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 Director
: Brett Ratner
Starring
: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul
Rubenik.
Picture
2.35:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1, Single Side, Dual-Layer, Keep
Case
Running
Time : 126 mins
The
story:
In
his mind, he has the power to see the future. In his hands,
he has the power to change it
Jack
Campbell (Nicolas Cage) is a successful and wealthy Wall
Street trader who seemingly has it all. But the night before
Christmas an encounter with a gunman in a convenience store
changes his life forever. When Jack wakes the next morning
he is no longer single or wealthy.. he is living in New
Jersey with a wife (Tea Leoni) and 2 kids. He no longer
works on Wall Street and no longer owns a Porche, he's now
a tyre salesman at Big Ed's! Jack is living the life he
would have had if he had not made the decision to leave
his girlfriend to work in England some 13 years earlier.
Jack has been given a Christmas gift - a glimpse into the
life he could have had. A second chance..
The
summary:
Family
Man is a essentially a modern-day reworking of Dickens Christmas
Carol with a few twists. Cage plays the part of Jack Campbell,
a highly successful and seemingly happy businessman who
is more than satisfied with the hand that life has dealt
him. Thirteen years ago, Jack dumped his girlfriend Kate
to concentrate on his career - a decision that he never
regretted, But on Christmas morning Jack's past catches
up with him and he wakes to find out what he has missed
out on. Family Man is one of the true 'feel-good' films
that come about every once in a while. It's not a hilarious
comedy by any stretch, but you have to smile as Jack begs
for his old life back whilst attempting to look after "his"
kids with no idea how to even change a nappy! "You're
not my real Daddy are you?". The film is full of these
charming scenes and I soon surprised myself by enjoying
every moment!
Cage's
career has indeed been a roller-coaster one. His recent
films such as Gone in 60 Seconds, Bringing Out the Dead
and 8mm have been panned by the critics, but The Family
Man is a definite improvement, even if box-office sales
don't agree. Perhaps this can be attributed to a change
of direction from Cage's usual 'moody' thrillers to a more
lighthearted role. Whatever, it certainly works and The
Family Man is one of those films that you can watch over
and over and enjoy - and for no particular reason. Cage
shows far more depth in his acting as Jack Campbell and
shares the limelight with the gorgeous Tea Leoni. They make
a great comedy double-act and parents especially will relate
to the family situations within the plot. A great script
and hopefully Family Man will now find on DVD the success
it deserves.
Entertainment
In Video releases have improved vastly since the birth of
the region 2 disc and Family Man is encouraging, but there's
still a way to go for EIV. The transfer is best described
as above average but it could have been more solid, as the
images often seem a little blurred and soft. It's just lacking
the overall sharpness of the big studio's releases that
we've become accustomed to. Audio is adequate but little
effort has been made in surround use. The extra's are no
disgrace to EIV, but even with the 60-odd minutes of bonus
material, we're still missing the commentaries and DVD-ROM
material of the region 1 release.
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