I didn't realise that this Frank Capra like titled film from director Andrew Bergman (Honeymoon in Vegas, Striptease) was based on a true story, so I was certainly going to try it. Basically New York police officer Charlie Lang (Nicolas Cage) has a heart of gold, and when unable to give coffee shop waitress Yvonne Biasi (Bridget Fonda), he promises to give either the tip or half his lottery winnings, if he wins, to her the next day. Unbelievably, Charlie and his wife Muriel (Rosie Perez) do win the lottery jackpot, sharing $4,000,000 with seven other winners, and of course Charlie still wants to stick to the promise he made to Yvonne. Muriel of course is mad that he made this promise in the first place, and is sticking to it, and Yvonne is shocked to be given $2,000,000. Over time, Muriel is demanding a divorce from Charlie, wanting the full cash settlement, plus what he gave to Yvonne. It is when Charlie and Yvonne have fallen for each other, after the split, that they are both determined to win their case. They don't win the case to keep the $2,000,000, but in the end they get lots of the money back from generous senders who know they deserve to do something good with it. Also starring Wendell Pierce as Bo Williams, Isaac Hayes as Angel Dupree, Víctor Rojas as Jesu, Seymour Cassel as Jack Gross, Stanley Tucci as Eddie Biasi, J.E. Freeman as Sal Bontempo, Red Buttons as Walter Zakuto, Richard Jenkins as C. Vernon Hale and Robert Dorfman as Walter. Considering it is based on truth, this is a nice charming film with the romantic comedy theme, with Cage, Fonda and Perez all making top form performances. Worth watching!
Review of It Could Happen to You
