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 Jesse Hassenger of "The A.V. Club" felt her "charismatic" performance was wasted. Also that year, she starred alongside Simon Pegg in the poorly received British comedy "Absolutely Anything", as an author agency employee and the love interest of a man (Pegg) chosen by four aliens to do anything he wants. Tom Huddleston of "Time Out" said her character "is never really developed—which is perhaps a blessing, because her cut-glass-posh performance is almost as grating as Pegg's." In the romantic comedy "Love & Friendship" (2016), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Beckinsale reunited with her "Last Days of Disco" collaborators