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 hink
of the choices you make every day. Some are right, some are wrong. But you
always live with the consequences. Now imagine if you could make those
choices again. Would you?In The Family Man, Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas, Gone in Sixty Seconds) has a decision from the past turn upside down. Cage plays Jack Campbell, a wealthy Manhattan investment banker who's also a lonely bachelor. He lives life in the fast lane with his flashy Ferrari and plays hard in the gut-wrenching offices of Wall Street. His schedule is one of decadence and work, which leaves little time to settle down and have a family. Campbell's life is business as usual until he walks into a convenience store the night before Christmas and is caught in a robbery. That's when he meets his enigmatic guardian angel (à la It's A Wonderful Life), played by Don Cheadle of Boogie Nights fame. They talk about his decision years ago to leave his college sweetheart Kate, played by Téa Leoni (Deep Impact, Bad Boys), and follow a life of corporate capitalism and financial success. The next day, he's surprised to wake up with Kate by his side and finds out he has a small daughter and infant boy. That's when he realizes he's living out the decision he didn't make, which was to marry Kate and settle down. |
actors Nicolas Cage Téa Leoni Don Cheadle Jeremy Piven Amber Valletta Paul Sorvino director locations outtake |
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In this alternate "glimpse," Campbell isn't the "it" man, the hot shot wheeler and dealer of New York City. Instead, he's a father figure and tire salesman in suburban New Jersey. He has no idea about the problems of parenting, and has to cope with the pressures of a low-stress job and family dinners. The only question is if he'll become more comfortable in the homey lifestyle, or still desire the material goodies and money- driven life. Also appearing in The Family Man is Jeremy Piven of TV's Ellen. He had a hilarious role in the dark comedy Very Bad Things, and was recently in Toronto filming Serendipity with John Cusack. Not to be missed is super-model Amber Valletta, who impressed audiences this summer in the ghost story What Lies Beneath. The Family Man is a departure from Cage's roles in rough and tough action flicks such as Face/Off and Con Air. It's the sort of movie that softens his image, especially after being exposed to a summer spate of adrenaline induced celluloid. But he has always seemed to have a soft spot for mushy scripts. In 1998, Cage and co-star Meg Ryan helped catapult the tear-jerking City of Angels to box office success. In the '90s, Cage played in romantic comedies such as Guarding Tess and Honeymoon in Vegas with Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker. He also played a cop who gives a $2 million tip to a waitress played by Bridget Fonda in the true-life story It Could Happen to You.  With a
solid cast, The Family Man is destined to woo audiences into
theaters. Hey, if you could go back in time and change a choice you made
along the way, wouldn't you wonder what life wouldbe like? -Zack Medicoff |