The Family Man [DVD]

The Family Man is a beautifully crafted movie that balances humor, emotion, and deep life lessons. Nicolas Cage delivers a stellar performance as Jack Campbell, a successful but emotionally distant businessman who gets a second chance at life. The story is thought-provoking and explores themes of love, family, and personal fulfillment, making it both heartwarming and relatable. The movie manages to tug at your heartstrings while keeping a lighthearted and optimistic tone. It’s an engaging watch with a perfect mix of comedy and drama. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good movie with a meaningful message!

By now you probably now more or less what the plot of this film is. If that plot sounds appealing, you will definitely like this film. Well written, well directed, and very well acted, it takes a potentially schmaltzy premise and makes a very enjoyable film out of it. Although the DVD box has the reviewer quote "Hilarious" on the front, for the most part this is an amusing and sentimental film, rather than a knee-slapper. Once you accept the fantasy premise, most of the film rings true. Sure, if the road not taken involves being married to Tea Leoni, the deck is stacked a bit. But I really bought into the emotional truth at the core of this film. My only quibble [SPOILER ALERT] concerns the ending. Once Jack has come to love his suburban Jersey life and then is jerked back into his investment banker life, his actions don't really seem convincing. After he tracks Kate down to her townhouse as she packs to leave for Paris, would he really turn away and leave without a greater effort to connect with her? And having gone to the airport to make one last attempt to convince her to stay, would he once again nearly turn away after making only another feeble effort? Seems inconsistent with his hard-driving nature and with the epiphany he had experienced in his Jersey life. The brief scene that immediately precedes these scenes in which he tells his investment banker colleagues that he buys into his NYC life isn't enough to justify the feebleness of his subsequent efforts to win back Kate. Clearly, these final scenes were meant to increase the drama of the eventual reconnection, but alone in the film they don't ring true to me. Finally, there is a little bit of a glitch in the film. [Continued spoiler alert] At one point, Jack finds out that he and Kate moved from Greenwich Village to Jersey only after Kate became pregnant. Their oldest child is at most five (more likely four), and 13 years have past between 1987, when Jack left for London, and 2000, when the movie is set. So that means they lived in Greenwich Village pursuing their Manhattan careers for at least seven years before settling in Jersey - unless, implausibly, Jack began working at Big Ed's early on and was commuting back and forth every day from Manhattan to Jersey. A long enough time, you would think, for Jack to have made progress in the world of Manhattan finance, even without benefit of the London internship, and for Kate to have continued on her actual (non-pro bono lawyer) career path. Presumably, the filmmakers needed a significant span of time to make Jack's rise to the top of the investment banking world plausible and to match Nicholas Cage's age (although Tea Leoni could easily have passed for being in her late 20s), and making their kids older would have made them less cute. Unfortunately, though, the chronology doesn't quite add up. Still, a terrifically entertaining film (particularly at Christmas)!

It's a story that imagines what might have been with a difference choice at a turning point. It's a little slow, but the acting is terrific and that sustained my attention. I was also drawn in by the thoughtful development of Nicholas Cage's character. He thought he was satisfied, even in love, with the direction he'd initially chosen, and then with a deep glimpse into what might have been... well, you'll have to watch to see how that unfolds. Anyway, I like how it shows the difference our choices make, and the difference it makes when we keep heading in the same direction no matter the turns life takes. Either way can work out, and neither way is perfect, but maybe we can feel more right when we've got perspective on what we value most. So that's where the movie has left me - in a pleasant and reflective state of mind.

Not a perfect movie, but definitely one worth taking the time to sit down and watch. Yes, it's another take on "It's a Wonderful Life", but Nicolas Cage & Tea Leoni own their characters and you can't help but get hung up in their story. I've been disappointed with modern films. Either poorly written or they have try to hard to divide us. Go back to the time when films were original and talent was blooming. I recommend this 9/10 movie - for Christmas or any other time of year. Semi-spoiler alert - I remember vividly my emotions and smile sitting in the theater when the last few seconds of the movie played. I looked at my wife and told her it was one of the best endings to a movie I had ever seen. It took my breath away. I still watch that scene and thank the director & writer for putting that last moment of them together on the screen for us to watch & ponder.

This is a highly underrated film - I just watched it again for the umpteenth time. Not sure why it's not on the holiday film rotation on the networks around this time of year. The idea of 'What If...' is something we probably all think of -- particularly around now. Nic Cage is terrific (per usual); Tea Leoni is luminescent. Don Cheadle is a surprise. And the actress who portrays Annie is just a sweetie-pie. It's been 25 years since this film came out and it's still a treasure.

Great holiday movie

An amazing movie! Back when Nicholas Cage's acting skills were on point

Loved this. Highly recommend. Modern day “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Accurately depicts real, modern everyday family life in a very funny but touching way. Terrific cast too…even the kids.