly affecting movie stars Marisa Tomei as Ruby, a young woman with a string of bad relationships behind her, who falls in love with a guy named Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket, The Whole Wide World). Initially, Sam just seems quirky, but eventually he tells her his secret: he's a time traveler from 400 years in the future. Happy Accidents walks a delicate line between genres, never making it clear whether Sam is delusional or telling the truth until the end. The strange blend of genres (which plays like romantic comedy, not like science fiction) may make some viewers balk, but writer-director Brad Anderson (Next Stop Wonderland) has a gift for both revealing psychological insights and sensual moments--like when Sam explains principals of time travel by running his hands up Ruby's leg--that, combined with the superb cast, are constantly engaging and sincerely touching. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Academy Award® winner* Marisa Tomei (In the Bedroom) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Men in Black) star in this "touching love story" (Boxoffice) about a neurotic New Yorker, her highly eccentric boyfriend and their extraordinary connection. "Cleverly plotted [with] an abundance of heart" (The New York Times), this captivating romance will make you crazy for love! Ruby (Tomei) is a hopeless romantic who's always attracted to the wrong kind of guy until shemeets Sam (D'Onofrio). He's sweet, sensitive, sincere and from the year 2470. Despiteor maybe because ofhis bizarre claims to have traveled back in time to save her, Ruby falls for Sam. And while common sense says he's crazy, her heart says he's the one.

Customer Reviews:

A Film About Time Travel That Will Waste Your Time.......2007-06-23

I guess I don't share the artistic sensibilities of the other reviewers that have posted their reviews. Nonetheless I give this "little" film two thumbs down - way down - in fact if they were any lower they would be hell. That's how far down. While the story's plot is intriguing, its execution would be considered cruel and unusual punishment for the audience. Long slow moving story about a man from the future returns to the past to save a girl's life. Painful, unfulfilling and a predictable ending. He saves her life - hopefully revealing the ending will save some of you from wasting your time watching this like I did. Now I wish someone from the future would come back and save me from watching this movie.

Speedy & Great Quality........2007-05-12

Thank you - I was amazingly surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie.

Happy Accidents is just that!.......2007-03-29

This movie is an overlooked gem. Without spoiling the ending, lets just say you are not sure until the final scene who Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) really is. Marissa Tomei is great. And Vincent's fans will love watching the movie again with his commentary on (special feature).

I love this movie!!!!.......2007-01-30

I saw this as a "happy accident". my roommate left it in the wrong case, so thinking I was watching "goodfellas" for the millionth time, I got a bit confused when Marisa Tomei was in the credits. Being lazy at heart, I left it in the DVD player anyway and found a really great movie. I had never heard of it while it was at the theatres, but TRUST ME, this is one great flick!! More than your average Chick Flick!

Turned out to be quite a Happy Accident for me..........2006-12-10

At the time that I discovered this gem of a movie in my local video store I had actually never even heard of it. Now being a Vincent D'Onofrio fan I figured that at the very least I would enjoy watching him on screen (well, on my television) even if the film didn't turn out to be that great. And with Marisa Tomei as the other lead I thought, how bad can it be? It had a couple of positive reviews on the cover as well as a basic idea about the plot. Other than that I knew nothing about "Happy Accidents" until I sat down to watch it for the first time.

In a nutshell, and without giving too much away, I guess I would have to describe this movie as a very quirky and unusual love story. Marisa plays the part of Ruby, a young woman with a history of being attracted to men with lots of problems (mostly psychological problems). We get the idea from very early on that Ruby has had more than her fair share of past boyfriends with these so-called problems, as we see her and her two close girlfriends maintaining and updating a shoebox full of past relationship photos. Ruby just wants to meet the right guy. Is that really asking for too much? So she continues to try and try and try.

O.K., so in comes Vincent's character Sam, a sweet and sensitive young man who seems to be instantly drawn towards Ruby from the first time they meet. Before long they are falling in love and Sam has moved into Ruby's apartment. They're very cute together - a real chemistry. Initially, and probably because of Ruby's past history with so many strange men, she becomes a bit suspicious about some of Sam's quirks. Almost like a child who is just discovering the world for the first time, Sam seems to be curious and fascinated with almost everything. His wide-eyed amazement over every day things that most people take for granted is unusual, I suppose, but other than that he just seems to be a really sweet guy who is just a bit different. As Ruby begins to notice more and more of these quirks though she becomes a bit more suspicious. We see her consulting with her best friend as well as her therapist on a regular basis, but nothing seems to be too strange so she happily continues her relationship with her new live-in boyfriend.

