Sleepless in Seattle

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

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,,,

It's Christmas and Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) has just announced her engagement to her long time boyfriend Walter (Bill Pullman). She and Walter drive in their separate cars to his parents' house. On the way there she listens to a radio show in which a widower (Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin) talks about how much he misses his dead wife and how he doesn't think he'll ever find anyone else he cares about that much.

Annie is instantly obsessed. She hires a private detective agency to find out all of the details about this guy. She actually travels to Seattle, where he lives, from Baltimore, where she lives, just to chicken out at the last minute as far as introducing herself, and instead stand in the street and stare at him - Sam stares back -before turning tail and running. Turn the sexes around on these two and this would become a creepy stalker movie.

During the movie, it seems that Walter's only flaw is having severe allergies and the main flaws in the woman Hanks' character is dating is that she flicks her hair and that she has an annoying laugh. But that's the thing - if you are involved with and deep down feel saddled with somebody you don't really love, the small flaws become huge.

And fundamentally it's a movie about not settling for a passionless relationship. Say what you will about knowing that relationships require time and effort, it doesn't change the fact that there is nothing morally redeeming about marrying a guy because he's adequately nice and you can get along with him more or less. Who wants to be the person another person settles for? No one. Pullman's Walter even says as much when he gives up without a fight at the end. He'll make a good partner for someone who actually loves him and sees past the allergies.

Nora Ephron, the writer, admitted that the movie is ridiculous and unlikely and has this dumb "fate" aspect, but in real life when you finally do find the person that you love and marry, everything about finding that person feels incredibly unlikely. It can feel like fate even if it isn't, and I guess that's true.

Rosie O'Donnell is great as Annie's friend who doesn't see Walter's charms either, but then she's not the character engaged to him while dreaming of another guy. David Hyde Pierce, months before he gets the role of Miles on Frasier, has a small role as a man who is in a passionless marriage himself and sees nothing amiss about it.

Sleepless in Seattle is written and directed by Nora Ephron. It's based on a story by Jeff Arch and it stars Tom Hanks as Sam Baldwin and Meg Ryan as Annie Reed. The film takes its inspiration from An Affair to Remember and uses both its theme song and clips from the film in critical scenes. Plot sees Sam recently widowed and tricked by his young son Jonah to chat on the phone about his grief on a late night radio show. His honesty and sadness touches the hearts of America's listening females, particularly Annie, a young journalist who lives the other side of the country in Baltimore.

Major smash hit at the box office, where it coined in a $200 million profit before it even made it out for rental, Sleepless In Seattle is the sort of romantic comedy that's almost impossible not to like. OK, there's those who probably have aversions to some of the stars in the piece (tho both Ryan & Hanks are adorable here), but as a story it's warm, sweet and very touching. Ephron's script throws up a number of funny treats along the way, including moments to make the boys smile, while the fact that the potential cross country lovers are kept apart for almost the entirety of the film is smart move that pays off dividends. Admirable support to Hanks & Ryan comes from Rosie O'Donnell & Rob Reiner as the best friends of both, while Ross Malinger as Jonah gives one of the more pleasing child performances from the 90s.

It doesn't push the boundaries of light entertainment, but really you would have to be devoid of heart to not feel just a bit better for having sat thru this movie. 7/10

Tom Hanks is his usual steady, likable self in "Sleepless in Seattle," a steady, likable movie that also benefits from one of Meg Ryan's more restrained (i.e. less obviously, annoyingly cute) performances.

It's their talent that helped me overlook some of the film's more noticeable flaws, particularly its treatment of the eventually-to-be-rejected Other Man and Other Woman. Both Hanks' and Ryan's "unsuitable" partners appear to be perfectly nice people, yet the movie casually dismisses them over one little flaw apiece--the woman laughs like a hyena and the man has terrible allergies. Both characters behave very well, considering the way they're treated by others. Hanks' girlfriend in particular desires a medal for putting up with his brat of a son, who is rude to her at every opportunity.

I also had difficulty warming to Hanks' son, although he is certainly preferable to the young girl who keeps expressing everything in initials.

On the bright side, there are many engaging supporting characters, including Rob Reiner as a fellow architect. Also of note are the rich homeowner, the dotty babysitter and Rosie O'Donnell as Ryan's editor and friend. Thankfully, few to none of their scenes involve the annoying children.

Many of the jokes are funny, the best coming when Hanks and a friend ridicule the weepy reaction of many women to "chick flicks" by sobbing as they recount the plot of "The Dirty Dozen."