Cheap It Could Happen to You (DVD) (Nicolas Cage, Bridget Fonda, Rosie Perez) (Andrew Bergman) Price

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Customer Reviews of It Could Happen to You

A great romance classic -- ranks among the best
I recently bought and rewatched the DVD of this movie. I was absolutely delighted from start to finish. I'm a romantic movie fan, watching a lot of foreign films in this genre as well. I have to say that I'm surprised "It Could Happen To You" is not more widely regarded as a classic. It is easily the equal of "Sleepless in Seattle" or "When Harry Met Sally". The storyline is sweet and funny and leaves you feeling good about life. I found the screeplay and the production quite good. What really puts this movie over the top though are the actors.

Who would believe Nicolas Cage, bad boy extraordinaire of "Vampire's Kiss" and "Wild at Heart" could so sweetly and convincingly play a nice guy? In Cage's hands, Charlie is utterly believable and real. You completely buy his fundamental decency, his inability to break a promise or not do 'the right thing'. And he is just so generally charming and attractive in this movie. If I were handing out Oscars, Cage would get one for playing Charlie. I can't remember when I've seen such a completely natural performance. Bridget Fonda is outstanding as well. She matches Cage's believability and charm. And the chemistry the two of them generate together is heady stuff from the moment they meet. Rosie Perez is very funny as well, but she is obviously doing humor -- a spoof. Cage and Fonda play it like the real thing and hit at a much deeper level.

I watched this with my 11 year old daughter and husband and they both really liked it as well. I would give it 5 stars, but I was disappointed that the DVD didn't have any bonus features. I would enjoyed some interviews or a 'making of' featurette.

This is one to watch again and again.

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A feel good movie, through & through!
I am glad that this movie is available on DVD because it's a great "feel good" movie! Nicolas Cage plays a mild mannered cop who, one day, can't leave a tip for a cup of coffee, so he offers his waitress (Bridget Fonda) his lottery ticket. It's funny to see the chain of events that happen throughout the movie. It's a romantic comedy that will keep you watching right to the end!

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Sweet Romantic Story
This story was inspired by an actual event and makes you believe that there are still nice people in the world. One day a policeman (Charlie Lang, played by Nicholas Cage) must leave a restaurant in a hurry, and rather than leave without a tip he promises half the winnings of a lottery ticket to his waitress (Yvonne Biasi, played by Bridget Fonda), if the ticket should win. The ticket wins, big time, and the conflict and stress begin.

To contrast with the sweetness, though with a bit of cynical edge, of Charlie and Yvonne, is Charlie's wife Muriel, obnoxiously and effectively played by Rosie Perez. Muriel is out for Muriel, and wants to get what she sees as hers, regardless of whatever promise Charlie may have made to Yvonne.

We see Charlie conflicted as to what to do at first. After all, Charlie certainly did not expect to win several million dollars on that lottery ticket. However, Charlie wants to do the right thing, and he does. As Charlie follows his heart, and what he believes is right, Charlie comes to realize that Yvonne has morals and a style more like his own, and Muriel is greedy and conniving and just not a very nice person. While I was initially conflicted by Charlie's marriage to Muriel, because I believe strongly in marriage, there came a point where I just couldn't stand Muriel any more, and no belief in marriage would have made me stay with her.

This story is a bit of a caricature and more than a bit trite, but somehow I wanted this variation on the Cinderella theme to work out and I had to follow it to the end. I wanted the movie to work out because Yvonne was just a wonderfully nice person and she deserved a better life, and I decided that no matter what Muriel and Charlie were not going to work out. I admit that I did come to the point where I wanted Charlie and Yvonne to get together, but I was not sure of exactly how to work that out without complications.

In a way this movie is a bit of a guilty pleasure, because it does have a fair amount of predictability, though not all the details are predictable. However, I like to watch happy ending movies sometimes, and this one has a wonderfully happy ending. This movie works because of the great chemistry between Bridget Fonda and Nicholas Cage. The combination of their character's believability, the sweet story, and the happy ending, just make this a fun movie to watch. Just keep your analysis of the story to a minimum; it is only a movie, after all.