Happy Accidents: an Underrated Rom-Com

Few rom-coms actually manage to be both romantic AND funny. For some movies, the romance wins, but the laughs are tepid; for others, you’re laughing so hard, but not feeling any chemistry. Happy Accidents (2000) is that rare film that manages both, maybe because, like most great romances, it’s not strictly about these two people at all. It asks larger questions we heterosexual women ask of ourselves every day: Is it possible to change where we’re headed? Can we trust a man’s words when we can’t verify them? And is it worth staying with a great guy if he runs from miniature dogs and claims he’s from a future version of Dubuque, Iowa?

The film keeps us guessing whether the great guy, Sam (Vincent D’Onofrio), really IS from the future, or just hiding his mental illness and/or compulsive lying. The comedy mainly comes from Ruby’s (Marisa Tomei’s) efforts to wish away/rationalize all of his (seemingly) nonsensical statements and actions. Her past relationships make her desperate to hold onto the nicest guy she’s ever been with, someone even her parents like. Her past is summed up beautifully when Sam asks if she likes music, and Ruby answers with despairing resignation, “You’re not a drummer, are you?”

Tomei’s delivery here and throughout is so on point that you may wonder why we have so few comedies of hers to savor. I have always thought the critical consensus that she was unjustifiably given an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny (an opinion I don’t share) has tainted all of her work since. How easily she could have had Julia Roberts’s or Meg Ryan’s career otherwise! She is adorable and hilarious in this film. And D’Onofrio, who irritates me in Law and Order: Criminal Intent, reminds me in this movie of why I used to like him: he’s awkward, charming, and (seemingly) achingly sincere.

The two have a meet-cute and rush headlong into moving in together, a development that worries Ruby’s therapist, who reminds Ruby she’s falling into her usual destructive romantic pattern. That the therapist is played by this woman ensures that you’ll wish each of their sessions longer:

Sam tells Ruby various stories of why he’s here, why his backstory is so flimsy, and why the worry should be not about him, but her. It seems he’s here to protect her, though he’s cagey about why. Maybe he’s playing a funny romantic game, as her friend suggests. Maybe he really believes his stories, but is otherwise sane. Maybe he’s blocking/compensating for his sister’s death (whenever it occurred). And maybe, just maybe, he’s telling the truth.

I won’t reveal where the story goes, as you (unlike he, perhaps) cannot go back and erase the memory of my spoilers. But trust me: it’s worth it to spend some time with Sam and Ruby. Watch him calmly explaining to bystanders that he didn’t need a college education due to information being inserted into his brain as the strained Ruby tries not to hear it. Relish his attempts to seduce her with polka music. And watch Ruby’s growing love for him, and his infatuation with her. Like Ruby, you’ll start to wonder, “How bad can a fantasy about being a time traveler be anyway?”

**

This post is part of The Time Travel Blogathon, co-hosted by Ruth of Silver Screenings and Rich of Wide Screen World. Check out all the fun travels here.