A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.A fast-lane investment broker, offered the opportunity to see how the other half lives, wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 7 nominations
- Tony the Doorman
- (as John O'Donahue)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the DVD commentary, the scene where Jack gets back into his minivan and the minivan won't start was a happy accident that wasn't supposed to happen. The director thought it was a perfect beat and left it in the final cut.
- GoofsJack Campbell said "We have a full day of market trading" on Dec 24th but the stock and bond markets always close early, stocks a half day & bonds one hour later.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Jack: We have a house in Jersey. We have two kids, Annie and Josh. Annie's not much of a violin player, but she tries real hard. She's a little precocious, but that's only because she says what's on her mind. And when she smiles... And Josh, he has your eyes. He doesn't say much, but we know he's smart. He's always got his eyes open, he's always watching us. Sometimes you can look at him and you just know he's learning something new. It's like witnessing a miracle. The house is a mess but it's ours. After 122 more payments, it's going to be ours. And you, you're a non-profit lawyer. That's right, you're completely non-profit, but that doesn't seem to bother you. And we're in love. After 13 years of marriage we're still unbelievably in love. You won't even let me touch you until I've said it. I sing to you. Not all the time, but definitely on special occasions. We've dealt with our share of surprises and made a lot of sacrifices but we've stayed together. You see, you're a better person than I am. And it made me a better person to be around you. I don't know, maybe it was just all a dream. Maybe I went to bed one lonely night in December and I imagined it all. But I swear, nothing has ever felt more real. And if you get on that plane right now, it'll disappear forever. I know we could both go on with our lives and we'd both be fine, but I've seen what we could be like together. And I choose us. Please, Kate. One cup of coffee. You can always go to Paris. Just, please, not tonight.
[pause]
Kate: Ok, Jack.
- Crazy creditsAs actor Robert Downey Sr.'s name scrolls up the screen during the credits, the words "(a prince)" appear next to it. This happens in other movies in which he appears.
- Alternate versionsA scene with Paul Sorvino was filmed but edited out of the final cut. The scene can be seen on the deleted scenes section of the DVD.
- SoundtracksLa donna è mobile
from opera "Rigoletto"
Written by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Luciano Pavarotti and London Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Richard Bonynge
Courtesy of Decca Music Group/Universal International Music, B.V.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Because this is a Christmas movie, I've now seen it twice, and it's really not bad at all. The best aspects, like Don Cheadle, are too brief, and the plot is sometimes rammed into position by sentiment and a need to be popular. But it eventually makes sense and you come around to see the ordinary charm that pervades.
Not that Nicolas Cage is exactly charming. He's painted as a spoiled stockbroker jerk, both in life and in his dream. But like a Scrooge seen from within, and seeing an alternate life before his eyes, he has the revelation that changes his life. His arrogance slowly dissolves, and that's maybe what he learns most from the dream.
Téa Leoni is chipper and realistic in her cute way and makes for a love interest that isn't an over-idealized cliché, thankfully. And so she draws him into her life with natural ease. It's too easy of course, and there are unanswered questions—even "It's a Wonderful Life" is more believable in that sense, the logic of an alternative life—but it's fine by the end. And in fact, dreams do whatever they want, so there it is.
Add this to the growing list of movies that play with this profound and fun idea of seeing what your life would be like if if whatever, if things had been different, or if you had been better. It's worth seeing on a lazy evening.
- secondtake
- Dec 25, 2016
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $60,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $75,793,305
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,554,960
- Dec 24, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $124,745,083
- Runtime2 hours 5 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1