The Family Man

The Family Man is a 2000 comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni. Cage produced the film under his Saturn Films production company.
The film centers on a man, who sees what could have been had he made a different decision thirteen years ago. It is similar to It's a Wonderful Life in that it begins on Christmas Eve with a life-and-death situation, involving a supernatural being, who tries to convince the main character into taking an earnest look at his life.

Moreover, in the end, the protagonists in both movies conclude that living a quiet family life is preferable to achieving success and wealth at work.
The film has also been compared to Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol in that the protagonist is a greedy man who cares little about anyone except himself and then has his life outlook completely changed after a series of real-life "what if?" experiences.


Plot
Jack Campbell is a single, wealthy Wall Street mergers and acquisitions executive living the high life in New York City. In his office on Christmas Eve, he is surprised to hear that his former girlfriend, Kate, tried to call him after many years. That night after work, he walks into a convenience store where a lottery contestant, Cash, barges in saying that he has a winning ticket. The store clerk believes that Cash is lying and refuses to give him his winnings. Cash pulls out a gun and is about to shoot the clerk before Jack offers to buy the ticket from him, thus averting disaster. He and Cash settle their business deal outside and he arrogantly offers to help Cash before going to sleep in his penthouse.
The next morning, on Christmas Day, Jack wakes up in a suburban New Jersey bedroom with Kate and two children. Shocked and confused, he hurries back to his office and condo in New York, but not even his closest friends recognize him. Confused, Jack runs out to the street and encounters Cash, who is now driving Jack's Ferrari. Cash explains that Jack is experiencing a glimpse of an alternate universe in order to learn a lesson.
Jack realizes that he is living the life he could have had if he had not gone to London and become an investment banker but had stayed in the United States with his then girlfriend. He instead has a modest family life, where he is a tire salesman and Kate is a non-profit lawyer. Jack struggles to fit into the role of a family man, making many serious blunders such as missing opening Christmas presents, flirting with a married woman and forgetting his anniversary. Very soon, Jack's young daughter realizes his secret and decides to assist him in surviving his new life. He begins to succeed in his life, bonding with his children, falling in love with his wife and working hard at his dull job.
He suddenly finds himself being offered a contract to work at the very same investment firm from his real life, having impressed the Chairman of the firm with his business savvy when he came in for a tire change. There he meets his old mentor, who once again gladly offers him a job, while a formerly sycophantic employee is instead in Jack's old position, with an assertiveness he did not possess as a subordinate. While he is wowed by the potential salary and other complimentary extreme luxuries, Kate convinces him to decline and spend time with his family.
Just as Jack is finally realizing the true value of his new life, he sees Cash again (now a store clerk) and demands to stay in this life, but, though sorrowful of Jack's situation, Cash informs Jack there's nothing he can do. So, his epiphany jolts him back to his wealthy — yet as he now realizes, lonely — former life. In desperation, he forgoes closing his $130 billion pharmaceutical acquisition deal to intercept Kate (who had left the message the day before). He finds her moving out of a luxury townhouse; like Jack, she was also left to focus on her career and became a very wealthy lawyer and only called him to give back some of his old possessions. Before she moves her business to Paris, he runs after her at the airport and describes the family they had in the alternate universe in an effort to get back together with her. Shocked but intrigued, she agrees to a cup of coffee at the airport, suggesting that they might have a future after all.
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Directed by Brett Ratner
Produced by Marc Abraham Thomas Bliss Tony Ludwig Alan Riche Zvi Howard Rosenman
Written by David Diamond David Weissman






Cast
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Nicolas Cage as Jack Campbell
Téa Leoni as Kate Reynolds
Don Cheadle as Cash
Makenzie Vega as Annie Reynolds
Jake Milkovich as Josh Reynolds (partial)
Ryan Milkovich as Josh Reynolds (partial)
Jeremy Piven as Arnie
Saul Rubinek as Alan Mintz
Josef Sommer as Peter Lassiter
Harve Presnell as Big Ed
Mary Beth Hurt as Adelle
Amber Valletta as Paula
Ken Leung as Sam Wong
Kate Walsh as Jeannie
Gianni Russo as Nick
Tom McGowan as Bill
Joel McKinnon Miller as Tommy
Robert Downey, Sr. as Man in House
Paul Sorvino as Sydney Potter
Music by Danny Elfman
Cinematography Dante Spinotti
Editing by Mike Helfrich Studio Beacon Pictures Saturn Films
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) December 22, 2000
Running time 125 minutes
Country United States
Language English

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