[255D
Lights Out
Copyright (c) 1994, Bruce Diamond
All rights reserved


[8C[0;1;34mĿ
[8C   [33mIT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU:  [32mAndrew Bergman, director.[6C[34m
[8C   [32mJane Angerson, screenplay.  Starring Nicolas Cage,[6C[34m
[8C   [32mBridget Fonda, Rosie Perez, Wendell Pierce, Isaac[7C[34m
[8C   [32mHayes, Seymour Cassel, Stanley Tucci, Richard Jenkins   [34m
[8C   [32mand Red Buttons.  TriStar.  Rated PG.[19C[34m
[8C

[10C[33mIT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU [36mis a deliriously giddy movie, a work
[5Cthat's determined to make you feel better despite yourself.  Such
[5Can aggressively feel-good movie hasn't appeared on screen since,
[5Cwell, since last year's [33mSLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE[36m.  Though neither
[5Cromantic comedy share cast, crew, or creative personnel, they
[5Cstill resonate on the same giddy level, layering the proceedings
[5Cin a fantasy-like quality.  The situations (a perfect love
[5Cchanging your life forever; top prize in a lottery changing your
[5Clive forever) are storybook simple writ large -- the choice of
[5Cmusic, the "staging," even the staggering coincidences that turn
[5Cup in both films underscore the similarity in style.  The
[5Cdirectors do have their distinctive touches, though:  Nora Ephron
[5C([33mSLEEPLESS[36m) keeps a light, breezy touch on her material.
[5C[33mSLEEPLESS [36mis airy and expansive, as open as Tom Hanks' heart and
[5CMeg Ryan's smile.  Andrew Bergman ([33mIT COULD HAPPEN[36m) exhibits a
[5Ctarter edge to his humor, nervous and twitchy (Rosie Perez), and
[5Cby turns glum and morose (Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda).  But the
[5Cromantic icing with which Bergman frosts his story makes this
[5Cfilm brighter and more colorful than its nigh-claustrophobic
[5CQueens settings would normally allow.  I'd refer to [33mIT COULD
[5CHAPPEN TO YOU [36mas the [33mSLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE [36mof [37m1994[36m, but it's a
[5Clittle more intelligent and won't earn as much box office as
[5CEphron's frothy mix.  Plus some other critic already beat me to
[5Cit.

[10CThe film is a wonderful romantic comedy originally titled
[5C[33mCOP GIVES WAITRESS $2 MILLION TIP[36m, which says it all.  Cage plays
[5Cthe big-hearted cop with an old-fashioned "goodness" that never
[5Clapses into unbelievably wide-eyed innocence or smarmy sentiment.
[5CHe does what he does (honors his promises; saves a merchant from
[5Ca holdup) because it's what he does.  He needs to be good,
[5Cbecause it's an essential part of his nature, like breathing.
[5CApproval, awards, or applause never enter his mind, though they
[5Cdo visit him throughout the story.  That's why he's a cop.
[5CCage's character is a refreshing change from the current crop of
[5C"What's in it for me?" protagonists -- and actors, for that
[5Cmatter.  It's a role that would fit Tom Hanks or Richard Dreyfuss
[5Cjust as well as it fits Cage.

[10CFonda's waitress, while just as cheery as Cage in the latter
[5Chalf of the film, starts out a bit cranky and cantankerous.  Who
[5Ccan blame her -- she's just declared bankruptcy, having been
[5Cstuck with a $12,000 credit card bill by her estranged husband.
[5CHer protestations that she can't afford a divorce don't wash in
[5Cthis day of $40 quicky specials.  Despite her troubles, though,
[5Cshe still manages to force a smile for smart-alecky customers
[5C(Cage and his cop partner) and avoids blowing up at her Scrooge-
[5Clike boss.

[10CCage and Fonda are almost too good to be true, so of course
[5Cthey're going to fall in love.

[10CWhen the "lottery cop and waitress" begin sharing their good
[5Cfortune with others -- buying subway tokesn for strangers,
[5Crenting a baseball stadium for the neighborhood kids -- the film
[5Calmost teeters into pur sappiness.  Disasters visited upon the
[5Cpair (in the form of Rosie Perez as a shrewish wife and Stanley
[5CTucci as Fonda's unemployed actor husband) almost seem forced,
[5Ccontrived to counterbalance the sweetness.  The third act
[5Creality-warping coincidence that throws Cage and Fonda together
[5Cat the Plaza nearly topples the realism created by screenwriter
[5CJane Anderson and director Bergman.  Cage and Fonda are solid
[5Cenough, however, to carry us through such concerns and even bring
[5Cus to cheer for them.

[10CA seemingly-metaphysical Isaac Hayes ("Angel") serves as
[5Cnarrator, but he's thankfully brought to ground by the time we
[5Creach the Plaza.  He serves as an understated observer to what is
[5Cloosely based on a true story.  "The story you're about to see is
[5Cmore or less true," he tells us in the beginning, and you find
[5Cyourself wishing that more films carried the same disclaimer.  [33mIT
[5CCOULD HAPPEN TO YOU [36mdoesn't need it, though, because it's strong
[5Cenough, and entertaining enough, to stand on its own merits.

[5C[32mRATING:  [37m$$$[0m
