What’s this all about?
It Could Happen To You is a light romantic comedy about a beat cop who promises to split the proceeds of a lottery ticket with a diner waitress in lieu of leaving her a tip. Predictably, he wins, and romantic and comedic complications ensue.
Who is Nick in this one?
Nick plays “Charlie Lang,” a beat cop in Queens. New york. He loves Queens, and spends his days (and some of his nights) helping its residents. He wants to have kids and raise a family there.
Who else is in this one?
Bridget Fonda plays, “Yvonne,” a failed actress who works as a waitress in a local diner, and has just been forced to declare bankruptcy. She, like Charlie, cares deeply about the people in her community, but has suffered a serious run of bad luck.
Rosie Perez plays Charlie’s wife, “Muriel.” She hates Queens, and longs for a life of fame and fortune. I found Rosie Perez to be hilarious in this role. She was loud and tacky and perfect.
Isaac Hayes plays “Angel,” the mysterious sometimes-narrator of the film, who fortunately does not turn out to be an actual angel.
The great Stanley Tucci plays Yvonne’s sketchy husband, Eddie, who maxes out her credit cards before disappearing, only to turn back up when he learns of her lottery windfall.
Wendell Pierce appears as “Bo,” Charlie’s beat cop partner. He’s great, and I feel like I know the actor from something I watched regularly, but can’t figure out what. He’s perfectly cast, here.
Did you see that?
There’s a scene in which Charlie visits Yvonne at the cafe where she works to tell her that they have won the lottery. He spends some time watching her interact with the diner’s patrons, two of whom are a pair of gay men. Yvonne jokes with the diners, and they share a touching moment.
When Yvonne returns to Charlie, he says something like, “He’s got it, huh?” referencing the diner patron.
Yvonne explains that he does, and that he “has a couple of years” and explains that his friends are trying to keep him comfortable but that he’s declining quickly.
People who didn’t grow up in, or don’t remember the 90’s may not catch the meaning of this interaction.
The character is dying from AIDS, and everyone involved knows it. They know that nothing can be done, and that this man will eventually wither away and die a slow, painful, degenerative death. The fact that Yvonne is friendly with this man, and doesn’t treat him like a pariah is seen as an unusual mark of her good character.
It’s a strikingly bleak topic in an otherwise lighthearted, cheerful comedy, but sadly, it wasn’t at all unrealistic, or uncommon in the 80’s and 90’s.
Sometimes these little throwaway lines remind me of things that were different in the “old days”. Sometimes they are things that I’m glad I’d forgotten about. -Michael
The movie really did nail the time it was made in. The sets were so spot on. Particularly, Nick and Rosie’s apartment was the perfect “we don’t have much money, but want to look like we do have money” style for the time. It just screamed that Rosie really, really cared about materialistic things and wanted more. In fact, her wardrobe also nailed that look perfectly too. -Sarah
What were Nick’s best parts?
This is tough because of the evenly high quality of this film throughout. I’ll name the scene in which Nick uses his lottery winnings to take the local grade-school kids to Yankee stadium as the best. Nick seemed like he was genuinely having fun throughout the scene, and it came across very naturally. -Michael
I have to admit I’m just a sucker for a good 90’s romcom. I think he nailed the big romantic ending scene in the diner where he told Bridget Fonda that he didn’t need the money, he just needed her. (Big sigh for the ladies.. Nick Cage in his prime for looks, swagger, and delivering on the romance.) -Sarah
What were Nick’s worst parts?
There isn’t a scene in this movie that approaches “bad.” The closest that I can come is the meeting between Nick, his lawyer, his wife, and her divorce lawyers. He’s very passive throughout, agreeing to his wife’s unreasonable terms, which was true to what we’ve seen of his character. Then, she demands a return of the money that was given to Yvonne, which angers Nick. Can you guess how Nick portrays this anger?
Yep. He yells at the top of his lungs.
Earlier in the film, a robber literally shot him, and he didn’t get even a little upset, but we’re to believe that this same man’s response in a lawyer’s office is screaming? Anyway, the scene is fine (Nick’s lawyer is pretty funny, and it moves us towards the end of the second act) but I think it could have been a little more subtle. -Michael
Yeah, this is a tough one. The quality was even throughout the movie. I’m going to say the scene where he was soaking his feet after a long day, Rosie makes him move because he is bugging her (she’s a total bitch to him the entire movie) and he spills the foot water in the move. I know it was the point, but who spills so much water on carpet and doesn’t react or care at all. -Sarah
How was the movie?
This movie is good. In an earlier review, I said that Moonstruck was like watching a rough draft of a Hallmark movie. It Could Happen To You is like watching what Hallmark movies aspire to be. It’s funny. The characters are deeply developed. Their motivations and subsequent actions make sense. Characters behave in a believable way. On top of that, the film-making has a charming way of making Queens (population 2.3 million) feel like a quaint small town. It contrasts interestingly with the portrait of Queens painted in 1988 by Coming To America. -Michael
It was a great movie! – Sarah
Yeah, but did you like it?
I liked it. The plot was predictable, but it was fun watching how the characters got from the status quo to the obvious end result. I’d happily watch it again, especially if that meant I wouldn’t have to watch Con Air. Sadly, that isn’t how any of this works. -Michael
I LOVED it! – Sarah
Where can I watch it?
You can rent it on Amazon Prime.
Leave a Reply