Day 16 - Serendipity
First Impressions:
Finally, some John Cusack! I should have added "High Fidelity" :-)
Sara is a psychologist yet she doesn't seem to think reading too deeply into coincidences may be a symptom from the DSM 5.
Molly Shannon as the BFF, once again ("Never Been Kissed" is the other). She is still the sassy friend who pushes Mr. Good-Enough-For-Right-Now over Mr. Right.
Personal Reflections:
"It was like in that moment the whole universe existed to bring us together."
"Serendipity", meaning essentially 'happy accident', epitomizes testing predetermination, fate, destiny. Sara and Jonathan meet and immediately feel a connection, despite the fact that both are in serious committed relationships. They spend one evening together, then let fate determine whether they will ever meet again. TWO YEARS later, Jonathan is still scouring bookstores for the copy of "Love In the Time of Cholera" with Sara's number in it.
Their respective significant-others don't seem all that bad. Halley even physically resembles Sara, so what is it about her that has Jonathan convinced Sara is his destiny? Deciding on a soul mate seems about as arbitrary as connecting the stars in the sky (or freckles on an arm) to form a particular picture.
I have to wonder if it's the fantasy of a soul mate, of a meeting orchestrated by chance that is so compelling to Jonathan and Sara. Perhaps his kind of meeting introduces a dimension of meaning that transcends usual relationship squabbles. Imagine Sara complaining that Jonathan forgot to take out the garbage again. Jonathan responds, "Maybe I'm not supposed to take out the garbage today. Maybe I'm supposed to irritate you this week so that next week when you're ovulating you'll be in a better mood and we will finally conceive." Or possibly, the argument never happens because Sara thinks back to their fateful meeting and hey, what are the chances of them even meeting? Doesn't the garbage seem so inconsequential in comparison?
Don't get me wrong; I love the idea that there is a reason we meet the people we do. I'm just not certain you can know if someone is your 'universal soul mate' after spending only a few hours together. I feel like the spirit of Christmas coupled with the fantasy of fate played a larger role than Jonathan and Sara being actual soul mates. Mia and Sebastian from "La La Land" had more soul mate potential.
On the topic of soul mates, I have an idea for a rom-com. It's called "Left Sole(s)". It's a movie featuring the characters in the rom-com wake of people who left them behind to pursue their one-true-love. Jenna's hockey player boyfriend from "13 Going on 30" is in it, as is Matty's fiancée who was left at the alter. Jennifer Connolly from "He's Just Not That Into You" is in it. Sam's New York lawyer girlfriend from "Never Been Kissed" is in it. Jonathan and Sara's fiancées are in it.
The movie begins with an omniscient narrator describing how love is sometimes like a shoe store that sells all left shoes, which is where Jennifer Connolly now works to pay for the unfinished renovations. "Though sometimes being left behind might be just the right thing." In walks Sara's fiancée who needs a new left shoe, having lost the right one in a vision quest...
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. It's okay to leave your fiancée the day of your wedding if it's for your universal soul mate.
2. Fate will always lead you to the right person.
3. Missed connections galore!
Soundtrack:
Big props for ending with a Nick Drake song. Also great rendition of Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" which played during the rose petal proposal scene.
Finally, some John Cusack! I should have added "High Fidelity" :-)
Sara is a psychologist yet she doesn't seem to think reading too deeply into coincidences may be a symptom from the DSM 5.
Molly Shannon as the BFF, once again ("Never Been Kissed" is the other). She is still the sassy friend who pushes Mr. Good-Enough-For-Right-Now over Mr. Right.
Personal Reflections:
"It was like in that moment the whole universe existed to bring us together."
"Serendipity", meaning essentially 'happy accident', epitomizes testing predetermination, fate, destiny. Sara and Jonathan meet and immediately feel a connection, despite the fact that both are in serious committed relationships. They spend one evening together, then let fate determine whether they will ever meet again. TWO YEARS later, Jonathan is still scouring bookstores for the copy of "Love In the Time of Cholera" with Sara's number in it.
Their respective significant-others don't seem all that bad. Halley even physically resembles Sara, so what is it about her that has Jonathan convinced Sara is his destiny? Deciding on a soul mate seems about as arbitrary as connecting the stars in the sky (or freckles on an arm) to form a particular picture.
I have to wonder if it's the fantasy of a soul mate, of a meeting orchestrated by chance that is so compelling to Jonathan and Sara. Perhaps his kind of meeting introduces a dimension of meaning that transcends usual relationship squabbles. Imagine Sara complaining that Jonathan forgot to take out the garbage again. Jonathan responds, "Maybe I'm not supposed to take out the garbage today. Maybe I'm supposed to irritate you this week so that next week when you're ovulating you'll be in a better mood and we will finally conceive." Or possibly, the argument never happens because Sara thinks back to their fateful meeting and hey, what are the chances of them even meeting? Doesn't the garbage seem so inconsequential in comparison?
Don't get me wrong; I love the idea that there is a reason we meet the people we do. I'm just not certain you can know if someone is your 'universal soul mate' after spending only a few hours together. I feel like the spirit of Christmas coupled with the fantasy of fate played a larger role than Jonathan and Sara being actual soul mates. Mia and Sebastian from "La La Land" had more soul mate potential.
On the topic of soul mates, I have an idea for a rom-com. It's called "Left Sole(s)". It's a movie featuring the characters in the rom-com wake of people who left them behind to pursue their one-true-love. Jenna's hockey player boyfriend from "13 Going on 30" is in it, as is Matty's fiancée who was left at the alter. Jennifer Connolly from "He's Just Not That Into You" is in it. Sam's New York lawyer girlfriend from "Never Been Kissed" is in it. Jonathan and Sara's fiancées are in it.
The movie begins with an omniscient narrator describing how love is sometimes like a shoe store that sells all left shoes, which is where Jennifer Connolly now works to pay for the unfinished renovations. "Though sometimes being left behind might be just the right thing." In walks Sara's fiancée who needs a new left shoe, having lost the right one in a vision quest...
Rom-Com Tropes:
1. It's okay to leave your fiancée the day of your wedding if it's for your universal soul mate.
2. Fate will always lead you to the right person.
3. Missed connections galore!
Soundtrack:
Big props for ending with a Nick Drake song. Also great rendition of Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain" which played during the rose petal proposal scene.
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