So what about this relationship is so quirky? Is it the fact that Sam is always so evasive whenever Ruby asks him about his life, his family, his past, etc? Or is it the fact that there seems to be so much discrepancy in what he tells her versus what she discovers? Sam tells Ruby for example that he doesn't keep photos of his family because he doesn't like to live in the past. At first that seems to suffice until Ruby discovers family photos in Sam's wallet. Then there is the discovery of Sam's sea sickness pills, the glassy-eyed staring spells that overcome him from time to time and his obsessive drawings of someone named Chrystie Delancey. Eventually Ruby demands an explanation for what she refers to as Sam's idiosyncrasies and Sam reluctantly tells her that he is a back traveller from the year 2470.

So is Sam just someone who tells ridiculous stories in an attempt to impress or amuse his girlfriend? Is he just trying to maintain a sort of mystique about himself? Or, is Sam actually crazy? The only other option would be that Sam is telling the truth about being from the future. So what should Ruby believe? These are the questions that she finds herself facing as she struggles to either maintain or end her relationship with Sam. The challenge for the viewer of this unusual film is to decide for herself or himself what the real story behind Sam's story is. You wont find any spoilers in this review though. You have to decide for yourself.

I would highly recommend "Happy Accidents" for anyone who is looking for a very unusual love story. There are moments of drama, moments of comedy and an ongoing mystery that may still puzzle you even after the film ends. If you still aren't able to figure out what the deal with Sam really is you can always check out the DVD's audio commentary. Before returning this movie to the store I watched it a 2nd time. Then I decided to buy a copy and I never seem to grow tired of watching it. If you're a fan of Vincent or Marisa (or both) then you'll probably love this film. But even if you aren't a huge Vincent/Marisa fan you'll probably still love it. Its just a great film and one I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun, quirky, and very unusual love story.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!
Fun and holds your attention

Happy Accidents

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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Happy Accidents

ASIN: B000AAL8BA

Product Description

Ruby Weaver has man trouble: she tries to fix them, so she's stuck herself with a string of losers. Her current lover, Sam Deed, seems different: he's sweet, tender, just in from Dubuque. But, as Ruby tells her therapist about Sam, in flashbacks we see someone not quite of this world. In fact, Sam informs Ruby that he's from the future, 2470 to be exact, traveling back in time to avoid prosecution for his sister's death, and to find Ruby, whose photo he saw back home. Ruby's sure he's delusional, but most of the time she wants to keep him - and maybe fix him. Although he seems sane, maybe Sam hasn't told her the real story: what's he up to, and who is Chrystie Delancey?

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2006-06-13

It was also a happy accident that I saw this movie. In fact, I checked it out from the library as a last resort for entertainment that evening. To my surprise, I found it completely enthralling, immensely entertaining and totally unforgettable---to use up all of the movie reviewers' generic phrases. But I mean them all. It's also hysterically funny in places that you don't expect it to be.
This is the first time I have ever been inspired to write a review for amazon at all. Definitely watch this movie--you won't be disappointed!

Fun and holds your attention.......2006-04-09

It was a happy accident that I saw this movie. It is like all the time travel clich?s wrapped up in one. However they picked just the right actors for the parts. You of course recognize Marisa Tomei from the movie "Oscar" (1991); however it may take you a second to recognize Vincent D'Onofrio as the bug in the Edgar suit in the movie "Men in Black" (1997). There is never a dull moment following all the twists and turns.

Sam and Ruby run cross paths and immediately know they have met before. She says d?j? vu; he says time travel. And as they get to know each other he comes clean about being from the year 2472 and she figures out where he is really from. Checking out the pictures in his wallet really help tie the movie together and is a nice added touch to most "K-Pax" type "are you or aren't you" movies.
However do not let this fact or physics get in the way of a story that is in truth about people.

So sit back kibitz a little and enjoy

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