‘Family Man’ a familiar, and great holiday treat

In the 2000 Universal Holiday feature ‘The Family Man,’ Jack’s lavish, fast-paced lifestyle changes one Christmas Eve night when he stumbles into a grocery store holdup and disarms the gunman. The next morning, he wakes up in bed lying next to Kate, his college sweetheart he left in order to pursue his career, and to the horrifying discovery that his former life no longer exists.

As he stumbles through this alternate suburban universe, Jack finds himself at a crossroad where he must choose between his high-power career and the woman he loves.

‘The Family Man’ is a film filled with humor and a good amount of heart and emotion. The 2000 Nicolas Cage holiday movie delivers quite a few moments which can really make you laugh. Some of the humor comes into play when Jack begins his “glimpse.” There are also some parts in his “glimpse” that are really heart-warming. Once Jack gets more comfortable with his new life, the character gets closer to his college sweetheart and their two young children. The movie’s story can also seem a bit predictable since it's sort of like a modern take of ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’

Despite the familiar story, ‘The Family Man’ is unique and does have a lot of charm and heart. This is a real nice feel-good movie to watch during the holiday season, and it is really enjoyable. The feature can also be thought-provoking, and makes you wonder how life would be after choosing one specific decision instead of another. The ending of the movie can be a little emotional and kind of happy at the same time. You would have to see the movie to see that it’s the perfect way to end this movie.

So, make sure to come on down to the Dietrich during the '12 Movies of Christmas festival' and don’t miss ‘The Family Man.’

Some of the cast include: Nicolas Cage (The Croods: A New Age) as Jack Campbell; Tea Leoni (TVs Madam Secretary) as Kate Reynolds; Jeremy Piven (Entourage) as Arniel Saul Rubinek (Amazon Prime’s Hunters) as Alan Mintz; Josef Sommer (The Other Guys) as Peter Lassiter; Makenzie Vega (TVs The Good Wife) as Annie Campbell, Harve Presnell (Evan Almighty) as Big Ed and Don Cheadle (Space Jam: A New Legacy) as Cash.

‘The Family Man’ is written by David Diamond (When in Rome; Old Dogs) and David Weissman (Old Dogs) and directed by Brett Ratner (Hercules; Tower Heist; Rush Hour 3).

The snow falling symbolizing the changes in Jack’s life is an homage to the classic ‘It’s A Wonderful Life.’ During early development, John Travolta was set to star. In the movie, there is a mention of a Mr. Potter. This mention of a character is also an homage to one of the characters in ‘Wonderful Life.’ ‘The Family Man’ is rated PG-13 for sensuality and some language and has a running time of 125 minutes.

The remaining show dates and times for ‘The Family Man’ are as follows: Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.