Happy Accidents

Here we have only the word of Vincent D'Onofrio, who may be a delusional epileptic or a man of his word....P>Marisa Tomei pulls off one of her best roles as a codependent person in therapy who puts her love and trust into people before she gets to know them. She lets D'Onofrio move in after a week and deals with the consequences later. The story unfolds as she relates it to her best friend and also her therapist. The two women give her completely different advice, and we never know for sure how she will react. The onscreen chemistry between the leads is very magnetic. As we slip into the story, we tend to forget the two are acting.

Anthony Michael Hall factors into the story in an amusing way, and he has a cameo towards the end.

Brad Anderson's direction here is superb, transcending his work with "Next Stop Wonderland" and "Session 9" His range as a filmmaker is wide. "Session 9," which is about a group of asbestos removers who unravel as they work in the creepy confines of an old insane asylum, is a gripping portrayal of what happens as paranoia sets into the minds of a group of men who once trusted each other. Watch it, it stars David Caruso in his best performance since "NYPD Blue." As for film content, the two are not even similar.

Anderson stops a scene and turns it into a photograph as the characters tell their stories, and the montages and collages of imagery make you pause and absorb everything that is going on. The scenes where D'Onofrio's eyes glaze over and he watches time go backwards are unique and sometimes moving. This is a film that puts a wholly original twist on two themes we've seen many times before. We have never seen them pulled off like this. This is a movie anyone can enjoy, and the ending is one of the most emotionally powerful finales I have seen in a long time. This deserves repeat viewings. This is one of the films that you make everyone you know sit down and watch.


Fun and holds your attention   April 22, 2004
B. Chandler (Arlington, Texas)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

It was a happy accident that I saw this movie. It is like all the time travel cliches 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 deja 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


Turned out to be quite a Happy Accident for me...   December 10, 2006
Koala Syd (California, USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

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.