I came across this movie while flipping channels one day. I vaguely recalled seeing the cover of the film in video rental places as a younger person. The plot sounded good so I watched it.
This film starts with a young girl named Faith who plays with a Ouija board with her brother. After she asks the Ouija board the name of her true love, it spells out the name Damon Bradley. Shortly afterwards, while visiting a fortune teller at a local fair, young Faith is told by the "gypsy psychic" that she will marry Damon Bradley.
Fast forward about 14 years later and the audience finds that Faith (played by Marisa Tomei) is preparing to get married to her fiancee, a boring podiatrist named Dwayne. Faith's brother Larry (played by Fisher Stevens) has married one of Faith's childhood friends named Kate (played by Bonnie Hunt). Faith is still deeply in love with the idea of finding true love but she has resigned herself to marrying the more ordinary podiatrist that she likes well enough.
While Faith is trying on her wedding dress, Kate comes over to see the dress. While Kate is visiting with Faith the phone rings and Faith answers it. The guy on the other end is Damon Bradley and he tells Faith that he is going to Venice Italy. Faith immediately leaves the apartment to get to the airport to try to catch up with Damon Bradley. She is unable to board the plane that Damon Bradley is on because she doesn't have a boarding pass.
Still she is determined to at least catch a glimpse of Damon Bradley as he could be her destiny so she decides to go to Venice. Kate accompanies Faith to Venice. After a frantic search and with the help of a local merchant named Giovanni (played by Joaquim de Almeida) the two women end up following Damon Bradley's trail to Rome.
While in Rome, Faith has a chance to see Damon Bradley at a restaurant. Things don't go as planned and Faith ends up hurrying to catch up to Damon Bradley. As it is a crowded on the streets, Faith loses track of Damon Bradley and starts running through the streets to find him. She accidentally bumps into a stranger (played by Robert Downey Jr.) while running.
The stranger catches up to Faith after she loses her shoe and, while talking with Kate and Faith, the stranger reveals that he is in fact Damon Bradley. Faith and Damon spend the night together purely enjoying each other's company and clearly very in love. The following morning Faith tells Damon about her engagement to Dwayne. Then a twist. As it turns out the guy claiming to be Damon Bradley is in fact Peter Wright.
Faith understandably gets mad and leaves Peter. While Faith is stewing and planning on leaving Italy the following day, Peter talks with Kate and tells her that he is in love with Faith. Kate reminds Peter that he lied and basically tells him to go on his way. Meanwhile Kate starts hanging out with Giovanni. She of course tells Giovanni that she is married and Giovanni seems to be understanding. After Giovanni leaves to Milan, Kate stays outside of the motel room to give Faith time alone and to take time for herself. Kate reveals to a waiter that her husband Larry is having an affair.
As Kate and Faith are preparing to leave Italy, Peter catches up to them and tells Faith that he has located the real Damon Bradley in a town 3 hours away from Rome. Kate asks Giovanni to take them and the four go on a small road trip to the place where Damon Bradley is supposed to be staying. Faith is very physically attracted to the "real" Damon Bradley (played by Billy Zane) when she sees him and meets him at the pool. Faith makes a date with Damon Bradley for that evening and goes to get ready. Giovanni invites Kate, Faith, Damon, and Peter onto his friend's yacht that evening.
Peter meanwhile is obviously hurting but is putting on a brave front for Faith's happiness. Faith finds that Damon is handsome but not quite what she wants. After he gets fresh with Faith on the yacht, Peter intercedes and begins to fight with Damon. It turns out that this "Damon Bradley" isn't real either but was a guy named Harry who was hired by Peter to pretend to be Damon Bradley and to be a jerk with the idea that Faith would come running back to Peter.
While all of this was going on Kate and Giovanni are alone together in a room on the yacht. Giovanni starts to seduce Kate but Kate gently rejects Giovanni's advances. Giovanni seems to consider pressing the issue but they are interrupted by the commotion caused by Peter and Harry fighting .
Faith angrily leaves the yacht with Kate. Afterwards, Faith finds herself very disheartened by everything happening and her resulting feelings. While Faith and Kate are preparing to leave, Larry shows up to try to win back Kate. Kate decides to stay in Italy with Larry and Faith goes to return to Pittsburgh.
It turns out that Larry isn't having an affair but that he had simply taken for granted his marriage to Kate. In the every day shuffle of work and home, he forgot to show his wife how much he loves her. Further, Larry reveals to Kate that he is the source of the "Damon Bradley" thing. He was the one who moved the planchette on the Ouija board spelling out Damon Bradley and he paid the gypsy to tell Faith that she would marry Damon Bradley. Damon Bradley was a kid that Larry knew from school. Larry had intended the whole thing to be a joke.
While in the airport, both Faith and Peter hear a call overhead for Damon Bradley. They both run to see him and run into each other. Peter wants to meet Damon to tell him about the story that Faith told him about Damon Bradley and to tell Damon that he is lucky. While talking with Damon, Peter reveals to Faith that he is deeply in love with her. After revealing his love for Faith, Peter morosely leaves to his plane to Boston. Faith is pleasantly stunned by the revelation from Peter and fully accepts that she is in fact very in love with Peter. She follows Peter to his plane and boards the plane. Peter and Faith embrace, the plane takes off and the film ends.
A perfectly hopelessly romantic film for hopeless romantics like me!
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