Variety.com
Posted: Mon., Feb. 7, 2000
Happy Accidents
An Independent Film Channel presentation of an Accidental Production. Produced by Susan A. Stover. Executive producers, Jonathan Sehring, Caroline Kaplan, John Sloss. Directed, written by Brad Anderson.
Ruby Weaver ..... Marisa Tomei
Sam Deed ..... Vincent D'Onofrio
Gretchen ..... Nadia Dajani
Lillian ..... Tovah Feldshuh
Therapist ..... Holland Taylor
Trip ..... Richard Portnow
Mark ..... Sean Gullette
Bette ..... Cara Buono
Claire ..... Liana Pai
Robin ..... Tamara Jenkins
Jose ..... Jose Zuniga
Victor ..... Bronson Dudley
Famous Actor ..... Anthony Michael Hall
By TODD MCCARTHY
Happy Accidents" is a strenuous bit of whimsy, a romantic comedy whose charms feel like the result of very hard work. Brad Anderson, world-premiering his film at Sundance just as he did "The Darien Gap" and "Next Stop Wonderland," develops his deft, card-trick style of shooting and editing yet further in a lighthearted yarn designed to stand out by virtue of its intricate structure and trippy time-travel element. But the fanciful material wears thin pretty quickly, the air leaking out of the balloon long before the party's over. Cast names should assure this Independent Film Channel feature a commercial release, but pic doesn't figure to travel much further than "Wonderland" did at the B.O.
Anderson plays with time-jumping, intercutting, rewinding and all sorts of other narrative devices that keep the picture perky stylistically even as the story keeps circling the same ground again and again. Basically, it's an is-he-or-isn't-he tale: Is the sweet, slightly daft, incessant gabber Sam Deed (Vincent D'Onofrio) really an emissary from the year 2470 who's returned to contempo New York to make the many-times-burned Ruby Weaver (Marisa Tomei) a happy woman, or is he just a nutcase?
It's not the most compelling question ever to anchor a motion picture, or even a breezy romance for that matter, but it stirs some interest and amusement for a while. Beginning with Ruby's laments about Sam to her shrink (Holland Taylor), story spins back to the relationship's earliest stages. With the camera floating and hovering about in quasi-Altmanesque fashion and the cutting establishing a disarmingly playful tone, Ruby, an English teacher, is quickly established as a harping neurotic. Sam, a hospital worker, is clearly cut from strange cloth: He can reverse everyday events that have just occurred, at least in his mind; he's terrified of tiny dogs; his coffee drains out of its cup even as it's poured; and he's got a bar code tattooed on his arm. But he's crazy about Ruby, which is enough for her at the start.
Saying at first that he's from Dubuque, Sam soon admits that he's from the Dubuque of nearly three centuries hence --- news that sends Ruby into hysterics. Pressed further, Sam goes into comically informational monologues about the future, about how he comes from a rare family of"anachronists" who believe in procreating the old-fashioned way in an age when sex is unnecessary and about all sorts of other aspects of future life that would be easy to scoff at were it not so detailed and, as far as Ruby is concerned, strangely convincing.
At first, Sam's admissions about his "real" origins and Ruby's confusion over what to make of them are passably amusing. But Anderson's screenplay then keeps repeating itself: Sam will make some further statement about himself or the future, and Ruby will fly off the handle and tell him for the umpteenth time that he "needs help."
Part of his treatment includes seeing Ruby's shrink, which introduces an unexpected wrinkle into the story. But the broken record of little revelations from Sam, unhinged reactions from Ruby and subsequent arguments has spun around far too many times before the picture reaches its fateful climax on a certain Friday on which Sam has warned Ruby she's going to die.
Anderson has developed a supple style that stimulates spontaneity in his actors, discovers humor in even the most shadowy corners and proves more flexible and expressive with each picture. But he's nevertheless reached a point at which he needs to branch out in terms of interests and subject matter, to apply his obvious intelligence and stylistic dexterity to more challenging and substantial material. Although the longtime Boston-based filmmaker moved to New York before making this picture, the tone and level of ambition have remained the same as in "Next Stop Wonderland," and there is a strong sense here of treading water, of executing further riffs on a very similar bill of fare.
Viewer reaction will also depend to a great extent upon how unlimited one finds the appeal of the two leads. Having amply demonstrated that he can play weirdos and suspicious types in numerous other pictures, D'Onofrio fortunately emphasizes the accessible and engaging sides of his questionable character, making clear why Ruby could fall for him regardless of his strange traits and eventual disclosures. Tomei engages her character thoroughly, especially the vulnerable and guarded side relating to her sorry track record with men, but a little of her can go a long way, particularly when many of the scenes require her to whine and complain and argue.
Taylor as the unpredictable shrink and, especially, Tovah Feldshuh as Ruby's attractive and deeply sympathetic mother stand out in support. Anthony Michael Hall, playing a "famous actor," figures in one of the film's best scenes, in which Sam lays into a know-it-all physics expert.
Behind the camerawork, all tech aspects contribute to the handcrafted feel that marked Anderson's two previous pictures.
Camera (Technicolor), Terry Stacy; editor , Anderson; music, Evan Lurie; music supervisor, Linda Cohen; production designer, Susan Block; art director, Lucio Seixas; set decorator, Kara Cressman; costume designer, Victoria Farrell; sound (Ultra-Stereo), Noah Vivekanand Timan; line producer, Derrick Tseng; associate producer, Victoria Robinson; casting, Walken/Jaffe Casting. Reviewed at Sundance Film Festival (Premieres), Jan. 25, 2000. Running time: 110 MIN.