"The Family Man"-- A Modern Day Classic

Some people spend their lives wondering "what if?" In Universal Pictures "The Family Man," Nicolas Cage is Jack Campbell, a man who spends Christmas day living in his alternate life. After making the mistake of telling an Angel that "he has everything he ever wanted," Cage wakes up alongside Kate Reynolds (Tea Leoni), the college sweetheart he left behind when he became a business tycoon. Now, instead of being Wall Street's leading man, he is suburbia's leading father-raising two children in a simple home, selling tires in his father-in-law's tire store and married to the woman he has loved for as long as he can remember.

However, waking up from riches to rags leaves Jack unhappy and disappointed at the man he almost became. Oblivious to what he has in front of him, Jack spends his new life doing everything he can to become the man he left behind. Before he knows it though, he is pushing away the family he could have loved for 13 years happily and seeing how truly miserable he is in the life that is really his.

Unfortunately, just as Jack realizes why the Angel sent him to his alternative life… just as Jack realizes how much he loves Kate… just as Jack understands how great it is to be a father… he wakes back up to the life he left his family for. Now, Jack must find the woman he still loves to make his dream of the two of them being a family a reality… but is 13 years later too late?

While "The Family Man" is a rehash of the classic Belushi film "Mr. Destiny," Nicolas Cage breathes new life into the well-known story. Cage plays both Jacks wonderfully, being arrogant, egotistical and rude when he is the womanizing business tycoon, and loving, emotional and romantic when he becomes the Jack he should have been. While most actors may be able to play the two sides of Jack okay, it's the transition between business Jack and family Jack that would come across as a challenge. Cage does this transition both smoothly and convincingly, showing the audience just why he is an Oscar- Award winning actor yet again.

The chemistry between Cage and Leoni is another reason "The Family Man" shines as brightly as it does. The two were cast perfectly, and the magic they share is not only seen in the script, but on-screen as well. Their on-screen chemistry is both believable and relatable for any couple who, despite numerous punches life may have thrown throughout the years, remain madly in love and the best of friends. Even when the two are fighting over the lives they ended up sharing together, the audience can see just why they have stuck together for over 13 years and why they should stick together for all time.

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