Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Charlie Lang is a simple, kindhearted New York City cop. When he realizes he has no money to tip waitress Yvonne Biasi, Lang offers her half the winnings of his lottery ticket. Amazingly, the ticket happens to be a winner, in the sum of $4 million. True to his word, Lang proceeds to share the prize money with Biasi, which infuriates his greedy wife, Muriel. Not content with the arrangement, Muriel begins scheming to take all the money.
It Could Happen to You is a warm, feel-good romantic comedy-drama with a charming premise loosely based on a real event. The plot is straightforward and predictable — a honest cop, a greedy wife, and a sweet romance — hitting every expected beat without surprise. Cage and Perez deliver solid, likable performances and Rosie Perez is memorably over-the-top as the villainous Muriel, but there's nothing transformative in the acting department. Cinematography is functional NYC location work, pleasant but unremarkable. The film doesn't bring much novelty — it's a formulaic fairy-tale romance dressed up in lottery wish-fulfillment clothing, following a well-worn template. The ending is satisfying in a classic Hollywood fairy-tale sense, rewarding the good-hearted characters, though it's thoroughly telegraphed from the start.