Ryan's Annie, who we're told is a writer for the Baltimore Sun, is patently dippy and cute, but everyone around her is much better developed, particularly O'Donnell, whose sweet-tart persona really registers in the role of Becky, Annie's editor and best friend. Hanks gets the best lines, setting off his sassy wit with sweetness and vulnerability. In between there's lots of mushy stuff about omens and destiny and made-for-each-other magic. The rest of the movie is just a matter of time, as Sam and Annie ride separate tracks that had better meet or there'll be a riot in the theater. ![]() And Annie, about to become permanently mired in a fireworks-free relationship, can't seem to get this perfect stranger out of her mind. Next day, 2,000 women call the station asking for Sam's phone number. The talk show host asks to speak to Sam, who reluctantly pours his heart out all over the airwaves. Driving to visit Walter's parents in D.C., Annie tunes in her car radio and is spellbound by what she hears - Jonah has phoned a radio shrink to beg for help for his sad dad. Devastated, they move to Seattle to escape memories and start a new life.Īcross the continent, at a family Christmas Eve dinner in Baltimore, Annie announces her engagement to her pleasant but colorless, allergic-to-everything boyfriend Walter (Bill Pullman). This is mighty familiar stuff - "Sleepless" might just as well be called "The Courtship of Jonah's Father." Or "When Sam Finally Met Annie." But in this case, familiarity breeds content - "Sleepless" has the feel of a readymade classic, an old-fashioned kind of movie designed to be watched again and again.Ĭhicago architect Sam and his 8-year-old son, Jonah, have lost their wife and mother to cancer. It's the only thing that can separate the women from the men-and-boys summer blockbusters. "That's a chick's movie," grumbles Hanks.Īnd that's the commercial wisdom at the gooey heart of "Sleepless in Seattle," which looks likely to be the "Jurassic Park" of date movies - this romantic comedy tested so well with female audiences it was moved up from autumn to summer release. Later, another woman describes in loving detail the plot of the same movie to Sam (Tom Hanks) and her husband, her eyes welling well before she gets to the romantic payoff. "Men never get this movie," O'Donnell observes. TWO KEY SCENES in "Sleepless in Seattle": Annie (Meg Ryan) and her best pal Becky (Rosie O'Donnell) are munching popcorn and watching an old movie ("An Affair to Remember," with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, to be exact), salting their popcorn with tears and lip-syncing to Kerr's every melodramatic line. ![]() ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (PG-13) By Joe Brown
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