Back in 2007, I was on scholarship in college in Seattle, dreaming big and plotting my next career move. Family was not really the most urgent priority as you would expect. Mind you, as with many people that age, there is a lot of uncertainty going on in our heads. I bumped into this movie as I kind of had a soft spot for Nicolas Cage who had been doing great for more than 1 decade, even though romantic comedy is not exactly my biggest cup of tea.
The movie completely blew me away. I watched it so much that year that I could remember the majority of dialogues. However, I never thought about it as something that could guide my way to the next decade.
...Fast forward to 13 years later (see the parallel with the movie?), I am now settled, in France, and been living here for nearly 10 years. Guess what, I have a lovely wife, who doesn't earn much professionally, and I have 2 adorable kids (one little girl and one baby boy) that I wouldn't trade with any other life scenario. No, I stopped short of calling them Annie and Josh, that would be too much. I'm living the dream, and let's be honest, this dream involves lots of coupon cutting and hard working because you generally don't get high salary in France (but you have lots of holidays and social security though).
I watched it back for the first time since 13 years with my wife yesterday night after the kids were asleep, and she was blew away just like I did.
Great great christmas movie that lift your mood up like nothing else. Remember, don't put on your art-critic glasses while watching this, it is really not appropriate.
Cheers and Happy Christmas everyone.
Review of The Family Man
