Serendipity is a good movie to see during the holiday season: not only do its main characters meet while doing last-minute Christmas shopping, but it is so light that you can reserve your brainpower for other, more important things (like figuring out your own holiday shopping). The story features two likeable 20-somethings, Sara (Kate Beckensale of Pearl Harbor) and Jonathan (John Cusack, most recently of America’s Sweethearts), who both reach for the same last-pair of black gloves at Bloomingdales and end up spending a magical evening together. But when Jonathan asks for Sara’s number, she tells him that if fate means for them to be together, it will find a way for them to meet again without their intervention. Fast forward several years, where not only have they not seen each other again, but they are both involved with other people. But both still wonder what might have been . . .

This is standard romantic comedy fare, with a similar feel as Sleepless in Seattle or You’ve Got Mail. Beckensale and Cusack have nice chemistry, and the supporting characters are quite good, especially Jeremy Piven as Jonathan’s best friend Dean and Molly Shannon as Sara’s best friend Eve. But, while the dialogue is actually quite clever, the story is very contrived and almost painful in the number of near-misses the characters must endure in their search for each other. So, if you’re looking for substance, finding yourself at Serendipity might not be too serendipitous.