Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director

Nora Ephron

Country

USA

Cast

Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman, Ross Malinger, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell, Gaby Hoffmann, Victor Garber, Rita Wilson, Barbara Garrick, Carey Lowell, David Hyde Pierce, Dana Ivey, Kevin O'Morrison, Caroline Aaron

Storyline

An 8-year-old kid (Ross Malinger) calls a radio talk-show in an attempt to find his recently widowed father (Tom Hanks) a new partner. Hundreds of women write to him, but one of them (Meg Ryan) is really committed to meet him. 

Opinion

Do you know what You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle have in common? Four things, the genre, Nora Ephron, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. And they both happen to be above average romantic flicks.

The plot is pretty predictable and a little contrived, not to mention how absurd it is, still it manages to be enjoyable and entertaining. The love story, however, isn't as touching as I was hoping. The kid calling the radio to find a new girlfriend to his lonely father, that was touching, but the love story itself was pretty meh.

How does this manage to be above average? Thanks to its characters. They are nicely developed and very likeable (you can't go wrong with Tom Hanks), so, even if the romance isn't that good, I still found myself rooting for them which by the way was pointless given the predictability of the story. Unfortunately, that treatment is reserved for the main characters only. The supporting ones are pretty thin. 

Anyway, the dialogue is nice too, but some parts of the writing are a bit cringing like a woman crying when recounting the story of An Affair to Remember. I haven't seen the movie, but that's not crying-material.

The soundtrack isn't bad either, and there are some humorous moments, especially those with Bill Pullman who seems to have taken the role of Meg Ryan's hypochondriac fiancé a little bit too seriously, but nevertheless does a good job.