Throwback Thursday: 'Family Man' is an underrated holiday film

I understand that there are two camps when it comes to Nicolas Cage: Love him or hate him.

Over the years, I feel like I've met more people that fall into the latter than the former. I, for one, do not mind Nic Cage at all. There's one particular Nicolas Cage holiday movie that I feel is severely underrated, which came out on this day, December 22, in 2000: The Family Man. 

The Family Man is directed by Brett Ratner (of Rush Hour fame) and is about a high-living investment broker named Jack Campbell who gets a chance to see what his life would have been like if he had married his college sweetheart, Kate, played by Tea Leoni. Don Cheadle is the mysterious figure that grants him this second chance (an angel, probably, without coming out and saying it), and a pre-Entourage Jeremy Piven plays Jack's best friend. 

It's very Capra-esque, and full of sweet and tender moments. As Jack struggles to get back to his former life as a playboy and struggles to become the unselfish version of himself that those around him know, he eventually learns that being married and having kids is exactly what he's been missing in his life. 

It will never aspire to the classics like It's A Wonderful Life or Home Alone, but it's still a very funny and touching movie. 

Watch the full trailer below: