Kate Beckinsale appearance of 2001 was in the romantic comedy "Serendipity" as the love interest of John Cusack. It was filmed directly after "Pearl Harbor" and Beckinsale found it "a real relief to return to something slightly more familiar." Turan praised the "appealing and believable" leads, adding that Beckinsale "reinforces the strong impression she made in "Cold Comfort Farm", "The Golden Bowl", and "The Last Days of Disco"" after "recovering nicely" from her appearance in the much-maligned "Pearl Harbor". Claudia Puig of "USA Today" felt that "Beckinsale's talents haven't been mined as effectively in any other film since "Cold Comfort Farm"." McCarthy
Kate Beckinsale love her." The programme was aired in autumn 1996, just months after Gwyneth Paltrow had starred in a film adaptation of the same story. Caryn James of "The New York Times" felt that while "Ms. Beckinsale's Emma is plainer looking than Ms. Paltrow's," she is "altogether more believable and funnier." Jonathan Brown of "The Independent" has described Beckinsale's interpretation as "the most enduring modern performance" as Emma. In 1997, Beckinsale appeared opposite Stuart Townsend in the comedy "Shooting Fish", one of the most commercially successful British films of that year. "I'd just had my wisdom teeth out," Beckinsale later recalled