Jingle Binge

‘Serendipity’ is the Best Christmas Movie You Forgot About

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Serendipity

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Serendipity is the best Christmas romantic comedy that everyone forgets is a Christmas romantic comedy. Since the bulk of the euphoric 90-minute flick is spent in sunny New York City in the spring (or is it summer? Fall? It’s definitely not winter), most people forget that the story opens five days before Christmas in Bloomingdales. Sara (Kate Beckinsale) and Jonathan (John Cusack) meet in the middle of the holiday blitz, tugging on the same pair of nondescript black gloves. Their quick courtship is lit by twinkle-lights and marked by the wonder of the Christmas season.

Then it stops being Christmas. We jump forward into the future where both Sara and Jonathan are engaged to be married to other people, and both of them are having doubts. The two embark on separate adventures to find one another, following a series of clues hidden by chance across New York City. Sure, they do this as the sun is shining and while the Christmas lights are packed away in the bowels of some storage unit, but the spirit of the holiday season is still there. Serendipity is a holiday movie.

Serendipity isn’t a holiday movie just because it starts at Christmas, but because it keeps this magical feeling surging through the rest of the film. Christmas is defined by magic, miracles, and hope in the darkest of hours. It’s a season about love and faith, and it’s those feelings that Sara and Jonathan discover within themselves as they search for one another. You don’t need snow on the ground or a band of carol singers to invoke the holiday spirit. You don’t even need for it to be Christmas. What you need is hope, love, and a little bit of magic, and that’s what Serendipity is all about.

Plus, yeah, this movie totally starts at Christmas and it all circles back there.

Where to stream Serendipity