The number of holiday movies seems to double each year, but none remain as heartfelt and timeless as The Family Man
. The film’s premise is simple, and there are similarities to It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol, but there’s an aching sense of solitude and profundity permeating the film. The Family Man captured my heart when I first saw it, and rewatching it recently has only deepened my love for the film, which is sincere and shamelessly wears its heart on its sleeve. Its lessons remain timely and Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni are perfect together.
The Family Man’s Themes & Story Execution Remain One Of Its Biggest Draws
The magic of The Family Man is in the details of its story, which are heightened thanks to its simplicity. Screenwriters David Diamond and David Weismann give the film gravitas and treat it with the depth and sincerity it deserves. More than anything, The Family Man takes its time exploring Jack Campbell’s (Cage) new and alternate life, developing it to become more lush and real the longer Jack lives it. We get to experience the surprises with him, the awkward moments, and the strangeness of adjusting to a life that is foreign to him.
This is a man who’s never experienced this much love in his life, and accepting it is jarring, but it’s the epitome of layered character growth. Cage is perfect at every stage of Jack’s journey, infusing certain moments with levity and an astonished sense of humor, which signals the ridiculousness and discomfort he feels about being in a situation he didn’t ask for. Yet, even if his Jack has been married to Kate (Leoni) for 13 years, the film sets up the romance as though we’re watching it evolve and deepen right along with Jack.
The Family Man not only posits that a life filled with love is well worth it despite its hardships, but shows us the beauty of what that looks like at every turn.
This is a story that values togetherness and the strength of having a partner, whereas most films are still caught in the cycle of holding off on two people getting together until the end. The Family Man works backward in terms of romance but it never undermines the relationship that gives it heart. The film is very much anti-capitalism, something I can appreciate a lot more now as an adult, but it’s also not trying to sell us entirely on the idea of a perfect family life.
It doesn’t paint Kate and Jack as paragons of virtue, nor does it ignore their obvious struggles. It crucially highlights the loneliness and emptiness of Jack’s real life and juxtaposes it with a deeply connected and loving one, filled with family, friends, and community. Jack may not have become a hot-shot businessman with an endless amount of money to spend, but he’s fulfilled in much more meaningful ways. The Family Man not only posits that a life filled with love is well worth it despite its hardships, but shows us the beauty of what that looks like at every turn.
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It invests in this life and characters which, in turn, deepens the story and its themes. It suggests that opening one’s heart to love and connection is the true risk worth taking. Jack has managed to stop feeling in his everyday life and that’s the scariest part of The Family Man. Getting a glimpse of the life he could have had urges him to feel again and to not be afraid of the emotions. Jack had to feel like he was genuinely losing something at the end to make him desperate enough to actually want to do something about it.
The cinematography by Dante Spinotti makes a clear visual distinction between Jack’s real life, all steely gray and static, and his fantasy one, which is warmer and more homey. It invites us into Jack’s fantasy world while reminding us that it’s just as real as his other one in feeling. It looks like a memory can so often feel and it’s lyrical and visceral in equal measure, wrapping us in the comfort of Jack and Kate’s family and love and cementing itself as an integral holiday classic that can be rewatched annually.
The Family Man Would Not Be As Good Without Nicolas Cage & Téa Leoni
Leoni and Cage make a memorable and moving pair onscreen. Leoni matches Cage’s moments of incredulity and neither go overboard in their reactions. Leoni is especially articulate in conveying Kate’s disappointment in Jack — for forgetting their anniversary, for running away on Christmas, or for trying to move the family to the city. Just as effective is Kate’s resolve and the neverending love she has for Jack despite these frustrations. The love in her eyes and actions speak volumes and instantly had me buying into their romance. She truly elevates the story with the layers she adds to it as Kate.
Crucially, Cage portrays the development of Jack’s acceptance and love of his alternate life with nuance that has us believing in his desire to stay.
Cage can be charming, yet aloof and cold as Jack. When necessary, he’s also quite funny. His reactions to his new life are a mixture of shock and word vomit that makes him look unhinged, adding to the comedic effect. Crucially, Cage portrays the development of Jack’s acceptance and love of his alternate life with nuance that has us believing in his desire to stay. By the end, that sense of loss Jack feels is visceral. And it goes without saying, but I have to say it: Cage and Leoni’s chemistry is palpable. When they’re onscreen, I can’t look away.
The Family Man Has One Of The Best Airport Scenes Ever
There are plenty of famous movie airport scenes, but The Family Man has one of the best (if not the best). Jack, having visited Kate in the real world, is now fed up with his life. Instead of going to Aspen for a business venture, Jack heads to the airport and runs to the gate to catch Kate before her flight to Paris. She’s confused by his actions, having moved on from their relationship despite being heartbroken, but Jack, still wrapped in the memories of a life with Kate, isn’t about to let the woman he loves slip away again.
Cage’s speech is absolute perfection. He’s sincere and it’s that very sincerity and passionate desperation that makes Leoni’s Kate stop in her tracks. The delivery and staging of the speech are enough to give me goosebumps each time I watch the film, and it only gets better with time. Jack continues talking, getting quieter as Kate moves towards him, and it’s the kind of romantic fantastical speech that is so often missing or made immemorable in modern romances. By the time Jack is running through that airport, he’s ready to succumb to love. The speech thereafter is earned.
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The moment may not promise forever for the couple, but the fact that the film ends with Jack and Kate talking over coffee at an airport restaurant is simultaneously hopeful and heartwarming. My heart was thawed and my eyes were wet from unshed tears — that’s how touching The Family Man’s ending was. It’s still so moving even after 24 years, perhaps even more so now as the realities of adulthood and the lifestyle it forces us into make us yearn for something a bit more simple and time spent with loved ones.
I could go on about how they don’t make movies like The Family Man anymore, but I digress. Regardless, the romantic drama has aged like fine wine. It’s sentimental in all the best ways and doesn’t lose sight of its message. Everything is made better because the film takes its time with its story and characters and rewatching it only made me fall in love with Jack and Kate all over again.
9/10
The Family Man
- Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni have tremendous chemistry and deliver incredible performances
- The film isn’t afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve
- The Family Man’s themes and execution stand the test of time
- The film has one of the best airport scenes
- The story is sincere and beautifully mesmerizing