Sintonía de amor

After his wife's funeral, Sam (Tom Hanks), an architect, moves from Chicago to Seattle with his son, Johna (Ross Malinger) so he can stay away from all those things that remind him of his beloved wife, which he just can't bear any longer.

In Baltimore, Annie (Meg Ryan), a newspaper journalist, is engaged to Walter (Bill Pullman) and is looking forward to getting married. But when Annie's mother talks about the 'magic' that she instantly feels when Annie's father holds her hand, Annie cannot comprehend the meaning. One evening, Annie hears Johna on a national radio show, saying his dad is lonely and sad, still cannot forget his late wife and Johna thinks his dad needs a new wife to make him happy. Thousands of women across the country write to Sam, among them is Annie. Her letter in the rubbish bin is sent out by her good friend Becky (Rosie O'Donnell).

So Annie travels all the way to Seattle in hope to meet Sam, but it doesn't work out fine. However, when Johna reads the letter from Annie, he knows she's the right one and he replies on his father's behalf for meeting each other on the roof of the Empire State Building...

This is a refreshing, quite light-hearted story. It's slow but I'm sure many people would like it. It's funny that, when Sam first sees Annie, he somehow feels that he has met her before...rather funny, isn't it? Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are great on the screen together and the flick is perfect for relaxing. With a delightful soundtrack.

A story about a man who wife passed away and he is lonely so his child takes over his Dad's life and tries to hook up dear old dad through the personals,, meanwhile on the other side of the country , a young woman listens to a radio show , and their is a caller, called Sleepless in Seattle,, she is drawn to him , so she figures out where he lives,, hops on a plane and tracks him down,, somehow she misses him at the Airport and the meeting is put off for now,, Rosie O' Donnell isn't bad in this,, Bill Pullman is in this,, and Meg Ryan plays opposite Tom Hanks,, not a bad movie,, there are a few shortcomings,, but they can be easily overlooked if you're looking for a feel good story with a decent ending,,,

Sleepless in Seattle is manipulative and unashamedly so. The fact that it is somewhat old-fashioned is not a bad thing at all, in fact it is done wonderfully. In general, Sleepless in Seattle is just a charming romantic comedy, co-scripted and directed by When Harry Met Sally writer Nora Ephron.

The idea to keep Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan apart for most of the movie is a dangerous one, but guess what, I found that it worked! Strictly speaking, Sleeping in Seattle is made up of two story lines, one is about a recently widowed man who moves to Seattle and does nothing but grieve. The other is features a woman journalist from Baltimore, who overhears the broadcast with Hanks's son pouring his heart out about his concerns for dad and decides to track him down.

The scenery is striking, the soundtrack is very welcoming, the direction is solid and the script has heart and wit. In terms of acting, both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan give marvellous lead performances, while Ross Malinger is a nice surprise as Hanks's son. The climax at the top of the Empire State Building takes its inspiration from the 1950s weepie An Affair to Remember(with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr), and is very effective.

Overall, a charming and enjoyable film. Hanks, Ryan and Ephron teamed up again for You've Got Mail, which is inferior but still worthwhile. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"It's easier to get killed by a terrorist than to get married at over forty!" Maybe a bit of an overstatement, but it's the sentiment here as recently widowed "Sam" (Tom Hanks) moves to Seattle with his son "Jonah" (Ross Malinger) to start again. Unable to shake off the effects of his grief, it falls to the young lad to galvanise his dad into meeting someone new, and so he arranges a late night radio catharsis which is heard by "Annie" (Meg Ryan). She is entangled with the nice but dull "Walter" (Bill Pullman) but as she begins to let romantic fantasies about "Sam" take over she revisits her favourite Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr film "An Affair to Remember" and comes up with the idea of writing to him asking for a rendezvous atop the Empire State Building. Meantime, following on from his heart-rending broadcast, "Sam" has had plenty of correspondence from ladies but he is bent on a more traditional courting approach and so again it falls to his young son to expedite matters with one "Uncertain from Baltimore". Can he play Cupid and even if he does, is their any chance that dad will like her, that she is actually "Annie" and that someone might wonder why an unaccompanied eight year old is flying across the USA? It's like a short story that's been stretched to feature-length, and though the premise is quite engaging the rather pedestrian execution from all but the young Malinger actually made me realise just how good the Kerr/Grant combo actually was. Some of the writing has an observational realism and wit to it; it does benefit from a classy soundtrack with some Jimmy Durante topping and tailing the romance, and there are lots of shots of an attractive New York skyline, but these two characters didn't really do anything for me and as the scenario started to contrive it's fairly obvious conclusion I lost interest. It's an easy watch but like almost everything with Meg Ryan in, is fairly bland.

The movies are full of alternate universes and maybes that make them a great escape. Sleepless In Seattle is a great romantic comedy. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan star in a movie where they are hardly onscreen together and yet we feel both of their characters infatuation. It's an amazing job that director Nora Ephron does in making us care about the relationship between these two characters when their not hardly together onscreen. The movie also has great performances, from the leads and from supporting players Rosie O'Donnell and Rob Reiner, as well as a very goofy but sweet turn from Bill Pullman. This movie will make you feel good.